Twist

March 10, 2023

Singer/songwriter/musician/actress/writer Bertei's (Peter and the Wolves) memoir is narrated by her alter ego, Maddie Twist, which allows her to "journey back to the war zones" of her youth in Cleveland. This raw, vivid work brings readers into a life of poverty, domestic violence, mental illness, war, and trauma. After the author's mother divorced her abusive husband, she lost her children due to a mental health condition that went undiagnosed; the author now believes it was schizophrenia. Bertei spent her teen years moving through foster homes, detention centers, and reform schools. Readers travel with her through her coming-of-age experiences, such as being shunned and punished for her attraction to other girls. She also candidly shares her experiences of sexual violence. After aging out of the foster-care system, the author stumbles but finds her footing in the family she forms with her drag-queen neighbors, her boss at the thrift store, and her love for music and writing. VERDICT Bertei's childhood is harrowing, and her memoir does not hold back on the details, which are horrific at times. But the author sounds her voice loudly in this book, and her sense of self is captured throughout the pages. The end result is likely to captivate readers.--Rebekah Buchanan

Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from February 1, 2023
A veteran musician recalls her rough coming-of-age experiences in Cleveland in the 1960s and '70s. Bertei's memoir, she writes, "is narrated by Maddie Twist. Maddie Twist is a Trojan horse. Like Ulysses, I needed protection while taking the journey back through the war zones of my youth." It's an apt moniker. Maddie--"white, working-class, poor, queer, abandoned, and hungry for belonging"--would give Oliver Twist a run for his money, as she is tossed from one living situation to the next, sometimes thriving, sometimes barely surviving, but making her way through childhood and adolescence until she lands on her feet as an almost functioning adult in a supportive community. The author's mother was a paranoid schizophrenic, and her father deserted the family except to spy on his wife and two troubled younger brothers. When her mother was confined to an institution, she landed in the foster-care system and, eventually, a juvenile detention center. Along the way, she discovered her attraction to other young women, and she was often punished for acting on it. This is a picaresque tale, full of vivid characters who appear and then vanish. The author also delivers a harrowing story about a Vietnam vet who offered to take her to a commune but who assaulted her and locked her in his room for three days. Maddie narrates with a zest and objectivity probably only possible from a long temporal remove, and she excels at bringing readers deep into the difficult circumstances of her life. She exults in going to church at the detention center with "a messy, glorious swell of mischievous angels hollering their ecstasy," and by the end of her tale, she delights in becoming, "finally, more Artful Dodger than Oliver." Throughout the book, Maddie comes across as curious, impulsive, and observant, fond of losing herself in books and brought to life by the music she hears--and creates. A powerful look at survival and redemption despite extremely challenging obstacles.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.