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A review by ihateprozac
Twisted by Sara Shepard
5.0
Some people mentioned in their reviews of Twisted that the story is far-fetched, and my response to that is twofold: a) This is Pretty Little Liars we're talking about, what part of the evil twin switcharoo wasn't far-fetched? And b) I don't care, because I really really really enjoy this far-fetched nonsense. :D
Some people have also expressed concern over how and why Shepard would continue the series beyond the 8th book. Yes, it appears to be a ploy for money and capitalising on the success of the TV show, but Wanted left the door open for Ali to continue to plague others. The secrets were revealed, but Ali's "death" was deliberately left open-ended.
I'm glad Shepard's continued the series so I can continue to get my fix of A, and the series finale was open to the point where it wouldn't be overly strange to continue the tale - unlike [a:L.J. Smith|50873|L.J. Smith|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1266517290p2/50873.jpg]'s Vampire Diaries series, which was (badly) resurrected 12 years after the plot arc finished and is an obvious grab for money.
Ranty rant aside, now onto the review!
***TL;DR SPOILERY PLOT OVERVIEW***
It's been a year since the fiery showdown with Ali/Courtney/whoevenknowsanymore in the Poconos, and the Pretty Little Liars girls are struggling to get on with their lives. This is Pretty Little Liars though, so of course Sara Shepard isn't going to let that happen! Aria is threatened by a boyfriend-stealing conniving Finnish exchange student; Spencer has a new step-family, who hate her after revealing their son is gay; Hanna was conned into taking raunchy photos that could ruin her dad's political campaign; and Emily is not only hiding the fact that she had a baby over the summer, but is being groped by her new friend's father.
And if that wasn't enough to contend with, the girls begin to receive new notes from A. Although Ali didn't die in the fire, the girls thought they'd seen the last of her after an ill-fated trip to Jamaica. The girls are introduced to Tabitha, a blonde girl covered in burn scars who mimics Ali's every mannerism and appears to know their deepest darkest secrets. They're locked in a struggle when Tabitha lures them to a rooftop bar, where Aria pushes her off the cliff and kills her.
....Or so we're led to believe. The girls are convinced she was Ali, until they begin to receive notes from A and experience haunting traces of Ali everywhere. The big cliffhanger then comes in the form of a news bulletin: the body of a young girl has been discovered in Jamaican seaside caves and identified by her parents as the body of Tabitha. This sends the girls reeling: they killed an innocent girl.
****END SPOILERY PLOT OVERVIEW****
The storyline may be ridiculously far-fetched, but I don't love it any less. I love how there are always 3 layers to the PLL story: the girls not only have to deal with notes from A, but A may or not be Ali who is trying to kill them. Then they also have to deal with crazy individual drama that threatens to destroy their lives and that they can't tell anyone about. My own life isn't half as riveting or terrifying, so I was constantly on the edge of my seat!
I really felt for each girl, my heart sinking along with theirs. I predicted that Klaudia spoke perfect English and was secretly an evil bitch, but I wasn't any less horrified when she confronted Aria with her plan. I figured the photographer would be a creep, but I felt Hanna's stress in trying to shut him up. I was even more stressed over Emily, who not only has to deal with the advances by her friend's father, but also might lose everything if said friend chooses to reveal Emily's extracurricular activities during the Summer.
I felt the most for Spencer, she can never get a break when it comes to family! Her biological family treats her like absolute shit, then they break up. She gets a new step family with a super hot charismatic stepbrother, but accidentally "outs" him when he's beaten by his abusive father. Now both stepfather and stepbrother hate her with every fibre of their being, right when they're about to move in to the Hastings House.
I really loved the whole "Jamaica Thing" which was not unlike The Jenna Thing. From the beginning I predicted that the girls had accidentally killed someone on their holiday, because it was the only thing that could've driven them apart so quickly. Sara Shepard is a cruel mistress though, feeding the reader only the tiniest snippets until she's ready for them to know the whole story. Though I knew the basics of what had happened, I couldn't stop reading until I knew the details.
And now that I know, I really don't know what to think! Before the discovery of Tabitha's body I'd figured that Ali was just one of those crazy horror movie psychos that refuses to die. Then the body was discovered, positively identified, and I'm back to square one. The only explanation I have now is the most far-fetched one yet: Ali befriended Tabitha, killed her, and got reconstructive surgery to look like her somewhere along the line. And now she's one of those horror movie psychos who refuses to die. Hey, I told you it was far-fetched!
Overall: If you're annoyed that Sara Shepard continued the series or don't see how she could've, just suspend all disbelief and roll with it. The story is incredibly far-fetched, but hey, so was the Ali/Courtney evil twin switcharoo! Fans of the series will enjoy hearing from the girls and A again, and the drama is as juicy as always. There are twists and turns and when you finish the book you won't know which way is up.
Some people have also expressed concern over how and why Shepard would continue the series beyond the 8th book. Yes, it appears to be a ploy for money and capitalising on the success of the TV show, but Wanted left the door open for Ali to continue to plague others. The secrets were revealed, but Ali's "death" was deliberately left open-ended.
I'm glad Shepard's continued the series so I can continue to get my fix of A, and the series finale was open to the point where it wouldn't be overly strange to continue the tale - unlike [a:L.J. Smith|50873|L.J. Smith|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1266517290p2/50873.jpg]'s Vampire Diaries series, which was (badly) resurrected 12 years after the plot arc finished and is an obvious grab for money.
Ranty rant aside, now onto the review!
***TL;DR SPOILERY PLOT OVERVIEW***
It's been a year since the fiery showdown with Ali/Courtney/whoevenknowsanymore in the Poconos, and the Pretty Little Liars girls are struggling to get on with their lives. This is Pretty Little Liars though, so of course Sara Shepard isn't going to let that happen! Aria is threatened by a boyfriend-stealing conniving Finnish exchange student; Spencer has a new step-family, who hate her after revealing their son is gay; Hanna was conned into taking raunchy photos that could ruin her dad's political campaign; and Emily is not only hiding the fact that she had a baby over the summer, but is being groped by her new friend's father.
And if that wasn't enough to contend with, the girls begin to receive new notes from A. Although Ali didn't die in the fire, the girls thought they'd seen the last of her after an ill-fated trip to Jamaica. The girls are introduced to Tabitha, a blonde girl covered in burn scars who mimics Ali's every mannerism and appears to know their deepest darkest secrets. They're locked in a struggle when Tabitha lures them to a rooftop bar, where Aria pushes her off the cliff and kills her.
....Or so we're led to believe. The girls are convinced she was Ali, until they begin to receive notes from A and experience haunting traces of Ali everywhere. The big cliffhanger then comes in the form of a news bulletin: the body of a young girl has been discovered in Jamaican seaside caves and identified by her parents as the body of Tabitha. This sends the girls reeling: they killed an innocent girl.
****END SPOILERY PLOT OVERVIEW****
The storyline may be ridiculously far-fetched, but I don't love it any less. I love how there are always 3 layers to the PLL story: the girls not only have to deal with notes from A, but A may or not be Ali who is trying to kill them. Then they also have to deal with crazy individual drama that threatens to destroy their lives and that they can't tell anyone about. My own life isn't half as riveting or terrifying, so I was constantly on the edge of my seat!
I really felt for each girl, my heart sinking along with theirs. I predicted that Klaudia spoke perfect English and was secretly an evil bitch, but I wasn't any less horrified when she confronted Aria with her plan. I figured the photographer would be a creep, but I felt Hanna's stress in trying to shut him up. I was even more stressed over Emily, who not only has to deal with the advances by her friend's father, but also might lose everything if said friend chooses to reveal Emily's extracurricular activities during the Summer.
I felt the most for Spencer, she can never get a break when it comes to family! Her biological family treats her like absolute shit, then they break up. She gets a new step family with a super hot charismatic stepbrother, but accidentally "outs" him when he's beaten by his abusive father. Now both stepfather and stepbrother hate her with every fibre of their being, right when they're about to move in to the Hastings House.
I really loved the whole "Jamaica Thing" which was not unlike The Jenna Thing. From the beginning I predicted that the girls had accidentally killed someone on their holiday, because it was the only thing that could've driven them apart so quickly. Sara Shepard is a cruel mistress though, feeding the reader only the tiniest snippets until she's ready for them to know the whole story. Though I knew the basics of what had happened, I couldn't stop reading until I knew the details.
And now that I know, I really don't know what to think! Before the discovery of Tabitha's body I'd figured that Ali was just one of those crazy horror movie psychos that refuses to die. Then the body was discovered, positively identified, and I'm back to square one. The only explanation I have now is the most far-fetched one yet: Ali befriended Tabitha, killed her, and got reconstructive surgery to look like her somewhere along the line. And now she's one of those horror movie psychos who refuses to die. Hey, I told you it was far-fetched!
Overall: If you're annoyed that Sara Shepard continued the series or don't see how she could've, just suspend all disbelief and roll with it. The story is incredibly far-fetched, but hey, so was the Ali/Courtney evil twin switcharoo! Fans of the series will enjoy hearing from the girls and A again, and the drama is as juicy as always. There are twists and turns and when you finish the book you won't know which way is up.