Twisted

Twisted, by Laurie Halse Anderson, tells the story of Tyler Miller and his family as Tyler is about to begin his senior year of high school. Tyler has recently been punished with probation and community service after vandalizing school property. As part of his community service, he works with his high school’s maintenance crew to repair the very building he defaced.

Due to the physical labor he’s been doing over the summer, Tyler’s put on several pounds of muscle and his appearance has changed dramatically. Fellow students who never noticed him before are now interested in him, including Bethany Milbury, one of the prettiest and most popular girls in school, and a longtime crush of Tyler’s.

The weekend before the first day of school, Tyler and his family attend a barbecue at the Milburys. (Tyler’s father, Bill, is an employee of Bethany’s father, Brice.) Chip Milbury, Bethany’s twin brother, has an obvious disdain for Tyler. In an accident caused by Chip, Tyler falls and knocks Bethany down with him. Bethany ends up bearing the brunt of the injuries. Tyler and his family are mortified.

When school begins, Bethany sits with Tyler and Hannah, Tyler’s sister, in the lunchroom. She and Tyler begin a flirtation. In contrast to the bright spot of Bethany’s attention, Tyler’s grades are suffering and the situation at home is difficult. His mother has begun drinking heavily and his father is never home. We learn that Bill isn’t simply a workaholic: the company he works for, Mr. Milbury’s company, is also under federal investigation.

Meanwhile, Hannah, Tyler’s younger sister, begins dating Calvin (aka Yoda), Tyler’s best friend. One day, after school, Yoda is nowhere to be found. Tyler goes looking for him and hears his screams coming from the boys’ locker room. When Tyler enters, he sees five football players crowded around Yoda, who is tied down to the locker room bench. Tyler’s anger surges and now, big enough to fight back, he frightens off the bullies. Chip, Bethany’s brother, shows up and tries to intimidate Tyler, but both boys know Tyler can soundly beat Chip given the opportunity.

By Halloween, Bethany has been focusing more of her attention on Tyler. She asks him to accompany her to a party. At the party, as the night progresses, Bethany becomes more and more inebriated and Tyler grows concerned. They are about to have sex when Tyler decides he doesn’t want it to happen this way; he moves away from Bethany. She storms off and Tyler loses track of her.

Upon leaving the party, Tyler spots a drunk Chip behind the wheel of his Jeep. Tyler takes control of the situation and drives Chip and Bethany home, while Bethany makes out with Chip’s friend, Parker, in the backseat.

Hurt by Bethany’s actions, Tyler chastises her when he sees her in the hallway the next day. Later that night, Hannah shows Tyler a link to some photos of Bethany that were obviously taken at the party. Bethany appears to be passed out and partially naked. Tyler feels conflicted: he wants to protect her, but still feels hurt by her actions. By the end of the week, the rumor mill has determined that Tyler must have taken the photos and distributed them.

The police show up at the Miller household to question Tyler and accuse him of having a history of stalking Bethany. The police take Tyler’s computer to search it for the photos. Tyler’s father once again rails at him about how irresponsible and careless he is; Tyler’s mother tries to defend her son but grows tired and retreats. Mr. Miller grounds both Tyler and Hannah for going to the party.

After a few days of trying to avoid Bethany and lay low, Tyler and his parents meet with Principal Hughes. Hughes suggests that Tyler complete his work at school, but away from the other students, until the matter of the photos is resolved. Mr. Miller is amenable, but Mrs. Miller reminds Hughes that Tyler hasn’t been charged with a crime; she threatens to sue the school district for denying her son an adequate education. Tyler interrupts and offers to go along with Principal Hughes’ suggestion.

While segregated from the student body, Tyler finds it’s easier to concentrate on his work, and he even finds himself starting to enjoy some of it. His English teacher, Mr. Salvatore, stays after school to give him one-on-one tutoring as well as moral support. Tyler thanks Mr. Salvatore and just narrowly misses the late bus home. He begins to walk home and soon realizes he’s being followed. Three students exit the car they are in, cover Tyler’s head with a blanket, and beat him up. Just before fleeing, Chip, one of the assailants, says, “That’s what you get for hurting my sister, you perv” (183).

The next day, Tyler stays home to nurse his injuries. While the outward bruises aren’t that dramatic, he feels sore and despondent about where his life is going. He has often thought about suicide, but this time, and instead of just a thought, he decides on a plan. Tyler takes the keys he stole from Joe the janitor over the summer and goes to the roof of the school, carefully considering from which part of the building he should jump. Joe finds Tyler on the roof and encourages him to come back inside.

The next day is Tyler’s eighteenth birthday. He contemplates what it means to be eighteen and settles on a new plan: running away to Minnesota. He searches through his father’s room for money to fund his trip. He ends up taking out and loading his father’s gun. He contemplates how easy it would be to pull the trigger and end his life. He stands in front of his father’s mirror and places the barrel of the gun in his mouth but cannot bring himself to pull the trigger.

Tyler takes the gun and goes to Yoda’s house. He asks Yoda to drive him to the park, where Tyler dumps the gun and bullets into the lake. The next day, Tyler turns in all of his homework, apologizes to Joe the janitor for stealing keys from him, tells Principal Hughes he will be returning to regular classes, and changes his schedule to a more manageable one for the next semester. He then deposits a pink satin blanket in front of Chip in the lunchroom. We find out that it’s the blanket that Chip and his cronies placed over Tyler’s head when they beat him up. Tyler taunts Chip, but no one throws a punch.

When Tyler arrives home, he finds out that another student has been arrested for taking and distributing the photos of Bethany. The police officer returns Tyler’s computer. Mrs. Miller and Tyler are relieved, but circumspect. Just as they sit down to dinner, a drunk Mr. Miller crashes into the garage and storms inside. He faults Tyler for getting him fired and goes to his basement lair. Refusing to put up with his father’s abusive behavior any longer, Tyler gets his baseball bat and goes to the basement.

Mr. Miller threatens Tyler as usual, but Tyler snaps and tells his father to shut up. He raises the baseball bat over his head and smashes his father’s train set into pieces. Everyone falls silent. Tyler returns the money he took from his father and discloses first his plan of running away and then his plan of suicide by using his father’s gun. He indicates his father should clean up the broken train set.

Tyler spends the night at Yoda’s. When he returns home, his father says he didn’t sleep at all and tries to make amends. They go inside and eat breakfast, then end up consoling each other. They have a regular day wherein Bill does not retreat to the basement, which Tyler views as progress. Before bed, Tyler plays his video game and achieves the highest level. When the game asks if he wants to become Lord of Darkness or take his chances with reincarnation, he reveals only, “I chose wisely” (250).