One pint-sized girl. Ten supersized crises. And it’s high noon.
They call her “Twigs,” because she’ll never hit five feet tall. Although she was born early, and a stiff breeze could knock her over, Twigs has a mighty spirit. She needs it, as life throws a whole bucket of rotten luck at her: Dad’s an absentee drunk; Mom’s obsessed with her new deaf boyfriend (and Twigs can’t tell what they’re saying to each other). Little sister Marlee is trying to date her way through the entire high school; Twigs’ true love may be a long-distance loser after a single week away at college, and suddenly, older brother Matt is missing in Iraq. It all comes together when a couple of thugs in a drugstore aisle lash out, and Twigs must fight to save the life of the father who denied her.
I would be lying if I said this book wasn’t more than just an extreme page turner. Twigs encompasses what it means to have hope despite the odds, sticking it out with loved ones through thick and thin, knowing when and how to forgive and acknowledging when it’s time to let go all in one absolutely touching novel.
Twigs isn’t even five feet tall and even though her height is thought to be her primary obstacle in her hectic life, many other issues prove to be worthy contenders. There’s the heart breaking realization that she might just be to blame for her father’s over-indulgence in alcohol and his absence at home. And then there’s the fact that she can’t follow her long time boyfriend, Brady, to Duncan University due to her sucky grades and -ofcourse- her family’s below average cash flow. But things all change when she comes across the sporadic and equally depressed, Mrs. Helen Raymond who adds colour to Twigs’ life in more ways than one.
I enjoyed every bit of this novel. From the moment Twigs decides to start using Madeline (her given name) to the part where she rams Helen’s husband with his own car due to Helen’s egging till the moment she has to confront a troubled kid with a butcher’s knife.
I really felt Twigs’ pain when she felt as if everybody was leaving her behind and moving on with their lives. I was equally embarrassed with her when she went to visit Brady at Duncan University and things didn’t go as well as she’d hoped it would. I was smiling like an idiot in the corner of my school’s library when Twigs tried to brighten up the “near-dead” elders in the old age home Helen worked at by dancing with a man so well on in age that he appeared to have no jaw.
Regardless of the happy sappy moments in this novel that made it such an emotional read, there were some issues that really got me riled up at times; when Twigs’ father stayed away from all his children just because he found out the truth about Twigs. I mean, okay, sure, it’s totally understandable that after finding out such a fact about someone you’ve known since they were born can be devastating but to leave the rest of your children and wife because of it? Nope. Totally not cool. Then there’s the time that Twigs visited Brady at his dorm and couldn’t stand his “charming” roommate among Brady’s other new friends. While I understand that she would feel awkward hanging around the college version of Brady after all that’s happening in her life, it’s so not okay to take it out on Lee – Brady’s roommate. From his introduction, Lee was nothing but a ball of energy and accommodating towards Twigs. But still, it was quite funny when she busted his tooth in a fit of pent up anger.
But the highlight of Twigs was the relationship Twigs shared with her brother, Matt. Throughout the novel, readers are kept on edge when Matt (a character that was absent for most of the story) is said to be Missing In Action (MIA) and Twigs is left wondering if he’s alive and working with the Iraqis or lying dead somewhere close to his base. And it was literally a relief when they eventually found him.
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For a debut novel, Alison Ashley Formento really does a great job in knitting together a heart-wrenching and emotional read that perfectly portrays the trials a young girl has to go through to figure out who she really is and where she fits in this crazy world.
Rating: 8/10
Book Info:
Publisher: Merit Press (September 18, 2013)
Length: 272 pages (Hardcover)
Series: N/A
Source: ARC (Provided by Publisher)
Genre: Teens & YA
Completed: September 2013
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