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ithinkitsme's review
4.0
This book is very confusing and very very creepy. The whole thing about Brian and Eric made me want to cry so badly. I've come up with an ending that satisfied me. I feel like this is the only thing that could've happened. Firstly, the girl definitely has a personality disorder or something like that. Her parents neglect her because of how 'perfect' she is seeming, which is the Ally version of her. After Syd hit Graham, she switched back to being Ally and tries to save him. After she's hit, I believe she manages to get up as she switches back to Syd and take the car to destroy the evidence. Finally, she goes back to carry her sister which is when she dies. I think this really might be what happened. Unless Becky had decided to save her in the last second. Maybe she's the one who deleted the evidence? I think I like the former one better. Anyway, twisted story. I do like this stuff that drives you crazy, but it's just...I don't know. It's messed up.
lpcoolgirl's review
5.0
This book was strange and so enjoyable! Loved the mystery, and I'd guessed the big twist, but I was still great to read!
brookeandbooks's review against another edition
3.0
I kept reading to see if I had figured out the "twist" and the end was so abrupt that I still don't feel like I have closure. I'm not mad I read it, I just wanted more.
midnightbookgirl's review
2.0
I'm still processing this one, because it is one messed up tale. You might think you know what it's about from the summary, but trust me, you don't. It's like a reading an episode of Law and Order SVU or Criminal Minds, but bleaker.
teenage_reads's review
1.0
Plot:
Alison "Ally" Tate was the good girl. Straight from the L.L.Bean catalogue, Ally picked blueberries, worked at the town’s inn, baked muffins, and wore matching outfits with her mother, well, when she was around. Her father built boats, those big ones you see on Maine’s harbours, so he was not around much. With her mother trying to get noticed by the historical society ladies, Ally was left alone pretty much all the time. For Ally, she did not care, because she had Sydney. Syd was her younger sister, and where Ally loved her dearly, Syd was not what one would have considered a good girl. With her straight black hair, compared to Ally’s golden head, Syd was your typical tough girl, rebel without a cause. She smoked too much pot, got in trouble for her attitude, skateboarding in the hallways, and skipping class. But why go to class when you already know everything? Crazy smart, Syd slacks off because she can, and with absent parents, there is no reason not to. When their new neighbour moved in with their teenage son Graham, both sisters were interested. Ally saw Graham as the shy kid who was passionate about his art and wanted that boy-next-door kind of relationship. Syd saw him as the dude with the drug problem, popping pills that were ‘prescribed’ to him, who like her, was a rebel without the cause. With Syd’s friend just thinking Graham’s a little dim, Syd starts worrying about Ally, and what those creepy films that Graham call ‘art’, as he is always filming her. Determine to keep her sister safe from the sweet boy-next-door, past mistakes come up, as Syd sees how far Graham is willing to go for his art, and Ally is willing to accept that all for the boy she loves.
Thoughts:
With a title like Twisted Fate, there is going to be some juicy stuff going down. Sadly, Norah Olson missed the memo on how to write one. Olson made this book very easy to read, with a simple language, and a plot that keeps moving, so that in no time you will be at the end of the story and realise what the twisted fate was. Which, minor spoiler, is the very last page, and it was quite obvious, so do not go skipping ahead. But the ending, god the ending. Honestly, the English language needs a stronger word that trash. It was awful, so bad that at first, your brain does not register what you just read. Yet when the pieces start to click, you yell at Olson for what she did. Other than that it was a typical young adult romance novel, with the point of view from nine characters, some just once or twice, with the main two being Ally and Syd, and then a minor point of view was Graham. But the ending, in reality, it is hard to think about this book without thinking about the terrible ending.
Alison "Ally" Tate was the good girl. Straight from the L.L.Bean catalogue, Ally picked blueberries, worked at the town’s inn, baked muffins, and wore matching outfits with her mother, well, when she was around. Her father built boats, those big ones you see on Maine’s harbours, so he was not around much. With her mother trying to get noticed by the historical society ladies, Ally was left alone pretty much all the time. For Ally, she did not care, because she had Sydney. Syd was her younger sister, and where Ally loved her dearly, Syd was not what one would have considered a good girl. With her straight black hair, compared to Ally’s golden head, Syd was your typical tough girl, rebel without a cause. She smoked too much pot, got in trouble for her attitude, skateboarding in the hallways, and skipping class. But why go to class when you already know everything? Crazy smart, Syd slacks off because she can, and with absent parents, there is no reason not to. When their new neighbour moved in with their teenage son Graham, both sisters were interested. Ally saw Graham as the shy kid who was passionate about his art and wanted that boy-next-door kind of relationship. Syd saw him as the dude with the drug problem, popping pills that were ‘prescribed’ to him, who like her, was a rebel without the cause. With Syd’s friend just thinking Graham’s a little dim, Syd starts worrying about Ally, and what those creepy films that Graham call ‘art’, as he is always filming her. Determine to keep her sister safe from the sweet boy-next-door, past mistakes come up, as Syd sees how far Graham is willing to go for his art, and Ally is willing to accept that all for the boy she loves.
Thoughts:
With a title like Twisted Fate, there is going to be some juicy stuff going down. Sadly, Norah Olson missed the memo on how to write one. Olson made this book very easy to read, with a simple language, and a plot that keeps moving, so that in no time you will be at the end of the story and realise what the twisted fate was. Which, minor spoiler, is the very last page, and it was quite obvious, so do not go skipping ahead. But the ending, god the ending. Honestly, the English language needs a stronger word that trash. It was awful, so bad that at first, your brain does not register what you just read. Yet when the pieces start to click, you yell at Olson for what she did. Other than that it was a typical young adult romance novel, with the point of view from nine characters, some just once or twice, with the main two being Ally and Syd, and then a minor point of view was Graham. But the ending, in reality, it is hard to think about this book without thinking about the terrible ending.
mia_pinkerton's review
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
librarian_lisa's review
1.0
Maybe better for those that are not familiar with the trope that is this book's twist. I was able to figure it out about a quarter of the way through and even then some things didn't really add up. The characters were mostly flat and I'm not sure many of the perspectives used (seriously almost everyone mentioned at least got a chapter) added anything. Not great, not terrible. If you're in the mood for a quick read it may work, but there are many books with similar twists that do it better.
mavs's review
5.0
I can't see why people won't like this, maybe i loved this because is my first time reading something like it.
okay so I picked this waiting for some cliche love triangle, i was looking for something like that, I was so surprised to see it wasn't anything like that.
I feel like the movie déja vu, exactly the same feeling, so I came here to find some answers to that finale, and some lovely reader tried to explain it as best as she could and i think i get it.
It was meant to confuse the reader and that's it.
I will wait the author to answer the question "what happened?" because I still want to listen to what's the true.
okay so I picked this waiting for some cliche love triangle, i was looking for something like that, I was so surprised to see it wasn't anything like that.
I feel like the movie déja vu, exactly the same feeling, so I came here to find some answers to that finale, and some lovely reader tried to explain it as best as she could and i think i get it.
It was meant to confuse the reader and that's it.
I will wait the author to answer the question "what happened?" because I still want to listen to what's the true.
authorheatherw's review
3.0
Twisted Fate was one creepy book! For the most part, I liked the story of Sydney, Alyson and Graham and I was drawn into the complexities of their relationships with one another. However, there was a twist that I felt was a little unnecessary and took away some of my enjoyment of the novel.
Twisted Fate is told in multiple points of views with many of the chapters narrated by Sydney, Alyson and Graham. Sydney was the most relatable of the three. Graham’s chapters were seriously disturbing while Alyson’s chapters were strange and mostly about how happy she was about baking and having met Graham.
The pace was a little slow in the beginning, but as Graham’s mental state starts to unravel, the book became more interesting. His character made my skin crawl and I really hoped Sydney and Alyson would be able to get away from him.
One of the main problems I had with the book was the use of foreshadowing. A lot of the twists were easy to guess and it took away from the overall suspenseful feel of the novel. A few of the twists were a little over the top and I didn’t really felt like they were necessary to move the plot along. The conclusion wasn’t what I hoped for either.
Overall, Twisted Fate was interesting and had some unique plot elements. I’d recommend the book to mature teens who are looking for a contemporary psychological suspense novel.
Rating: 3/5 Stars
Thanks to the publisher for a copy of the novel for review!
Twisted Fate is told in multiple points of views with many of the chapters narrated by Sydney, Alyson and Graham. Sydney was the most relatable of the three. Graham’s chapters were seriously disturbing while Alyson’s chapters were strange and mostly about how happy she was about baking and having met Graham.
The pace was a little slow in the beginning, but as Graham’s mental state starts to unravel, the book became more interesting. His character made my skin crawl and I really hoped Sydney and Alyson would be able to get away from him.
One of the main problems I had with the book was the use of foreshadowing. A lot of the twists were easy to guess and it took away from the overall suspenseful feel of the novel. A few of the twists were a little over the top and I didn’t really felt like they were necessary to move the plot along. The conclusion wasn’t what I hoped for either.
Overall, Twisted Fate was interesting and had some unique plot elements. I’d recommend the book to mature teens who are looking for a contemporary psychological suspense novel.
Rating: 3/5 Stars
Thanks to the publisher for a copy of the novel for review!
library_brandy's review
2.0
Read this because a student asked me to, and I'd like to go back after break and be like "so I read this book, about a couple of sisters...."
Sydney Tate is one of the smartest kids in school, and also the biggest troublemaker. She smokes pot and skateboards everywhere. Meanwhile, her sister Allyson is the polite, well-mannered girl who bakes muffins all the time. They both notice the hot new boy who just moved in next door. Ally is totally into him. Syd thinks he's creepy. Boy makes weird documentary movies by wearing tiny cameras that people may or may not notice.
WARNING HERE BE SPOILERS
I think it was supposed to be a Wild Twist at the end, that Syd and Ally were the same person? Ally never mentioned friends, and the shifting perspective made it clear that the two were experiencing the same events in different ways. It was handled clumsily, though; sometimes Ally was completely ignored by third parties and sometimes she attempted interaction as part of the scene, or a second voice from Syd's mouth. Being the same person explains why others are confused when Syd mentions a sister, or when "Ally" introduces herself to someone. This is weird because the first chapter is Syd discussing how physically different the two are--Ally is blond, blue-eyed, and fair-skinned while Syd has dark curly hair, darker complexion, and a ton of freckles--freckles which are later mentioned as "we both have these freckles" so whatever.
I don't know why we switched to so many other perspectives--I get the dual perspectives of Syd and Ally, but I don't think we needed the very-occasional chapters from Creepy Kid's Stepmom, or Syd's best friends, or the school guidance counselor. They didn't add all that much.
Anyway. Predictable for me (since I've read a lot of this kind of story), though confusing for an 8th-grader.
Sydney Tate is one of the smartest kids in school, and also the biggest troublemaker. She smokes pot and skateboards everywhere. Meanwhile, her sister Allyson is the polite, well-mannered girl who bakes muffins all the time. They both notice the hot new boy who just moved in next door. Ally is totally into him. Syd thinks he's creepy. Boy makes weird documentary movies by wearing tiny cameras that people may or may not notice.
WARNING HERE BE SPOILERS
I don't know why we switched to so many other perspectives--I get the dual perspectives of Syd and Ally, but I don't think we needed the very-occasional chapters from Creepy Kid's Stepmom, or Syd's best friends, or the school guidance counselor. They didn't add all that much.
Anyway. Predictable for me (since I've read a lot of this kind of story), though confusing for an 8th-grader.