Shake It Up, Baby

                                            By Sarah K.

Twist and Shout, by Gabriel, is about two men, Dean Winchester and Castiel J. Novak, living in California in the 1960’s. The two first see each other at a party thrown at a girl’s sorority house, but it isn’t until Dean offers Cas a ride home that they have their first conversation, at a quaint little diner over milkshakes. To Cas, Dean, the motorcycle-racing, leather-jacket-wearing, bad boy that everyone wants, having any interest in him seems unbelievable. But to Dean, Cas, the glasses-wearing, doctor-to-be, is quite a catch. They fall head over heels in love. But the war looms over their heads like a depressing rain cloud that just might burst and when Dean gets drafted it seems like the worst has happened. Though they’ve both agreed their relationship is one where “goodbye” just means “see you soon” the distance puts a strain on them. Dean comes back a changed man, haunted by what he’d seen overseas, and Cas desperately tries to pull him out of it. Some things though, just leave you too damaged and the nightmares Dean won’t talk to anyone about rip their relationship apart at the seams. By the time he’s realized his mistakes it might be too late for both of them.

            Twist and Shout is a terribly tragic romance that does an amazing job taking you through the motions. The story goes through every emotion, love, bliss, fear, anger, violence, and lots and lots of sorrow. It’s a long ride that makes you feel like you’re on cloud 9 when the characters are, and being dragged through the mud when the characters are. The author does a great job of invoking whatever feeling they want in the reader. The characters are also very well written. They all have their personalities, but with the main characters you get to delve a little deeper sometimes. When in intense situations you get different views of the ways the character behaves, which makes sense because people behave differently in different times.

            The plot of the story is really great as well. It’s not too dynamic but that’s because it usually only focuses on one thing as it progresses, one problem at a time. The story spans over a long period of time, and changes which character it focuses on about halfway through so there’s a refreshing change of pace. The writing is just extremely dynamic. The author is very romantic, writing lots of parts that get deep, but never really cross the line into being cliché. Overall the story is a wonderful emotional rollercoaster that will build you up only to tear you down in it’s beautifully tragic ways.

            You should only read Twist and Shout if you’re prepared with tissues nearby. I’m serious. This story will inflate your heart, and then about halfway through spin around, push you into the dirt and mug you with your own gun you keep on yourself for protection. Read this story if you love sappy romances, and like being sad. It’s not your orthodox tragic love story, but it hurts just as much as one. You can find Twist and Shout online, just Google it.