Tangled
Carolyn Mackler
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: December 29, 2009
Pages: 320

Jena, Dakota, Skye, and Owen are all at Paradise—the resort in the Caribbean, that is—for different reasons, but in Paradise their lives become tangled together in ways none of them can predict. Over the course of four months, through four voices and four stories, what happened in Paradise will change them all.

In this extraordinary novel, the Printz Honor–winning author brings us her most accomplished work yet. Tangled is a story of the secrets we keep, the risks we take, and the things we do for love.

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!