Empowering Bright & Gifted Children

 

Author: Laurie Halse Anderson

Interest Level: Upper Grades (9-12)
ATOS Reading Level: 4.3
AR Points: 8.0
Publisher Recommended Age: 12+
Publisher: Penguin/Puffin
Book Type: Paperback
Pages: 250
Notes: Mature Content

 

 

High school senior Tyler Miller used to be the kind of guy who faded into the background. 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 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.

 

 

Book Group Guide: The book includes a reader's guide with discussion questions.

 

Book Group Guide: In addition, click here for a Reading Group Guide for "Twisted" by Laurie Halse Anderson

 

 

Publisher's Weekly: "...a chillingly accurate portrayal of the high-school social scene, in which morals, perceptions and conceptions of truth are continually...challenged."

 

Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review): "Anderson returns to weightier isues in the style of her most revered work, Speak, and stretches her wings by offering up a male protagonist for the first time. Tyler was alwys 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 uber-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 conscientiouis, 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 - 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."

 

Booklist: "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...What works well here is the frank, on-target humor...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."

 

 

Laurie Halse (rhymes with "waltz") Anderson pretended she was a polar bear when she walked to school through the snow of Syracuse, New York. As a little girl, she would pound away at her father's old typewriter for hours, writing newspaper columns, stories, and letters. She loved watching her father write poetry and reading the funnies on the floor of his office. Laurie fell in love with words when her second-grade teacher taught her how to write haiku. Her favorite book is the dictionary, which is a good thing because she is a terrible speller. She tried to read every book in her school library, a heavenly place. She loves librarians!

 

One of her favorite books was Heidi. This led to curiosity about foreign cultures. As a senior in high school, she was an American Field Service exchange student to Denmark, where she lived on a pig farm. She skipped both her prom and graduation ceremonies and had a great time there. She can still speak Danish.

 

Laurie Halse Anderson never intended to be an author. At Georgetown University, she majored in foreign languages and linguistics. She hit the real world with no idea of what kind of work she wanted to do. She tried everything, including cleaning banks, milking cows and working as a stockbroker. She hated all of it. Working as a reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer was a slight improvement, but she eventually quit to write books. After eight long, rejection-filled years, she has finally qualified as an overnight success. Laurie’s books for children and teenagers have attracted a lot of attention. Her first novel, speak, was a National Book Award Finalist, a Michael L. Printz Honor book, a New York Times bestseller, and an American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults. Publisher’s Weekly, called Speak “a stunning first novel,” in which Ms. Anderson “uses keen observations and vivid imagery to pull readers into the head of an isolated teenager.” Speak is being translated into ten foreign languages, including Chinese and Catalan. The film rights have been optioned and the entire Anderson family has fingers crossed about the movie.

 

In addition to novels, Laurie writes chapter books for elementary age children and picture books for the pre-school set. Along with writing, she does a great deal of speaking to schoolchildren and at librarian and teachers’ conferences across the country.

 

You can learn more about Laurie and her books at www.writerlady.com.