I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t a bit lost for words when I finished the last page of this book. All Your Twisted Secrets by Diana Urban is centered around six high school seniors who are trapped inside a locked room and attempting to get out of their situation. Except… there’s also a syringe supposedly containing a deadly chemical and what appears to be TNT in that room, as well as a message that if someone doesn’t die by the end of an hour, the TNT will go off and kill everyone. And as the audience, we don’t know who the culprit behind all of this is –that is, until the very end.
Starting with a positive, I really enjoyed about 90% of the novel –that is, from the beginning to the 90% mark in the story. It was riveting and a great thriller to say the least. Aside from the plot of the story itself, I also felt it was unique and effective how the author switched the setting in the story every chapter, from events that took place in the past to the events of the present. I also felt that this added to the engrossing aspect of the book because it allowed cliffhangers to be formed at the end of every chapter.
However, my feelings about this book are mostly on the fence due to its ending. Maybe it was off-putting to me because the ending was unsettling –it kind of shook me, which I suppose could be a sign of a good book. But the ending just felt wrong in so many ways — that is, when we learn who orchestrated the entire sick ordeal the teenagers went through. In short, I didn’t really buy the explanation the author provided for why the culprit behind the entire scenario did what he/she did.
Lastly, I felt that the characters and plot were the two most important components to this story and that the author did provide just the right amount of insight into each of the characters and provided a logical and unique plot. In other words, the author was largely successful with this book. It was also nice to see character development at various points throughout the story and several themes as well.
In conclusion, All Your Twisted Secrets is a solid read with a shocking ending. I wouldn’t say that the book has any disturbing or graphic content, but I would still recommend this to readers who are at least young adults. Have fun reading!
Review By ~ Andrew
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