Teens usually learn to hack so they can get past levels in video games– not in order to just survive. But in Olivia Twisted by Vivi Barnes, that is exactly what happens.

In the book, orphaned kids are brought into a safe home on one condition: They must make their own money by hacking in a way that raises moral questions. When orphan Olivia is sent into a foster home where she feels threatened and uncomfortable, she looks for any way to get out. She meets fellow orphan Z, who introduces Olivia to his foster home.  Olivia comes to feel like she belongs there, especially after her foster family does something unthinkable.

Yet as Olivia adjusts to her new home, questions arise when she realizes her new-found friends’ hacking exploits don’t just involve video games. Olivia now has to make a difficult decision about which life she wants– and what she is willing to do to get it.

Olivia Twisted was inspired by Charles Dicken’s famous novel Oliver Twist. Author Vivi Barnes said that as a child she used to watch the musical Oliver Twist, and was exposed to its real-world problems and ethical dilemmas. She said she loved the idea of the Oliver character so much that she spun him off into a new character and world to which today’s teens can relate.

This book has left many readers begging for more, so Barnes wrote a sequel, Olivia Decoded, which was published in September of 2016. The book answers many questions that were left unanswered at the end of Olivia Twisted, leading Amazon readers to give it a 4.5 out of 5 stars. As for me, I’m a little more generous with my praise and give it 5 out of 5 hacked computers. You can find both books on Amazon.com.