Customer Reviews

Tangled

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Tangled is about four different characters - Jena, Dakota, Skye, and Owen - and their stories. I loved how Carolyn Mackler split this up! She started with Jena's story, then went on the Dakota's, but the stories were constantly intertwined with each other and each story picked up at the time the last ended. I loved it! Though I would've liked to see a bit more fluidity between stories.

I really liked Jena as a character. I felt Carolyn Mackler really captured what it's like to be a teenage girl in Jena. She wasn't overdone or perfect, she had her own issues. I had a bit of an issue with Dakota as a character. The language he used just wasn't believable, and it was almost a bit offensive to me. Plus almost every word out of his mouth was something sexual. Skye was the typical upper New York character you get in most books. Owen was deeping, and while you don't see a lot of him, when you do those scenes stick out the most.

When I was reading Tangled at first with Jena's story I wasn't sure what I would think. Jena's story was interesting, but it didn't go much of anywhere. Dakota's story was nice as it started to display another of Dakota besides the Dakota who cusses and sexual phrases all the time. It started to give him more depth, and I started to appreciate him more as a character. Skye's story was probably my favorite of the four stories. The story is set up so up until her story, you think she's just a shallow, spoiled rich girl. Skye's story sets up an interesting story, filled with all the layers of her life. Owen's story wraps of Tangled, and it was the strongest story of the four. It was sweet and enjoyable.

I loved how the title and cover both play into the plot. The cover is "tangled" and tangled is the perfect description for the characters's lives and how they intertwine with each other. Tangled was fairly predictable, I called a lot of the shots in the first story, and they held true through the last three. Overall, it's a quick enjoyable read!

I really enjoyed this book. I normally hate books that are told from numerous peoples perspective, but this book really tied everything together. At first I was confused because the first part ended so suddenly and I found myself wondering about Jena, and what happened, but the book moves along and ties everyones story together. Jena through Dakata through Skye through Owen. It keep me wondering and reading. It was more raw then other teen books and had more emotional involved. I really enjoyed reading it, and will keep it around in case I want to read it again someday.

Overall, I thought Tangled was a pretty good book. I would suggest not giving up on it when you read Jena and Dakota's parts you may not think it's worth finishing because they were not very good. Skye's part was a little bit better because there was actually some deep meaning to what was going on with her, while I thought Dakota's part was all swears and idiocy.
Something that I didn't like about Tangled was that for teens that are reading it, it might give them the impression that it is a cool and totally normal thing for teens to be having sex all the time. This is not true. I personally don't understand why Carolyn Mackler would want to put that kind of stuff in.
I think that the book definetly got better at Skye and Owen's part so keep reading!

:)

3/5
I didn't like this book at first, but it grew on me a little by the end. The rating would have been lower otherwise.
The book is about four different people, and it changes characters as it changes months, which it does four times. I thought this was a bit of an odd way to do it, and was wondering how that would work out, but it's done very well.
We start with Jena, who is on vacation with her family and Skye's family. Her and Skye aren't very close, and she's very jealous of Skye, who is an actress. She also meets Dakota, who is a jerk to her, and just glimpses Owen, who is obviously better for her. I did not like her in her chapters, at all. She was way too insecure. I guess some people are this way, and I'm insecure myself, but she was overwhelmingly so. She was always embarrassed about herself, and looking down on herself, whining about it. I could not stand it, and I almost wanted to stop reading because of it.
In the next part, it's in Dakota's point of view. He was a jerk in the first part, but we get to see inside of him in this one. He has more to him, but I still didn't like him too much. He was still a bit of a jerk. He got better at the end of it, redeemed himself a bit, but he was mostly just alright.
Next was Skye. She's an actress, who's been secretly been having a hard time with herself and life. It's mentioned in Jena's chapters that someone had been leaving not good notes in places, and we find out that they're from her. She's a bit fragile, and the end of her part leaves off with a cliffhanger, which we find out the answer to in Owen's chapters. I was hoping to like her more, and she did have some of what I was looking for, but not as much as I'd hoped.
The last part is Owen's. I did like Owen. He mostly stays to himself, and mostly online, as he has a blog. He's been talking to Jena online, and he finds out who she is, and that she knows his brother, which makes him a bit wary, but he decides to meet up with her. Normally, this would be a very bad idea, but since the reader already knows Jena, I wasn't too worried. Besides worrying that it wouldn't work. But he meets up with her, and is very adorable, and Jena is much more confident about herself. She's apparently gotten some good advice, and has been helping Skye out, and has decided to believe in herself.
The ending was very good, and satisfying, especially since I got to meet Owen, who is a cute, geeky/nerdy, inexperienced boy. And it made the rating go up, since I didn't especially enjoy the previous parts of the book.
And I don't know if Mackler wrote the characters like that on purpose, and I'm sure that some of it was, but it also could have been done better so that they were at least a bit more likable. I haven't read any of her other books, and I'm undecided on whether or not I will, (even though I know that I probably will give her another try at some point,) so I don't know if that just how she writes. I'm hoping that some of her other books are better, or at least have more likeable characters.

I thought this book was a good read. The story was hard to put down, each chapter left off with cliff hangers.

I had seen this book on amazon for a while and it was on my wish list, but then I would take it off, then change my mind and put it back on, and so forth. Finally I ended the vicious cycle and got it from the library, and I can honestly say I really enjoyed it. It is told by four different people and each of them take one month each and it shows their life. The first three people I enjoyed (Jena more than Skye and Dakota) but they were more dramatic and, well, some of them were sad. Until I reached the fourth part I liked the book, but I was glad that I had checked it out from the library. Then I read Owen's section, the last in the book. He was such an amazing character, his voice had a certain self-depricating humor to it. After reading Owen's chapters I am still considering buying this book for his five or so chapters. If this whole book was about him, it would get five stars for sure, so if you are ready to give up on it, skip to his section first.

Jena, Dakota, Skye, and Owen have issues. So when they all end up at a resort in the Caribbean, appropriately named Paradise, you would think that they would use the time to try to "fix" the things about themselves that have always held them back. You would think that a place so beautiful, like Paradise, would give them all a little perspective.

But not until each one returns home from Paradise, do they realize just how great of an impact it's had for them. Jenna, for one, realizes that she doesn't have to be the eager-beaver wallflower that hides in the shadows of the more beautiful/rich/popular girls in her life. She has strength, and it all begins with loving herself. Dakota sees that even though everyone thinks he's a super-jerk, maybe that's not how he wants to act anymore...maybe he really can change. Maybe it all starts with one simple act. Owen learns that, sometimes, a leap of faith is all it takes to rock your world, and shatter the weak image he's carried around since he was born. And for Skye, she realizes that the one thing she's always been missing from her life is the kind of thing that no amount of money, fame, or beauty in the world could replace: family. For Skye, giving it all up means nothing, when you get back something so much larger.

Although each character in Tangled meets for only a brief period of time, Carolyn Mackler expertly and seamlessly weaves their lives together. Without a doubt, she shows us how a chance, brief meeting can change our lives forever, without us even knowing it. Tangled is a must read for anyone ready to make a change, or take that leap of faith.
-- Reviewed by Jill MacKenzie

I was dying to read Tangled. It's about four teens who meet at a resort and become intertwined into each other's lives. the concept of this book had a lot of potential but after reading it I felt a little dispointment that they weren't involved with each other as much as I would like to have seen. The title is Tangled, so I figured there would be more tangling occuring. I still really liked the book and thought it was worth buying.

I tend to be wary of stories that have alternating viewpoints between more than two characters - it's so easy for things to get confusing and disjointed. However, I should have known that Carolyn Mackler would handle it well. She has a gift for telling young adult stories that feel so natural and real. That's what i remember loving about Love and Other Four-Letter Words (Laurel-Leaf Books) when I was in high school, and that's what i love this time around about Tangled.

Jena is the lovable girl-next-door type with a generally cheerful disposition and a hold on the last dregs of childhood innocence. Her desire to be liked, as both a friend and a romantic interest, is relatable and makes her one of the characters that you want most to end up happy.

Dakota, on the other hand, was harder to love. His initial ego, attitude and behavior made him close to irredeemable. It's when we see him recognize this for himself, on top of struggling with familial and social issues, that he shows how much more substance there is to him.

Sky is sort of an ice queen, but when her turn to narrate comes it's immediately understandable why. Her problems are the more difficult for her to deal with, thanks to her acting career and a stage mother in denial. Her story is, perhaps, the most poignant of the bunch.

Owen, like Jena, is one of those kids that you want to root for. He just wants to measure up and his difficulty with that causes him to hide behind his computer. When his mom throws him to the wolves at this program for teens addicted to a Facebook-like site, we get the funniest moments in the story and a way for him to bond more with his increasingly less distant brother, Dakota.

Tangled is a very worthwhile read. There isn't much of a plot - the tale is more about each teen's personal growth and how their connections to each other aid them along. The themes of the importance of good communication and an open mind are nothing new, but manage not to come across as stale or trite in Mackler's employment of them. The humor is excellent and the voices of each character are refreshing. They each may appear to fit certain stereotypes at first, but none of them truly do. It's one of those young adult books that has the makings of a classic. I would definitely re-read this one and, I believe, that any teen or adult reader would agree with me.

Tangled is about four teenagers, who couldn't be any more different, whose lives come together while vacationing in Paradise.

First, we have Jena who is the average teenager. She likes reading. She's goes through some self esteem issues; she's not stick-thin and finally decides that she is "luscious". She's the one I can relate to, her and Owen. Jena has this "everything book" where she jots down quotes and favorite sayings, anywhere from a book to a movie to something one of her friends might say (or write in a note). She even has some Nicholas Sparks (my favorite author!) quotes in that book!

Next, there's Skye, the aspiring actress. She popular, pretty and everyone wants to either be her or be with her. Jena is very jealous of Skye and gets uncomfortable during any conversation they have. Jena and Skye are on vacation together at Paradise because their moms are BFFs. Skye may seem perfect from the outside but she's battling her own demons.

Dakota is an athlete and a typical horny teenager. He's hot and can get any girl he wants. He's on vacation with his brother, Owen, and their mom.

Owen is the computer nerd who has more friends online than in real life. He writes a blog, Loser with a Laptop, and is the complete opposite of Dakota.

Since this was my first read by Carolyn Mackler, I have to admit I didn't know what to expect. I am happy to say that she didn't disappoint; her writing blew me away. I was pulled in right from the beginning. Her writing flows smoothly and there is no fumbling. I got completely absorbed into the story from page one. This is the type of book where before you know it, you're halfway through it. And boy, does Carolyn do a great job of getting into the head of a teenage boy!

Tangled is told from 4 points of view, following each character for one month. The reader is left with a cliffhanger at the end of each character's narration but things come together by the end of the book. I was left wanting more. I wasn't ready to give up Jena's story but I got closure later on.

The title and cover fit perfectly with this book. The title is simple yet captures the essence of the book with one word. These four teenagers' lives are tangled with each other. The cover, too, is simple but it's also cute and eye catching. I love how the pink ribbon and blue ribbon meet in the middle as purple.

All in all, Tangled was a great read. I will definitely check out Carolyn Mackler's other releases!