Highschoolers Charlie Matthews, his stepbrother Martin, and Sharon Collins win a contest to play an interactive medieval game as the avatars of their favorite characters. Their mission: fight off the monsters, storm the castle, and capture the evil king.
But things go terribly wrong. Charlie is dismayed to discover he is Angella of Avernon, the lead female character in the game. Fortunately, she's the most powerful avatar around, but he also finds out that he, Martin, and Sharon have been infected with a virus that will kill them outside the game, so they have to stay inside the scenario.
Trapped and beset on all sides, Charlie has to deal with the sexism of the characters circa 1430, his stepbrother's distaste for his female form, and his feelings about becoming a woman. In addition to fighting off the various monsters within the scenario, Charlie tries to fight his attraction to Sharon...and then realizes Sharon is attracted to him, which makes it all the more confusing.
When the deadly opponents in the game get the upper hand, Charlie must summon all of his love and courage to save the day and rescue Sharon. Will he understand that love is where you find it and that the gender of the one you love doesn't matter at all?
J.S. Frankel was born in Toronto, Canada, many moons ago and managed to scrape through high school and university, earning a BA in English Literature and leaving no book unopened during his time at the University of Toronto. Shortly after graduation, he moved to Japan in order to teach English to the hapless residents of whichever city he happened to be living at the time.
In 1997, he married the charming Akiko Koike and their union produced two rather interesting children. Frankel and his family make their home in Osaka where he teaches during the day and attempts to write YA fiction at night.
J.S. Frankel’s Twisted is nothing like I expected (in the best way possible). And as an author of LGBTQ contemporary fiction—lately my focus has been on writing books featuring transgender characters—I never thought of presenting gender identity using the truly original approach I found in Twisted. So, my hat’s off to J.S. Frankel for pulling the proverbial “gender identity rug” out from beneath the feet of this prolific LGBTQ contemporary fiction author.
I don’t want to spoil the plot of Twisted by outlining specifically what happens because a necessary shock factor exists that serves to bring you crashing into the story. All I will say about storyline is that it deals with the contemporary life of three teenagers, interwoven with the plot of a high action and adventure video game. (This A&A aspect of the story will appeal to YA and upper Middle Grade readers, both boys and girls.) Including the technical descriptions that gamers of all ages will greatly appreciate, the language is appropriate for those eleven and older.
In terms of theme, most notable in Twisted is the concept of walking a mile in another person’s shoes (and skirt), in order to best understand his or her life experiences. Frankel focuses partially on bullying, but mainly examines gender stereotypes of which we are all aware. When genders are confused in the beginning of the story, Frankel uses humor (girls don’t sweat, they glow) to illustrate how a teenage boy is able to get a very close up look at what it means to be a teenage girl. Through the first person narrative of his main character, the author explores longstanding assumptions with which boys perceive girls, and debunks the most common misunderstandings. Among the topics Frankel examines are strength, fashion, sensitivity, attraction, and beauty. He also provides his main character with a huge dose of real-life, physical symptoms of what it is to be female.
Frankel’s examination of gender in Twisted leads the reader to ask important questions: Do men and women think in the same way? Is a person’s masculinity and femininity a product of nature or nurture? Are men in any way superior to women? Should there be specific roles meant for each gender? Perhaps the greatest revelation in Twisted is the convincing argument that within every person is a paradox of strength and weakness, of bravery and fear, of softness and hardness—it is not as simple as being male or female.
Ultimately, through the use of a complicated gaming system, scientific situations (that Frankel possesses a certain genius merely to conceive of), and an honest depiction of what it is to be a teenager—all delivered with appropriate teenage humor that adults will enjoy, as well—J.S. Frankel reveals attitudes toward gender identity that ultimately help his characters to determine right and wrong.
Twisted is the ultimate LOVE IS LOVE story, and one appropriately designed for teen readers. Once Frankel’s characters establish that true identity is neither male nor female, and that self-acceptance is based on one’s personal reality, they learn that love is where you can find it, and it really is that simple. I highly recommend J.S. Frankel’s novel, Twisted, for teen and YA readers.
Charlie is a normal guy, who just wants to keep his adopted brother safe from bullies and find a nice girl to love. When he and his brother are trapped in a video game with a female gamer, things get interesting especially because Charlie’s in-game avatar is a girl too.
Frankel explores sexuality and gender identity through Charlie’s eyes. He goes from buff jock to asskicking female warrior, albeit with a few bumps along the way. The storyline isn’t bogged down by his inner monologue and the changes in both Charlie’s way of thinking and the way the others relate to him is very gradual and organic.
The main story is their struggle to survive and beat the scenario which includes bloodthirsty monsters, inhospitable territory, and a bad guy that I was cheering to get exactly what he had coming to him.
Disclaimer: I'm somewhat deviating from my usual rating system and rounding this up to a 4-star review, even though it's closer to a 3.5.
First off, I love the concept: high school boy gets trapped in a game--with the avatar of. .girl.
Which is, you know. Bad. Because it's totally okay to want to, you know, get one of the girls to achieve a higher social rank and whatnot, but being one? Having to put up with the crap that society throws your way?
Definitely not.
And yet, Charlie has no choice. He's Angella of Avernon, along with his adopted brother Martin, and Sharon, whose avatar is Marion. Throughout their adventures, Charlie has to come to grips with this new (alter) reality and try to understand what it means to be a woman, and if it really has to be such a big deal. His attitude's something along the lines of "well, hey, I'm a guy, but I'm sort of a girl, and this is a screwed-up gender bender, and whoa, does that make me a lesbian if I like Sharon, and what about if she likes me back, and what am I going to have to do now with all these traditional gender roles and--wait, I'm confused."
And you start to wonder: is there really that much disparity between genders? Do men have to always be the big, muscular jocks in an attempt to constantly assert their masculinity? Do women always have to remain subdued and feminine? In fact, why the big deal about men and women being so different--just why has the patriarchal society consistently demeaned women throughout the ages?
Charlie wonders about all this. And when he starts to realize that he's still Angella and Sharon/Marion's really attractive, maybe it doesn't matter so much. Maybe gender isn't the determining factor. Maybe it's loving who you love, your gender and the other's gender notwithstanding. And, even though it's not quite the happy ending, there is a sense of finality. All isn't right the world, things are bittersweet, but there is love.
Now, for a few issues:
* I felt that Charlie would have worked better as a 14- or 15-year old. His voice didn't quite sound that old and didn't always mesh right. But, to be fair, I'm picky when it comes to reading and tend to prefer deeper, more introspective books, as long as they don't border on inane pretentiousness. * Some of the descriptions felt a bit off to me--either they were a series of adjectives (particularly when describing a person), or they felt a little lacking at times (I'm thinking mostly during some of the battle scenes.) * The climax felt a little deus ex machina--and no, I won't spoil it. After re-reading it, I suppose I could see how it might have played out that way, but it did leave something lacking.
That said, this was a good, quick read with an interesting hook that dealt with some very important issues for the YA audience.
***I received a free copy in exchange for a review***
I loved this book that was packed with adventure. Imagine being stuck in a computer game as a gravatar. Not only that–but things aren’t quite as they seem. You thought the same rules applied, but after awhile, you discover there’s a computer virus that changes the game. Upping the stakes! This is what the three main characters Charlie, Martin, and Sharon went through.
They won the Hummel Corporation’s contest. Travianna was a popular computer game, so of course, the teens didn’t hesitate to be a part of the simulation. Their foreheads being taped with wires as their progress was monitored reminded me of The Matrix.
My favorite lines: 1) “Something in his eyes clicked, changed, went dark–and became evil.” 2) “It figured. Martin had the social skills of a donut hole.” 3) “Clearly, she liked me, and…I was a woman now.” 4) “He stopped in his tracks and his face held a mix of regret and acceptance.”
J.S. Frankel had an amazing talent with dialogue and overall tone of the story. Charlie’s first person point-of-view was used. I liked hearing his ups and downs, his fears and concerns as he tried to put on a brave face for his brother Martin and his crush Sharon. He was the only person who blacked out a couple of times in the game and was able to enter the real world. He had to hear the tragic news that the computer virus was making them sick. I couldn’t even imagine…The body language was great in painting the full picture.
The author was also great with description in the scenes. I enjoyed the tension between the teenagers, especially when danger approached. Martin couldn’t quite grasp that his brother was turned into a woman. He always had snarky comments, but later readers found out that he had a crush on Sharon. I enjoyed her feisty attitude. She didn’t take anyone’s bullcrap. I liked how Sharon and Charlie’s friendship developed slowly into something more. He was confused because in his mind he was still the same Charlie, but his physical appearance showed something different.
The ending was bittersweet. I felt for all parties involved. The Hummel’s were being investigated by the police for an accident, the parents were losing their children, and the children were trapped in the game. Can they make it out alive? You’ll have to read to find out.
Yet another fantastic book by J. S. Frankel. I loved the universe, very similar to the one in Death Bytes, but with a different concept this time. Whereas Sam from Death Bytes enters the virtual reality to save his spirit from death, inevitable because of a terminal disease that would lead to the perish of his body, Charlie from Twisted enters the virtual reality thinking he was just testing a beta version of a game only to end up losing his physical body due to a computer virus. So, two totally different concepts despite the similarity in the universe.
What I loved most about the book was the fact that the author puts under scrutiny the very difficult subject of sexual discrimination in a manner very accessible to young readers. This will definitely make you ponder on some social aspects people usually forget to teach their children about. I'm referring to the view society has on women and on gay people. These are things people should learn from young ages, which is why I believe this is the kind of book every teenager and parent should read.
Basically, through Twisted, J.S. Frankel takes you on an absolutely fantastic journey through the human psych itself.
This story was very different from my usual book, but it was incredible. Anyone who is into computers or loves sci-fi would enjoy this book. The idea of computers becoming more interactive isn’t new, but this story takes it into a new level. Most teens who love electronic games would be as excited as Martin and Sharon while Charlie was the only one who was concerned about what could happen. As the story unfolded, the characters dwelt with: dangerous non-human creatures, medieval society, a mainframe computer out of control, and their own shortcomings. Charlie was given the surprise of his life when his avatar was female opening a whole slew of complications he never imagined and his only guide for him was Sharon. From the start, I could take my attention away until the surprise ending that shouldn’t be missed!
This is a YA book. I have rounded up by 3 1/2 star rating.
This book takes an innovative look at gender roles, the concept of nature vs. nurture as well as same sex attractions. The relationship between Sharon and Charlie is sweet. Both characters understand that they are attracted to each other as people, but the idea of them both being female is new and confusing. This is not a typical romance. As a matter of fact, the romance is a subplot of the story. This is a twisted adventure where the young characters are forced to go outside their comfort zones, face deadly obstacles and prejudices and try to survive in the process.
First of all, in regard to JS' joke at the beginning of the review for "Dancing Between the Waves," I actually only promised to read his book in return. The rating was his choice. (Seriously, J--the tuition thing, again? How about I treat you & your wife to coffee instead, hm?)
NOW...let's get to the good stuff, because this is a great freakin' book. You've got humor, action, horror, and throughout all this, you have the ups and downs of human relationships. (J's books often start inside the mundanities of normal, everyday life before picking up; it's a slow build, and worth the wait.)
To start, a boy and his adopted brother are excited, looking forward to testing out a kind of virtual reality game where their consciousness actually resides within the created medieval game. (Tron-esque, but with considerably better graphics and backstory.) The third member of their party is a teenaged girl.
And yes; Hijinks are about to ensue. Because there is a dangerous glitch, a virus that will threaten their bodies in the physical word, too. They are pitched into their favorite gameworld. And one of the boys has become a female chracter. But it's just fantasy, right? Perhaps.
Walk a mile in another's moccasins, if you want to know their sorrows. Truer words were never spoken. The boy inhabiting the female avatar gets to learn all about the good and the bad. And love is love. I don't wish to give too many spoilers. But I will say this: there is a lot of humor and character growth here, but there is also considerable tragedy and loss.
And I do not think the ending will be what you expect it to be. Much deeper than most novels aimed at younger readers. A very good read.
(Yes, J...I'll be happy to get you two muffins with your coffee.)
This is my first book by J.S. Frankel, and though I don't usually pick up young adult fiction, I've found a few lately that are well done. Twisted is one of those. Frankel has written a fast-paced adventure about three students who win a contest to play in an interactive game. It all sounds exciting until everything goes wrong, and Charlie Mathews finds himself trapped in a girl's body. Not just any girl, but Angella of Avernon, who is the main character in the game. Charlie not only has to deal with his new body and everything that goes with it, but he and the other two high schools must fight monsters like the Graggon: "Now more tentacles smashed into the hull. Both masts fell and nearly smashed me in the process. My hands found a splinter of wood and I stabbed one of the monster's slimy tentacles." or "...rocks magically stacked themselves one on top of another until they formed a gigantic figure, a rock monolith, and it took a step toward our position." Frankel had well-fleshed-out characters and a solid, well-thought-out plot line. Twisted has many twists, for sure, and Frankel did an excellent job at building tension within each chapter, keeping the reader locked on. Four stars for this unique read.
I read the sample, but didn't buy the book. I loved the concept, but the theme of gender-equality, etc came across as heavy-handed and almost preachy instead of natural. Also I prefer books written in deep POV and these characters felt like they were just there to get a message across rather than being fully-fleshed out individuals. I may have continued reading it if I didn't have 200 other books on my TBR pile.