Twisted

Book Title: Twisted Author: Laurie Halse Anderson
Pages: 272 Publisher: Viking Books
Why did you decide to read the book? I found this book in one of my teacher’s rooms and it looked good.
Brief Summary of Book (6-8 sentences): in high school Tyler Miller is an average kid whose family is a little dysfunctional. His dad, no matter what he does, yells at him for. Well to make it worse on him, he graffiti’s the school wall with some bad names about the faculty, and gets caught. All summer he is forced to work with the janitors at the school as a punishment. While working there he gets bigger and pretty soon Bethany Millbury notices him. This is the girl of his dreams but also the sister of his enemy, and the daughter of his father’s boss. This sends his life into utter chaos and thinks about suicide, which is why the book is titled Twisted.
Audience: for all teenagers.
Writing Style:
Description – very easy to read. This book was meant for people who are in high school so it was written very well and the content was easy to understand.
Passage -"I picked up one of the books and flipped through it. Don't get me wrong, I like reading. But some books should come with warning labels: Caution: contains characters and plots guaranteed to induce sleepiness.”
Vocabulary:
Word Definition
Sentence & page it came from
Word Definition
Sentence & page it came from
Passage #1:
Passage #2:
Theme: everything has a way of working out.
Letter Grade: I give this book an A because I not only liked the way it showed an average guys life in high school, but I also liked the way she wrote it because it was easy to understand.

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Book Title: Twisted Author: Laurie Halse Anderson
Pages: 250 Pgs Publisher: Penguin Group
Why did you decide to read the book?
My friend told me about this book and he said it was really good. He said it was really interesting and that even though he's not a big fan of the "whole book reading thing," it was good.

Brief Summary of Book (6-8 sentences):
Audience:
Teenagers would like this book more I think. It has problems that more students could relate to. Along with that, the whole plot takes place in and around school. It deals mostly with the main character, Tyler Miller, who is a teen.

Writing Style:
Most of the time, the book is written in a sarcastic tone. Anderson also writes in a very descriptive type of way even thought he chapters aren't that long. She also talks like she is a teen herself so it makes the book easy to read.
Description - The book is not very descriptive. The whole book is very easy to read. Nothing about it makes it hard to read or follow along. The book was NOT descriptive at all.
Passage -The passages were also easy to read. Anderson's passages were not long but also not very shortaas well. They all varied in ength but over all they were short. They were all not that descriptive and to the point.
Vocabulary:
Word: Migranes Definition: Very painful headache
Sentence & page it came from: 104, "Whooa hold on, Mom has must of forgot. Her migranes dad?"
Passage #1: "Bethany. My Bethany. The quality of the pcture was poor, but that was definetly her face. It was Bethany on a bed, wearing that little leaf skirt from her Halloween costume and a bar. [...] I only looked a scond, ut I'd never forget."
Passage #2: "I pick him up by the throat and lift him slowly until his feet dangle threee inches from the floor. He can't make a sound. Hs fingers claw desperately at my fingers. His fet kick. I squeeze."
Theme: The theme in the book is innocent until proven guilty.

Letter Grade: B

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Book Title: Twisted Author: Laurie Halse Anderson
Pages: 250 Publisher: The Penguin Group
Why did you decide to read the book?
I decided to read the book because some of my friends have told me it is a great book. I bought the book about a year ago, but I just never got around to reading it. This was the perfect opportunity to finally do that.
Brief Summary of Book (6-8 sentences):
Twisted, by Laurie Halse Anderson is about a teen-age boy, Tyler, who was arrested for spray painting the side of his school. He used a choice of vocabulary that will not be repeated, but the police were able to track him down easily. Tyler left his wallet and an extra can of spray paint that had his fingerprints at the scene. The deal was that he had to work community service with a landscaping company in order to pay for the damages. His father was rough on him as he grew older, but after the graffiti incident their relationship went downhill. Bethany Milbury is the girl that Tyler always wanted, but he believes his chances with her are minimal. After all he was shoved into her at a party, which caused her to fall and cut her foot on broken glass. Twisted is a novel that will surprise and satisfy readers all at once with its captivating story plot. Nobody will want to put it down once they begin to read it.
Audience:
The audience that is best suited for this novel is teen-agers because it is in the perspective of a teen-ager, and they would be able to relate to the main character.
Writing Style:
Description - Laurie Halse Anderson's writing style has a sense of humor to it. She thinks about how teen-agers converse and think. She adds sarcasm and realistic qualities to each individual character.
Passage - “Chip stood up straight, trying to make himself as tall as me. 'How much can you press?'
'I have no idea.' Two fifty-pound sacks of mulch in each hand, douche bag.” (14)
Vocabulary:
Word- Cretin Definition- A stupid, obtuse, or mentally defective person
Sentence & page it came from
“Idiot. Moron. Cretin. Fool.” (117)
Word- Stagnant Definition- Stale or foul from standing, as of pool water
Sentence & page it came from
“Our neighbors on either side-we never talked to them-had aboveground pools half-filled with stagnant water.” (160)
Passage #1:
“One time I stood next to him in front of this sink, and he lathered his face until it looked like a Santa beard. Before he shaved, he lathered my face, too, and gave me an old toothbrush to use as my razor. We shaved together, that time when I was too short to reach the faucets.
I closed the door of the medicine cabinet a little hard. The shelves inside screeched and fell down.” (207)
This passage stuck out to me because Tyler is talking about what his relationship with his father used to be. It shows how frustrated he is with his father now. It's not the same anymore, and I find it sad how one person can affect many.
Passage #2:
“'Hell, yeah. It's time to give up the doggies and kitties.'
'Don't swear,' she said automatically. She hit the turn signal. Checked the rearview mirror, and sped past a taxi-cab. 'I've thought about it.'
'If you don't kill us in the next five minutes, I'll help you find the space.'” (86)
This passage struck me because I feel as if everyone can relate to this. This is the humor that Anderson puts forward in her writing and as a result people enjoy it. This passage is funny to me and has that realistic touch to detail.
Theme:
The theme of this novel is to speak up without any fear because no problem is ever solved with silence.
“Before we left, I found one of the doctors who had helped me and quietly asked him to slit my throat. The guy said no and suggested I talk to my family doc about antidepressants.” (20)
Tyler goes through some tough times, but he bottles it all up. If something is upsetting him, he keeps to himself. There are always people who are willing to listen.
“'It wasn't like that at all. It was an accident. But I don't want to talk about it.'
'Did you punch Chip in the mouth?'
'I'm going to punch you in the mouth if you don't shut up.'” (23)
Tyler and his friend Yoda are talking and Tyler is trying to avoid talking about a bad situation he was involved in. His father was furious and he thinks that pretending it didn't happen makes it all go away. In reality, it does the opposite.
Letter Grade:
I would give Twisted an A as a grade because it has an enticing plot with original characters. Laurie Halse Anderson has not written a novel that has disappointed readers. She has a way of putting the reader in the character's shoes. The way it was written makes the story what it is. The intense emotions from the main character sets the mood in every scene, which allows the reader to benefit more of an understanding from this top notch, read.