Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson

Title: Twisted

Author: Laurie Halse Anderson

Hard cover: 272 pages

Publisher: Viking Juvenile (March 15, 2007)

Genre: Contemporary realism

From Amazon:

Tyler Miller, former nerd, returns for his senior year with a new buff bod, courtesy of the manual community service he was forced to perform for graffitting the school. To his surprise, school Queen Bee Bethany Milsbury starts paying attention to him. This causes conflict with his nemesis, Bethany's twin brother Chip, and is complicated by the fact that Bethany's dad is his father's boss. When he rejects her (drunken) advances at a party, things become complicated when anonymous nude camera photos of Bethany wind up on the Internet. Suddenly, the police are paying attention to the former school defacer and he faces hostility from the other students. Like Melinda in "Speak," he has a dysfunctional family and minimal support from peers and adults. As he begins to implode from the pressure, finding a way to clear his name and stand up to the bullies in his life looks more and more difficult.

My thoughts: This book was an amazing tale spun by Laurie Halse Anderson. The way she writes, I feel like all this could be happening to the author herself, even if it's fiction. Ms. Anderson knows how to create realistic characters. Every detail is included. For example, she goes into detail about the amount of cracks in the wall, or how many lockers are in the school. It creates a picture in my mind and I feel like I'm in the story. I really enjoyed this book, though the language seems a bit mature.

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SNAPS
Rating: ✭✭✭✭✭

Would I read it again? Yes
Would I read more from this author? yes
Who should read this? This book is for high school students. There is some swearing, but if you like contemporary realism, this one's for you.

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