Book Review: Tangled by Carolyn Mackler

4 stars

The years of an adolescent are just one big walking pimple – and this idea is captured beautifully in Carolyn Mackler's Tangled.

In the novel, we encounter four very different teenagers whose lives intertwine while vacationing in Paradise. None of them are psyched about being there, but what they don't know is that their small experiences will follow them in ways they never would have expected.

Jena is our average American girl who worries about two things: body image and boys. Skye is the stunning actress who emits perfection on the outside, but is emotionally damaged on the inside. Sex-crazed jock Dakota faces his first genuine obstacle and his brother Owen will get his first, fine taste of life offline when he detaches himself from his laptop.

Divided into four sections, readers are given the chance to get into the minds of the characters individually and experience their thoughts, feelings and insecurities. Mackler's fluid writing style truly embodies the voice of each complex character and allows readers to follow the story flawlessly.

Tangled is sure to please with lessons to learn and issues that teenagers can really relate to.