Twisted Gabrielle Massey Laurie Halse Anderson The Penguin Group 2007

Slide 2 In Twisted, the setting is middle class home Laurie Halse Anderson presents readers with Tyler Miller, whose transformation from a meek, social Mr. Nobody to a hot, admired "tough guy" sets his world on end. As someone who spends his days unnoticed, Tyler finds himself with more attention than he wanted after he vandalizes school property and, to pay for his crime, takes a summer job doing landscaping. The unplanned side effect is that he returns the next school year with a brand new body that's turning heads, most specially the head of, the most popular girl in school,Bethany Millbury.

Protagonist Tyler Miller/Protagonist -- Tyler Miller is the main character in Twisted. The story starts off with Tyler an average male teenager, finally standing out from the crowd by getting caught drawing graffiti on the school. Not only does Tyler love his new bad boy reputation, but he’s taking advantage of it in order to get the girl of his dreams, Bethany. Tyler’s new high life came to a screeching halt when he was blamed for the naked pictures taken of Bethany. Tyler considers suicide after the incident which affects a handful of the other characters in the story.

Antagonist Bill Miller (Dad) /Antagonist – Mr. Miller is one of the Antagonists in Twisted. The story starts off as showing Mr. Miller as a corporate dad, the ones who are always obsessed with working and never pay any attention or love to the family. He has been mentally and emotionally abusing Tyler and his family for many years. But nobody can step up to the plate and admit to this. He plays a corporate servant to renown, rich person Brice Millbury also known as his boss. Tyler/Antagonist – Tyler is also the antagonist in the story because he lets everyone beat him up in the inside and blames himself. Throughout his whole life he has been physically,emotionally,and mentally abused by bullies and his dad. Tyler is his biggest enemy, he has to learn to forgive himself before he can go forgive others.

Idnefication of Central Conflict Tyler has a lot of stuff on his mind including things he is dealing with and problems other people cause him. Between Chip Mulberry and Tyler, Chip has been causing Tyler pain his whole life. Especially in middle school when Chip and his “Friends” beat him up or dunked him in the toilet. Between His Dad and Tyler, Bill his whole life emotionally and mentally has abused Tyler and his whole family. Maybe its from the depression at work, maybe he just doesn’t like Tyler. Between Tyler and himself, He is his own enemy because he lets people hurt him in ways and he doesn’t do anything about it. Is that going to change? Or is the pressure to much for him to commit suicide?

Minor Characters Bethany Mulberry : The love of Tyler’s life and she is also the most popular girl at George Washington High. Tyler debates whether she really likes him out of all people or is she playing him. She is also brother of the guy who has been torturing Chip his whole life. Chip Mulberry: The guy who has been torturing Tyler basically his whole life. He is in Tyler words, All American Linebacker and world class jerk. He is very selfish and rarely thinks about others. Calvin Hodges / Yoda : Tyler’s Bestfriend for his whole life and also his getting beat up buddy. He got the nickname Yoda because He is obsessed with gaming and star wars,which was basically his religion. He is also in love with Hannanh, Tyler’s Sister.

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) This Book Review is basically saying that Tyler must learn to fend on his own with or without his father. His actions have consequences and its putting his whole family in jeopardy. Everybody around him is suddenly either scodling him or becoming his friend.

Book Review "Writing for the first time from a male perspective, Anderson skillfully explores identity and power struggles that all young people will recognize." - Booklist. mber/1424/twisted mber/1424/twisted -- Twisted relates to young teenagers like me these days. With the topics of bullying and suicide and depression there are emotions she relates to with us.