Twisted
by Laurie Halse Anderson
YA
256 pages
published: 2007
4 of 5 stars
I got this book from the library because one, I have loved everything I've read by Laurie Halse Anderson, and two, I thought it was a different book that I wanted to use for my dangerous challenge. It wasn't that book. But I'm glad I got it because I really loved it.
Warning. This is not a book for "kids" and I was glad there was such a warning in the beginning of the book. This book goes over some very mature themes, like sex, drinking, and suicide. Why would I like that stuff...well...it was really good.
It's about this poor kid who pulls a stupid prank out of desperation and is sentenced to community service, meaning hard physical labor. This changes his physique and gives him a reputation that changes his situation in the cesspool of High School social life. While dealing with this, the girl, and his dysfunctional family, he also finds himself accused of a crime he didn't commit. The hell his life turns into leads him to contemplate some serious issues and figure out if life is worth living, and if it is, how to go about living it.
I would never have guessed that the book was written by a woman because the voice of this teenage boy felt so right. So right, in fact, that I mentally flinched occasionally at thoughts that I definitely did not relate to. But I felt such compassion for this kid! He was a good kid. A confused kid. A kid that wanted, needed, to grow up but didn't know how to do it - had no example to follow.
I really did love this book and couldn't put it down. And it ended where it should...looking up but without everything fixed.
Recommended For: older YA, High School kids, their parents
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