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Summary
Summary
High school senior Tyler Miller used to be the kind of guy who faded into the background--average student, average looks, average dysfunctional family. But since he got busted for doing graffiti on the school, and spent the summer doing outdoor work to pay for it, he stands out like you wouldn't believe. His new physique attracts the attention of queen bee Bethany Milbury, who just so happens to be his father's boss's daughter, the sister of his biggest enemy--and Tyler's secret crush. And that sets off a string of events and changes that have Tyler questioning his place in the school, in his family, and in the world. In Twisted, the acclaimed Laurie Halse Anderson tackles a very controversial subject: what it means to be a man today. Fans and new readers alike will be captured by Tyler's pitchperfect, funny voice, the surprising narrative arc, and the thoughtful moral dilemmas that are at the heart of all of the author's award-winning, widely read work.
Reviews (6)
Publisher's Weekly Review
At first, Anderson's (Speak) contemporary novel appears to be a "twisted" version of a Cinderella story. Unpopular senior Tyler Miller ("a zit on the butt of the student body") gains stature and notoriety the summer after he pulls off an impressive prank: "spray-painting a couple thousand dollars worth of damage to the school." But readers soon discover that the author has something more complex and original to offer than a fairy-tale rendition of transformation. Humorous, compelling first-person narrative traces how Tyler's newfound happiness as a gutsy tough-guy soon turns to agony; he starts to wish that he could go back to being "invisible." Tyler is floating on Cloud Nine when he wins favor with rich, popular Bethany Milbury, but she drops him after he won't sleep with her, and then he gets the blame when compromising photos of her appear on the Internet. As a result, Tyler has to contend with the police, a verbally abusive father (who works for Bethany's dad), a principal who is still angry about the graffiti incident, and a slew of new enemies at school. With justice seemingly beyond his reach, Tyler considers suicide and running away from home before settling for less drastic measures. This dark comedy gives a chillingly accurate portrayal of the high-school social scene, in which morals, perceptions and conceptions of truth are continually being challenged. Tyler may not gain hero status with his peers, but readers will respect his integrity, which outshines his mistakes. Ages 12-up. (Mar.) Agent: Writers House. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
(High School) Short, dweeby Tyler Miller, sick of being invisible, spray-painted his high school at the end of his junior year and got caught. Now, after a summer of muscle-hardening outdoor labor (mandatory community service for defacing public property) and a growth spurt, Tyler starts his senior year tall, beefy, and dangerous-looking. Incredibly, he attracts the interest of his fantasy girl, ""alpha female"" Bethany Millbury-but the line between popularity and loserdom proves impossible to cross. Tyler's reputation as a ""criminal"" causes all fingers to point to him at any sign of trouble. When naked photos of Bethany are posted after a big party, the police head straight for Tyler, and life spirals rapidly downward once again. Tyler's favorite computer game, Tophet, is a blatant but apt metaphor for his high-school hell; he spends hours online surviving the game's ""sixty-six Levels of Torment."" At the brink of despair in real life, Tyler considers the ultimate escape. His pain is sharply realistic, but suicide is an unlikely ending for the smart boy who's toughed it out this far. His decision to fight back is credible, as are the eventual changes in his tyrannical father, deftly foreshowed by small overtures earlier. While some stereotypes persist-jerky jocks, hard-ass principal-other supporting characters are more complex, adding dimension to Tyler's journey, at once personal and representational. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
Tyler Miller was a socially invisible nerd (Your average piece of drywall who spent too much time playing computer games ) before he sprayed some attention-getting graffiti and became a legend. Sentenced to a summer of physical labor, he enters his senior year with new muscles that attract popular Bethany Millbury, whose father is Tyler's dad's boss. On probation for his graffiti stunt, Tyler struggles to balance his consuming crush with pressure that comes from schoolwork and his explosive father, and after Tyler is implicated in a drunken crime, his balancing act falls apart. The dialogue occasionally has the cliched feel of a teen movie (Party's over. We're just getting started. And I don't remember inviting you ). What works well here is the frank, on-target humor (I was a zit on the butt of the student body ), the taut pacing, and the small moments, recounted in Tyler's first-person voice, that illuminate his emotional anguish. Writing for the first time from a male perspective, Anderson skillfully explores identity and power struggles that all young people will recognize. --Gillian Engberg Copyright 2007 Booklist
New York Review of Books Review
EVEN a decade ago, there were very few books in the young adult section of the bookstore that a reasonably sophisticated 16-year-old would enjoy. Back then, "YA" novels were almost always written for (and sold to) middle-school students. Now, books like "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing" and "The Book Thief" are being read not only by teenagers but also by their parents. So it is not entirely surprising that before the first chapter of Laurie Halse Anderson's new novel, "Twisted," there is a bold note, seemingly stamped onto the page: "This is not a book for children." This is ostensibly a warning (though by the standards of contemporary books for teenagers, "Twisted" is tame). But it is also a marketing ploy: after all, no selfrespecting teenager considers herself a child. Many people contributed to the transformation in the audience for young adult novels, but one of the most important was Anderson. Her novel "Speak" (1999) was one of the first seriously good books published for teenagers to be read widely by them. It tells the story of Melinda Sordino, a clanless outcast who barely endures her freshman year at a suburban high school, and it features one of the best young narrative voices this side of Holden Caulfield. Anderson's new novel, "Twisted," isn't set in the same suburb, but it might as well be. We find ourselves again in an upper-middle-class public school ruled by an iron-fisted social elite. But this time our guide is a guy - the world-class loser Tyler Miller, who at the start of his senior year is just wrapping up a community service stint imposed in punishment for what he calls "the Foul Deed." (It involved spray-painting graffiti all over school. In the novel's funniest moment, Tyler laments having misspelled "testicle.") Tyler isn't eager to return to school; in fact, he prefers manual labor. "I was good at digging holes," he notes. It's the rest of life he's not good at. He may be enrolled in three A.P. courses and calculus, but Tyler is seriously troubled. He immediately begins doing poorly in most of his classes. His nerdy best friend, Yoda, is looking to date Tyler's sister. And Tyler is in love (or lust, anyway) with Bethany, whose dad runs the company Tyler's dad works for. Tyler's dad, an accountant turned executive who is routinely humiliated by his boss, is at home a venomously cruel man prone to rage and emotional abuse. His and Tyler's tortured relationship is the axis on which "Twisted" turns. The familial clashes feel suffocatingly, terrifyingly authentic here - and ultimately help keep the tension high when Tyler is accused of posting photos of a drunk and naked Bethany online. "Twisted" is not another "Speak." It charts a less original narrative course, and the resolution is too pat - a happy ending that doesn't quite convince. And Tyler's voice, while believable, does not lodge in one's memory like Miranda's. But the new novel is like "Speak" in one important respect: flaws aside, it's the kind of book that some readers, particularly boys, will keep under their beds for years, turning to it again and again for comfort and a sense of solidarity. "Twisted" is a story that allows boys their sensitivity. Guys may not admit they need such stories, but they do. In "Speak," Miranda fantasizes about the things she might say but never does. In "Twisted" the fantasies are different - they are physical. Tyler imagines blowing up the school (at 3 a.m. so no one will get hurt) and pounding on his father. The way he works through his destructive thoughts is active, too. At a critical moment of intense pain, Tyler and Yoda go to the batting cage rather than talk. Toward the end of the book, Tyler tells his tormenter, "A real man faces his conflicts." That confrontation may involve talking, but the implication throughout the book is that facing one's conflicts is, for men, largely a nonverbal affair. This conception of masculinity strikes me as simplistic (to be fair, I am kind of a wimp). But there is room in this world for more than one way of being a guy. What Anderson finds in this book is a way to celebrate the urges traditionally associated with male adolescence - for sex, for domination, for power - without glorifying violence or misogyny. Many teenagers will appreciate that, especially those who, like Tyler, are finding their way in a world suspicious of them. So, no, this is not a book for children. Of course it isn't. These days, hardly any worthwhile book on the young adult shelves is. John Green is the author of "Looking for Alaska" and "An Abundance of Katherines."
School Library Journal Review
Gr 9 Up-Socially inept Tyler Miller thinks his senior year of high school is going to be a year like no other. After being sentenced to a summer of "character building" physical labor following a graffiti prank, his reputation at school receives a boost, as do his muscles. Enter super-popular Bethany Milbury, sister of his tormentor, Chip, and daughter of his father's boss. Tyler's newfound physique has attracted her interest and infuriated Chip, leading to ongoing conflicts at school. Likewise, Tyler's inability to meet his volatile father's demands to "be an asset, not a liability" adds increasing tension. All too quickly, Tyler's life spirals out of control. In the wake of an incident at a wild party that Bethany has invited him to attend, he is left feeling completely isolated at school and alienated at home, a victim of "twisted" perception. Tyler must tackle the complex issues of integrity, personal responsibility, and identity on his own as he struggles to understand what it means to be a man. His once humorous voice now only conveys naked vulnerability. With gripping scenes and a rousing ending, Anderson authentically portrays Tyler's emotional instability as he contemplates darker and darker solutions to his situation. Readers will rejoice in Tyler's proclamation, "I'm not the problem here-I'm tired of feeling like I am." Teenage concerns with sex, alcohol, grades, and family are all tackled with honesty and candor. Once again, Anderson's taut, confident writing will cause this story to linger long after the book is set down.-Erin Schirota, Bronxville Public Library, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Anderson returns to weightier issues in the style of her most revered work, Speak (1999), and stretches her wings by offering up a male protagonist for the first time. Tyler was always the kind of guy who didn't stand out until he spends the summer before his senior year working as punishment for spray painting the school. His new image and buff physique attracts Bethany--the über-popular daughter of his father's boss--but his angry and distant father becomes even more hostile towards him. Despite the graffiti incident, though, Tyler is a conscientious, albeit confused, young man, trying to find his way. Unfortunately, his newfound notoriety as a "bad boy" leads to false accusations that land him--and his father's job--in hot water. As tension mounts, Tyler reaches a crisis point revealed through one of the most poignant and gripping scenes in young-adult literature. Taking matters into his own hands, Tyler decides that he must make a choice about what kind of man he wants to be, with or without his father's guidance. (Fiction. YA) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.