I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Olivia Twisted by Vivi Barnes Published by Entangled Teen on November 5, 2013
Pages: 352
Source: the publisher
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Olivia
He tilts my chin up so my eyes meet his, his thumb brushing lightly across my lips. I close my eyes. I know Z is trouble. I know that being with him is going to get me into trouble. I don’t care.
At least at this moment, I don’t care.
Tossed from foster home to foster home, Olivia’s seen a lot in her sixteen years. She’s hardened, sure, though mostly just wants to fly under the radar until graduation. But her natural ability with computers catches the eye of Z, a mysterious guy at her new school. Soon, Z has brought Liv into his team of hacker elite—break into a few bank accounts, and voila, he drives a motorcycle. Follow his lead, and Olivia might even be able to escape from her oppressive foster parents. As Olivia and Z grow closer, though, so does the watchful eye of Bill Sykes, Z’s boss. And he’s got bigger plans for Liv…
Z
I can picture Liv’s face: wide-eyed, trusting. Her smooth lips that taste like strawberry Fanta.
It was just a kiss. That’s all. She’s just like any other girl.
Except that she’s not.
Thanks to Z, Olivia’s about to get twisted.
Olivia Twisted was an intriguing and imaginative modern re-telling of Oliver Twist.
In the beginning, Olivia was withdrawn, for obvious reasons. Throughout the novel, though, she grows into a strong character, able to say no and stand up for herself. There aren’t enough strong female heroine’s in YA, so I loved that Olivia was strong, with a mind of her own. There’s no insta-love with Z, which was refreshing. She was attracted to him, yes, but she didn’t fall all over him. The build-up was slow and realistic. Honestly, Olivia and Z felt like the most believable, realistic YA couple I’ve seen in a long time.
I was not a fan of Z in the beginning. He was too cocky, too full of himself. But throughout the novel, he showed signs of the person he was underneath all that. He had moments of vulnerability that softened me to him, made me like him more. He was like Olivia’s Knight in Shining Armor at certain moments, and I loved how protective he was of her.
I was really suspicious of Olivia’s foster parents right from the beginning. But it was nothing like I expected. I was actually pretty caught off guard by what happened with them. On the flip side, a character I really loved was Sam. She was so fun and easy-going with Olivia, yet so hardened around Z. She had a kind of competitive rivalry with him that almost reminded me of sibling rivalry. It was an interesting dynamic. She always seemed kind of young and vulnerable, despite her tough-as-nails exterior.
The ending was very intriguing. Not only was it not what I expected, but it also broke some YA stereotypes. It wasn’t a cliche happily ever after. I don’t want to spoil it, so I won’t go into further detail. But it was one of my top five favorite endings to a YA novel.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I loved Olivia, I loved the relationship that she builds with Z and I love how realistic and non-cliche it was. I loved that it broke some of the YA stereotypes. I would absolutely recommend this book to others!