Posted: October 22, 2024
Plot twists often reframe the story as a whole. Typically, there will be subtle (or not so subtle) clues sprinkled throughout the narrative ahead of time. The best stories include just enough hints that the twist makes sense, but not so much that it “comes out of left field.” You can maybe guess that the plot twists I hate are the ones that either change the story for the worse, or the ones that don’t seem to have any structure to stand on.
I’ll try to go through this short list without giving away too many spoilers. Here they are:
The thing I hated most about this screenplay (and movie) is that there was little to no set up of this plot point. Furthermore, it wasn’t properly resolved or explained—which could’ve been done in a really cool way.
I always found it strange how the first book was so down-to-earth—a real cozy fantasy novel—and the further you get in the series the crazier and wilder it gets. I would’ve been happy with a continuing theme of the first book, so the drastic change in subgenre and vibe nearly turned me off the whole series.
From the start, you can never really know what WICKED is planning or involved in, and I guess that’s sort of the point, but I was too stuck on that whole mystery to understand what the whole point was. Was that the message? That the experiments were ultimately pointless and needlessly cruel? I wish I could’ve gotten more information about what they were actually doing rather than unexplained plot twist after unexplained plot twist.
This wasn’t a bad book, but some of the characterization was a bit off. I felt like the set up for the real villain was overshadowed by how much else was going on (as well as the main character’s own odd actions/choices).
Not only did this one feel really forced, it disturbed me greatly. The reveal happens about midway through Breaking Dawn, and if the series wasn’t already poorly written in my eyes, this would’ve broken me completely away from the story.
Even good books can have bad plot twists; even bad books can have good plot twists. And sometimes, bad books have plot twists that make them worse. Are there any plot twists that irk you, even in your favourite books?
My Top 10 Favourite Plot Twists
My Top 10 Favourite Tropes
My Top 10 Least Favourite Tropes
My Top 10 Recommended Books—September 2023
Tigerpetal Press is a small book press dedicated to publishing local authors and poets.