Monday, September 05, 2011

REVIEW: Pretty Twisted by Gina Blaxill

I wasn't sure what to make of Pretty Twisted by Gina Blaxhill when it arrived. I hadn't heard of the book before and came to the story pretty free of information about it. I must say that I was slightly wary of this book before I started. Because as the reader we're not aware of just how twisted this book gets, I think I had built up in my mind a very horrible situation and all of that worry and build-up made me feel slightly heavy when it came to approaching this book.

Surprisingly though, Pretty Twisted by Gina Blaxill is a very quick and readable book. Despite some of the more serious issues, it didn't feel heavy to me when I was reading it. The story is told from two different viewpoints. The first from Jonathan, a 16 year old boy who is trying to adjust to life in a new school environment without the security blanket of his girlfriend, Freya, who has gone off to school in London.

We also see the story from Ros's perspective, a 14 year old girl, who begins chatting to Jonathan over the Internet. The two begin talking about life and music and Ros develops feelings for Jonathan and lies quite a bit about her age and appearance in order to impress him. Jonathan and Ros meet up rather unexpectedly, after Jonathan's girlfriend, Freya, goes missing.

I don't know. While the story is interesting, I just didn't find myself warming up to either main character. I did enjoy the many twists along the way in terms of what happened between Jonathan and Freya, as well as the mystery that surrounds Freya's disappearance, and I liked discovering the secrets that Ros in particular has been concealing. But I think if I'd had more of an emotional connection to either main character I would have cared more about what happened to the three of them.

I was afraid that this book would be all about the dangers and risks that are involved in meeting people online, but thankfully the author does allow us a more balanced view as some good has come out of it as well. As I met my husband online, as well as one of our closest friends, I'm quite keen on books that show the other side as well.

9 comments:

  1. Fantastic review! This sounds an interesting read.

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  2. Zoe - Thank you! And it is :)

    Jenni - It is pretty interesting!

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  3. I like that this has a more balanced view of the internet - I have to admit I tend to skip over most books about internet safety etc. etc. because so many are about the same thing. It's a shame about the characters, but the story definitely does sound interesting. Great review!

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  4. What a great review. Sounds like a really interesting read. Thank you x

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  5. Liz - It is a really interesting story and it does get rather twisted in there :)

    Susan - Thank you, it is a pretty interesting story!

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  6. i really enjoyed this one especially as it was set in norfolk!

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  7. its a shame you didnt like this one too much cos its been on my wishlist for ever!
    I will still check it out but Im glad it was still really interesting and not all doom and gloom!

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  8. Kirsty - Was it? I hadn't even noticed, but I think I'd definitely enjoy a book more if it was set in a location I was familiar with!

    Raimy - I didn't connect with the characters, but I didn't not enjoy it, if that makes sense!

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