Drew's Reviews > Twisted

“Once you’ve thought long and hard enough about doing something that is colossally stupid, you feel like you’ve actually done it, and then you’re never quite sure what your limits are.”

If you've never read anything by Laurie Halse Anderson before, let me tell you that she writes some of the best hard-hitting realism. Speak took a close look at a rape victim; Wintergirls focused on an anorexic girl. Twisted is centered around suicide.

Anderson has a gift for being able to dive into the minds of teens. I think a lot of authors miss the mark when they try to write "teen voices" and their characters end up sounding like they tried way too hard.

With Anderson, it comes naturally. Her characters think like teens, have realistic relationships, and their behavior accurately represents teenagers.

Twisted shows the side of Tyler's life that he won't let his friends see - his depressed, abusive father who is tearing their family apart and how Tyler spends his time thinking up different ways to hurt people.

“I didn’t fit. I was a different size, a different shape. I kept trying to squeeze into a body, a skin suit, that was too small.”

Tyler's narrative was so sympathetic; no matter how hard he tried, he could never live up to his father's expectations. But the portrayal of a serious issue wasn't the only good thing - the plot also intrigued me and the writing was addicting.

I loved the ending; it sent a great message about suicide. No matter how bad things are, what people are saying about you, or how you feel about yourself, you can take control of the situation and change things for the better. When there is the possibility of a brighter future ahead, why give up now?