Twisted ~ Laurie Halse Anderson

Publisher: Speak (2007)
ISBN: 978-0-14-241184-1
250 pgs

Classification: YA fiction
Genre: Issues, realistic fiction
Age Level: 15+

Reader’s Annotation: After years of being bullied, Tyler considers using violence to make himself heard.

Summary: For years, Tyler has been relentlessly terrorized by Chip Milbury, the son of his father’s boss and the twin brother of his secret crush. When Tyler gets caught vandalizing his high school, he is sentenced to community service which he fulfills by working for the summer with the school janitorial staff. Rage has been slowly building within Tyler as a result of Chip’s bullying and his father’s constant pressure. When Tyler is accused of circulating lewd pictures of his crush, he is tormented at school and threatened with military school by his father. How will Tyler cope? The reader goes inside the mind of a young man cornered as he contemplates a pistol and all his options. Is violence Tyler’s only way out? Who will be the victims?

Notes: Tyler is an outstanding male protagonist from the author of Speak, offering a fresh, relevant perspective in a post-Columbine world.
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