Twisted

Twisted
Laurie Halse Anderson
New York: Viking, 2007
Genre: Young Adult Realistic Fiction
Interest level: High School
Reading level: 4.3

One should not read this book in a fragile state of mind.  Twisted is a work of gripping prose.  I can hear the words shouted between father and son; I can feel the pain Tyler feels, the utter despair at his situation.  What struck me most about this book is it’s obvious reality.  Though fiction, the scenarios, characters, fall out, all of it, can and probably does happen.  It’s the probably that scares me.  The older I get, the more I realize what a sheltered and oblivious high school life I led, and how lucky I am to have such an awesome family (something I took for granted in high school, of course).  My high school life was nothing like I read in books, see in movies, or hear about from other people.  I had no idea people were partying and carrying on like that.  So in some ways, when I read about it, it’s all the more shocking.  I don’t know exactly what I’m trying to say.  But it breaks my heart to know that there are dysfunctional families out there like Tyler’s, that there are kids getting bullied and scapegoated, and so on.  I weep for the brokenness.

I read this book several weeks ago, before I read Speak.  Twisted is every bit as important as Speak because it is so real.  Not being male I can’t say for sure, but I think Tyler is representative of the minds of white, middle-class, teenage boys.

I do recommend this, with the caveat that Twisted is definitely a book for mature readers who can handle the rather dark content.