Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson Review

Book: Twisted

Author: Laurie Halse Anderson

Source: Library

My Summary:

Tyler Miller was caught defacing school property, and sentenced to do community service. After working all summer, he comes back to school with a new body (geek to super hot) and a reputation.

Suddenly, the Queen Bee Bethany Milbury starts to take notice of Tyler, and he isn't complaining. However, Chip - Bethany's brother - might have a problem with this.

When things go wrong for Bethany at a party, everyone looks to Tyler as the villain. Everyone writes him off as guilty, and all Tyler can do is bide his time, and hope the real guilty person is caught.

Review: Brilliant. I really felt like I was reading a book in the male's perspective, so props to Laurie!

Tyler's life is definitely full of a lot of things: girls, family issues, police, friends, bullies, suicide, you name it. I felt like there was so much going on though, and I disliked the familial issues. Tyler's family has a lot of issues, with a tough, cold father. His mother just wants all to be fine. It all felt like too much to be happening to one person. Verbal abuse, school violence, it was a lot to read about. But I could see some of this happening, because people tend to jump the gossip train a bit too easily.

I honestly do not even know what to say about this book, just that it's powerful. Is it as great as Speak? No, but it's still a great novel.

Highlights: Anderson is a great writer. She thinks like a teenager, and her books sound real. You can't help but to feel her characters are real. She leaves you feeling what the characters feel, and thats a tough thing to do.

Lowlights: The way Tyler had to deal with his family at the end. I thought it was a horrible way to get your point across to someone. I also disliked some of the cliches in the novel (some of the things characters would say, do, etc)

Rating:    

-Lea