April Book Challenge: With a Twist
It’s a new month and that means it is time for a new reading challenge!
This month our challenge is called “With a Twist”.
“With a Twist” means that we are reading books that have a twist…a little something unexpected….something that makes you say “WHAT?!? I didn’t see that coming!”….and there are so many to choose from! SO MANY! I love, Love, LOVE books with twists and turns…especially if I don’t see them coming.
As usual I have a list of recommendations…books I have read…and I really tried to control myself and only listed a handful. (Even though I could list twist books for days.)
Sooooooo….without giving any spoilers away here are a list of some good reads that have a twist:
Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
This book is a classic. It was first recommended to me by my grandma…and I have read it several times. In the summer I say it is a perfect beach read….in the winter I say it is the perfect cozy read…either way…it is a good read.
We Were Liars by e. lockhart
I read this book while waiting for another book on hold. My expectations were low….but…then I got swept into the story and read the whole book in 3 sittings! It was not the story I was expecting at all. I was taken off guard by the twist and then found the ending so sad….
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
This book gave me claustrophobia. Thats, well…all I’m going to say about this one. Except…SO FRUSTRATING!
The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau
I just read this book with my 6th grade daughter. Super cute book. She didn’t see the twist coming. It was fun and sweet and adventurous. (And WAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYY better than the movie, which we watched after we finished the book.). This book is the first in a series and we have already ordered the second book.
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte:
This book has a special place in my heart. Not only is it a classic, and another recommendation from my grandma, BUT was given to me when I was in the 5th grade. It was at a time when I was discovering the magic of reading….but the book has a lot of words that are difficult for 5th graders…or at least were difficult to me. So I got a colored pencil and underlined any word I didn’t know what it meant and then looked those words up in the dictionary that my grandpa had given me.
My vocabulary increased. My love for words increased. And, my love of reading increased.
I still have that book full of all the underlined words. It is one of my favorite treasures.
The story is a slow burn and slightly creepy…but as I said…will always have a special place in my heart.
Defending Jacob by William Landay
I did not see the end coming. At all. And then I called my brother, told him the whole story line and spoiled the ending because I needed to tell someone about what I had just read!
The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware
I pretty much enjoy anything written by Ruth Ware. This was a good one…and so is The Woman in Cabin Ten. And, I’m on a waiting list for “In a Dark Dark Woods”. If you haven’t read a Ruth Ware book this is a good one to start with.
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne
This book wrecked me. Completely. Then I watched the movie and it wrecked me all over again. My daughter just pulled it off the shelf to read…we are going to read it together so that when the twist comes she won’t be crying alone.
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Ok, now that I have given you a list of books with a twist that I have read, here is a list of my twisty “to read” books:
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn
Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane
Monday’s Not Coming by Tiffany Jackson
All Good People Here by Ashley Flowers
Honestly….there are so many more that I have heard about that I want to read….or that I have read….it was hard for me to narrow things down. Books with twists are my favorite!!!!
What books with a twist have you enjoyed?
What are you reading this month?
To see a list of all the themes for each month in 2023, and not just our April Book Challenge: With a Twist, just click HERE.
-liZ
*PS: I know….I didn’t include “Gone Girl”, “Where the Crawdads Sing”, or “The Girl on the Train” on my list. Yes, yes, yes…they are all books with “twists” but I didn’t like any of those books. (Sorry, I know that is contrary to the popular opinion.) I didn’t like any of the characters in “Gone Girl” or “Girl on the Train” and besides the fact that entire story line of “Where the Crawdads Sing” made me sad the “twist” had so much foreshadowing it wasn’t really a twist. There I said it. Some of the most talked about books from the past couple of years I thought were…meh.
And with that confession…I am signing off to go finish “The Stranger in the Woods” by Michael Finkel (a super interesting, true story about a man who lived alone for years in the forest) before I start another new read!
Happy Reading!
April Book Challenge: With a Twist
