Twisted by Laurie Halse

This book disturbed me because of the extremely dysfunctional family portrayed in it. It's hard to like the father, and the mother is a wimp. I could have done without the frequent references to him attempting to control his sexual thoughts and his bodily reactions, and I hope that the description of the drinking and sexual activity at the high school Homecoming party was exaggerated (I'm afraid it probably wasn't, though). The most troubling part of the book is when the main character, a high school boy, flirts with suicide. At one point, he sneaks into his father's room, steals his father's gun, loads it and puts the barrel into his mouth. Even though the book was told in first person (how could he die, then???), my heart was pounding as I read it. I really thought he was going to kill himself. He doesn't. A high school student or a mature 8th grader might enjoy this book--if topics like date rape and suicide are "enjoyable."