I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Twisted Fate by Norah Olson Published by Harper Collins on January 20th 2015
Genres: Young Adult, Social Issues, Death & Dying, Family, Siblings, Mysteries & Detective Stories, General
Pages: 272
Format: Paperback
Source: Publisher
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Two sisters. One mysterious boy.
Ally and Sydney couldn't be more different—one shy, the other popular and outgoing—and when a new boy moves in next door, tensions between the sisters escalate. Graham is attractive, peculiar, and perhaps a little dangerous, and both girls are drawn to him in ways they can't quite explain. As each girl's relationship with Graham unfolds, the more complicated the truth becomes—until a shocking encounter turns their sleepy coastal town upside down and questions everything the sisters thought they knew about themselves and each other.
Told in alternating points of view by a wide cast of characters, Twisted Fate is a tensely wrought psychological thriller, perfect for fans of We Were Liars by E. Lockhart.
I am such a contrary person. I mean, I will give chances to books that have been universally panned because what if I am the black sheep and I love that one book everyone hated and it becomes my new favorite book of all time. You guys, usually this is the wrong instinct. However, it is an instinct that caused me to give Twisted Fate by Norah Olson a chance. I’ll admit that the short length and the creepy subject matter really drew me to Olson’s young adult novel.
Twisted Fate is about two sisters. One is Sydney and the other is Ally. The two girls live with their parents – mom is a socialite and dad is a ship builder – in a rather large house in a good neighborhood. Their parents are super inattentive and neglectful to the point that it is remarked upon by other characters in Olson’s book. One day, a boy moves in next door. His name is Graham. Ally is attracted to him, but Sydney finds him creepy and weird. Through different viewpoints, the mystery surrounding Graham begins to unravel including a ‘gotcha’ sort of ending.
Sydney is sort of a badass. (Sidebar, I began typing with the capslock on about Sydney and it looked like shouting and I was like, how fitting, bold loud caps for a bold, loud character). Sydney smokes pot, she’s into skating. She’s too cool for school. She is practically a genius. She never has to study and is in the running for valedictorian. Yet, she is not a goody two shoes. Instead, she’s rebellious and have this devil may care attitude. She’s also not magically nice or anything. I quite liked how prickly her character was and looked forward to her chapters. I will say that I liked that she was mistrustful of Graham off the bat and did not end up finding him attractive or falling for him or anything.
As for Ally, she’s sort of a huge contrast to Sydney. The official goodreads summary describes Ally as looking like someone who has stepped out of an LL Bean catalogue and I will say that is an apt description. She is a bit bland and kind of shy. Ally bakes cookies and decides she wants to become friends with Graham, but also finds herself incredibly attracted to him. He convinces her to do a few sketchy things because he is always recording with his camera and yes, it is super creepy. Ally, though, does not see this. She’s kind of oblivious and keeps on trying to convince Sydney to be nice to Graham and ignore her instincts.
Unfortunately, I just could not get into the romance or the resolution of Twisted Fate. I am completely with Sydney, Graham is a creep. I do not understand Ally’s attraction except that he’s rich. Also, his actions lead to potential harm and danger for several characters, given that they do not consent to be on his camera. Furthermore, the scenes where Ally is into him made my skin crawl. I will say that the ending came out of left field and I really felt like I had the wool pulled over my eyes regarding these characters. I am the sort of reader who likes a twist to make sense and to be logical, but to me, it just seemed like there were quite a few plot holes in regards to the twist and I just cannot get behind that.
If anything, Norah Olson’s book will appeal to readers who enjoy surprise endings and big reveals about characters.Readers who like thrillers and books about siblings will also enjoy Twisted Fate.
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This was one of those books that I wanted to read, but then fell off my radar due to a lot of ppl saying it wasn’t that good. I am usually a black sheep when it comes to books that no one likes or everybody loves, so I don’t know why I even listen to stuff. But I like the way you described Sydney. I like badass characters and being Valedictorian and NOT being a goody-goody makes her sound a lot more appealing. Thanks for reviewing something DIFFERENT.
Really interesting cover… I like that one 🙂