Review - Olivia Twisted By: Vivi Barnes

Title: Olivia Twisted
Author: Vivi Barnes
Publisher: Entangled: Teen, 352 Pages (November 5th, 2013)
From: eARC
Format: the Author
Add to: Goodreads
Order a copy online: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, The Book Depository, Amazon UK

Synopsis: Olivia

He tilts my chin up so my eyes meet his, his thumb brushing lightly across my lips. I close my eyes. I know Z is trouble. I know that being with him is going to get me into trouble. I don’t care. 

At least at this moment, I don’t care.

Tossed from foster home to foster home, Olivia’s seen a lot in her sixteen years. She’s hardened, sure, though mostly just wants to fly under the radar until graduation. But her natural ability with computers catches the eye of Z, a mysterious guy at her new school. Soon, Z has brought Liv into his team of hacker elite—break into a few bank accounts, and voila, he drives a motorcycle. Follow his lead, and Olivia might even be able to escape from her oppressive foster parents. As Olivia and Z grow closer, though, so does the watchful eye of Bill Sykes, Z’s boss. And he’s got bigger plans for Liv…

Z

I can picture Liv’s face: wide-eyed, trusting. Her smooth lips that taste like strawberry Fanta. 

It was just a kiss. That’s all. She’s just like any other girl. 

Except that she’s not.

Thanks to Z, Olivia’s about to get twisted.

Review: 3.5 Stars - Olivia Twisted by Vivi Barnes is a high tech retelling of Oliver Twist. With characters of all ages that are found at their lowest and given a chance to have a better life, the best life if they go the hacker route to steal from bank accounts of the rich, takes them from one low to another under the guise of a happy home and anything they could ever wish for. Soon stuck, they have no choice but to believe the dangerous man who has shown and given them everything including all the danger that comes with it.

Olivia is used to being disappointed in her foster homes yet the one she’s leaving was the one she wished she could stay in until college. With her foster parents moving to a different state, she’s moved into a new house. The new house and her new foster parents are creepy to say the least. New school, new classes and new friends, Olivia wants nothing more than to study her way to a great scholarship so she can escape her current life and make a new one for herself.

One of the things I loved about Olivia was with all she’s been through she’s still conscious of rights and wrongs. She could have gone down a different road but she’s all about doing things the right way with the least amount of getting into trouble. She studies hard and is serious about it. She gets a job and tries hard to be accommodating to her new foster parents absurd wishes.

It’s not until she meets Z and Sam that you see just how important all of these things are to her and the readers has a chance to listen to her inner thoughts about what Z and Sam actually do after school. She questions them and makes them seriously question what they do for the first time. Z and Sam are the same age as Olivia yet they live in a totally different world of hackers.

The story itself is extremely interesting. The hacking part of the story, while it wasn’t too involved there was enough of it to give me a taste as to just what these kids were not only doing but having to deal and live with under the thumb of a much larger nasty issue under the mask of who was supposed to be their savior.

One thing that Barnes does well is how she’s written the villains and how the story delves deep into the use of children, turning them into master mind criminals. The kids are in so deep that they can’t get out and while it was hard to think about it’s what made the story for me. It gave me some serious heartache for these kids from the youngest to the oldest. I didn’t like how it left me feeling from start to finish and even after finishing reading now a few days ago, I’m still suffering from the affects of how horrible these kids were treated underneath it all.

Sam… I wanted to kick that girl in the shins. I couldn’t stand her. From the first time she’s introduced on the page right until the end she rubbed me the wrong way. I thought she was pushy, mean, careless and out for herself no matter the cost. I think that she took the lead from Z and went out of control about it all. And speaking of Z… I had a love hate for this guy. He ran so hot and cold in the beginning. I liked him in the middle and then at the end I wanted to kill him! In the end I understood his choices but I didn’t like them for and with Olivia.

Now, the main reason for the 3.5 star rating is because often things felt confusing and the ending felt rushed. I felt that there should have been a bit more explanation on more than one occasion. Especially the ending, it just felt some final and then the weirdness happened for me. Otherwise the book and characters as a whole were pretty good! I did enjoy it and I recommend this title for those who are looking for an entertaining, high tech YA title. Happy Reading!