Thank you to HarperTeen for providing me with a review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.
Book: All Your Twisted Secrets
Author: Diana Urban
Year Published: 2020
- Plot: 3.5/5
- Characters: 4/5
- Writing: 4/5
- Overall: 4/5
All Your Twisted Secrets was a young adult escape room thriller that gradually revealed a web of secrets and lies. It was a quick and fast-paced read, driven forward by the tension between the characters, and I found it exciting although I predicted most of the plot twists.
Six teens were supposedly invited to a scholarship dinner but upon arrival they realised it was a trap– they were locked in the room and told to choose someone to die within an hour or they would all meet untimely ends. There was Amber, an incredibly talented music geek. Sasha, a smart and ambitious queen bee. Robbie, a popular athlete and Amber’s boyfriend. Diego, the class genius and entrepreneur. Priya, a quiet and lonely magic trick enthusiast. And Scott, mysterious and known for drug dealing. Confusion and panic ensued but as they all tried to get out alive the past was dredged up and they realised there was more connecting them than they initially thought.
The novel alternated between the locked room and flashbacks of the past to help us understand how the relationships and conflicts between the characters had changed and how they affected their actions in the room. I liked this structure as it created a fast, exciting pace and slowly revealed the characters’ personalities.
Furthermore, the book incorporated many themes like bullying, suicide, drug abuse, school pressures, mental health and peer pressure in a way that cleverly showed the effects these issues have on people’s lives without seeming forced. It also explored moral ideas surrounding accepting responsibility for one’s actions and what happens when someone doesn’t.
However, I wasn’t overly impressed with the ending because I’d predicted who had put them in the room already and I found it a bit over the top. The characters were interesting, each with their own goals, problems and secrets. They could have had a bit more depth but I do appreciate that it’s hard to balance that many characters.
So in conclusion, All Your Twisted Secrets was a thriller that I would definitely recommend to anyone looking for a fast-paced read that, as the title suggests, is full of twists and secrets.
Sereadipity 