Welcome to the July’s Teen Book Club! Since we can’t meet in the library, we thought that we would do a book club here on the blog. Participate by commenting below this post and start discussions with other teens. And there’s prizes!! Remember, 1 teen will win 1 Book Prize each week for a thoughtful comment in the monthly Teen Book Club.
For the month of July, let’s talk all about Teen Books with a great twist in the plot!
Some questions for you:
– Is there a book that had a twist that you did NOT see coming?
– Did the twist make sense, or did it ruin the story?
– Did your opinion of the book change after the twist?
– If you could, would you change the ending?
– Or, if you didn’t like the ending because of the twist, does the ending matter or is the book still great without the twist ending?
– At what point in the book did you have an idea what was going on? What was the key clue that gave it away?
One book that I did not see the twist was E. Lockhart’s – We Were Liars. I was really enjoying this coming of age story with a bit of a mystery, and I was honestly shocked by the twist. I don’t know if I saw it coming and I thoroughly reveled in the ending. If you’re looking for a good book this summer, We Were Liars is great!!
Oh there are maaaany… Red Queen, Heartless, any Agatha Christie mystery EVER, The Cruel Prince and Empire of Storms just to name a few. The ones I have here are all great plot twists that really added to the mystery and the effect the book had on me, but I definitely agree that sometimes plot twists can be bad for the story. Authors shouldn’t add plot twists that have absolutely no build-up just so they can feel as if they’ve outsmarted their readers. The plot twists that truly add to their books aren’t even always the most shocking, but they always make sense. They make the reader feel as if they should’ve seen that coming, yet still never did. That’s my two cents on the subject, and if you have another opinion, let me know!
Rosie, you are SO right that almost every Agatha Christie book has a twist ending! She is definitely a master at creating twists that you don’t see coming!! And yes, the only way a twist in the plot works is if it makes sense. If it doesn’t, it makes the book unsatisfying, right?
Oh wow! I missed this. There are so many books that have surprising twists, but one that I enjoyed was “Looking for Alaska” by John Green. The twist in this novel is heartbreaking; I almost half expected someone to suddenly come out and say that this was all just a joke. I had to reread the entire chapter to accept what was going on because I genuinely couldn’t believe what was happening. At first, nothing made sense to me, but then I realized, and it hit so hard. I had to put down the book because of all the emotions that were hitting me at once. Although, I think that this twist was a brilliant choice that the author made because it was so sudden, and it triggered my curiosity so much that I couldn’t stop reading. However, I wouldn’t change the ending if I had the power to do so because I believe that the end allows the reader to ponder about the plot and the meaning behind each action of the character. Overall, this book was well written, and I believe that it uses bizarre strategies to keep the reader interested.
Hi Max, Looking for Alaska is a GREAT example of a twisty plot that you don’t see coming! That book is so heartbreaking on so many levels and I agree with you that you think about the characters and what happened to them after you’ve finished the book.
In my opinion: a good plot twist should surprise readers and make them say “I should have seen that!” NOT: “Wait, are you serious?” An author’s job isn’t to cheat the reader, and I don’t appreciate plot twists added just for shock value. I’m sure there are many good examples of plot twists (All Your Twisted Secrets by Diana Urban and Genuine Fraud, also by E. Lockhart are WONDERFULLL!!), but one plot twist that made me unreasonably angry: This Story Is A Lie. Maybe there were a few pointers that I should have noticed (the title, for one…) but it ruined the whole story for me. Good plot twists are hard to write, but they make a story that much better! Happy reading 🙂
TRUE!
Inshal, I COMPLETELY agree! I do not like plot twists that are there just to shock the reader. When that happens, it always pulls me out of the book and almost makes me want to put it down. I will have to read All Your Twisted Secrets! I haven’t tried that one yet. Thanks for the suggestion!
A recent one I read with amazing twists is the Nameless Queen. There were so many yet it managed to still keep everything thing fresh and hold my attention that I finished it in only one day. One of them basically destroyed me when I first finished it only to have another one right after, that I was so thankful for. As at that point I had already connected with the character and I was literally crying so hard. Often books that has astonishing twists, I could read it over and over again and yet never except it and still tear my emotions apart every time I get to it. The plot twists I enjoy the most are the ones that don’t confuse me and come out of no where, instead it connects the points and the behavior/emotions that the character had previously showed. However, some twists just didn’t have enough foundation or it was really cliche. Like the stories that end with the character waking up and say its all a dream; I remember one year my teacher got so tired of it she banned us from using it, and if we did she would deduct points.
Hi Alina,
I haven’t read The Nameless Queen yet, but it is on my list. I agree with you that some twists are cliche, and understand why your teacher would be tired of reading stories that end in a dream! It feels a cop out when a book ends that way.