In this young adult novel, Diana Urban blends high stakes thrill with high school drama in a twisted (pun intended) spin on The Breakfast Club. The writing style and suspenseful plot kept me hooked until the very end while the snippets of typical teenage drama kept it slightly more light-hearted and enjoyable to read.
All Your Twisted Secrets begins by immediately introducing the premise of the story; six high schoolers arrive at what they believe to be a scholarship dinner, only to discover that it is something much more sinister. Locked in a room with no cell service and no way out, they find a bomb, a syringe filled with poison, and a note stating they must choose someone to kill within the hour or the bomb will kill them all.
As the story unfolds, Urban switches skillfully between the goings-on of the “scholarship dinner” and the events of the previous year, leading up to this moment. As these events are recounted, it becomes increasingly apparent that everyone has a secret they’re hiding. But with only an hour on the clock, the six must make their decision, and fast. So who will it be: Amber, the aspiring composer; Sasha, the veritable Regina George of the school; Robbie, the star athlete; Diego, the valedictorian; Priya, the loner; or Scott, the school stoner?
I greatly enjoyed this novel, but I will warn you that (in typical YA style) it can be a little heavy on the high school drama. So if you don’t want to be reminded of your brief High School Musical obsession, this may not be the book for you. However, I thought it was a fantastic read and if you’re into books like One of Us is Lying and A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, I would definitely check this one out.
I would recommend this book for eighth grade readers and above, and I’ll give it four out of five bookworms.
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