Review: Tangled by Carolyn Mackler

Tangled by Carolyn Mackler
Pub. Date: December 29, 2009
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Format: Hardcover, 320pp
Age Range: 12 and up

Paradise wasn't supposed to suck.

Not the state of being, but a resort in the Caribbean.

Jena, Dakota, Skye, and Owen are all there for different reasons, but at Paradise their lives become tangled together in ways none of them can predict. Paradise will change them all.

It will change Jena, whose first brush with romance takes her that much closer to having a life and not just reading about those infinitely cooler and more exciting.

It will change Dakota, who needs the devastating truth about his past to make him realize that he doesn't have to be a jerk just because people think he's one.

It will change Skye, a heartbreakingly beautiful actress, who must come to terms with the fact that for once she has to stop playing a role or face the consequences.

And it will change Owen, who has never risked anything before and who will take the leap from his online life to a real one all because of a girl he met at Paradise. . . .

From confused to confident and back again, one thing's certain: Four months after it all begins, none of them will ever be the same.

Tangled takes readers on a crash course of how lives can change drastically by chance meetings where four teens on vacation in Paradise will get much needed wake up calls. Tangled is told over the course of four months in different points of views. This is the first book I’ve read by Carolyn Mackler and I love the premise of how the impact of events in Paradise changes the course of the characters lives.

Tangled starts off with Jena’s story where it all begins in Paradise. Jena lives her life through others whether it’s through quotes or discarded notes. She finally has to decide once and for all if she’ll constantly live vicarious through others or take action and start her own life. Dakota has to accept that some things in the past can’t be changed and move on to define himself from this moment forth. Skye has to learn how to stop living as a character that people see her as on the surface which could have dangerous consequences and finally admit that she needs help. Owen has to step out of the techno land that’s become his online life and take a chance by living in the real world.

The characters in Tangled are complex and through their baggage and insecurities, readers will be sure to turn the pages to see how the characters will fare in their journey to change their paths. Mackler’s writing style stays true to the characters voices and kept me engaged throughout and I ended up reading this book in one sitting. I will be sure to read more of Mackler’s books in the future.

Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars