Why Does Tom By William Sleator Have A Surprising Twist?

When Covid hits, the Thomas Family decided to pack up their lives in the city and move to Buttershire, to the family mansion on the hill. But there is a secret to the mansion, that no one told the family when they got the keys. Whilst the adults seem oblivious to what is happening around them, the teenage knows that the clock is ticking. What they discover is truly not for the faint of heart.

Sunday, the 10th of July 2030, will be the day everything, life as we know it, will change forever. For now, let's bring it back to the day it started heading in that direction. Jebidiah is just a guy, wanted by all the girls and resented by all the jealous guys, except, he is not your typical heartthrob. It may seem like Jebidiah is the epitome of perfection, but he would go through something not everyone would have to go through. Will he be able to come out of it alive, or would it have all been for nothing?

Seven years ago, William hugged me under the moonlight and swore that we would never have children and love me for the rest of his life. Seven years later, I ran into him at the hospital. He was accompanying a young woman to do a maternity checkup. Both of them were beaming and happy. William's family questioned me why I couldn't get pregnant.I laughed bitterly and swallowed all my secrets alone. Who knew the bigger secret William hid...

Back when I was young and dumb, I slapped some college guy working a side gig at a nightclub. My boyfriend had just ditched me for my best friend, Vanessa Shannon. Then, not even five minutes later, I caught her in the corner, sliding her hand under another guy's shirt. He bit his lip and just took it. Something in my brain short-circuited. I stood up and walked over. If Vanessa wanted him, why couldn't I? But the second I reached for him, he smacked my hand away. Vanessa cracked up. The whole private room turned to watch. Mortified, I slapped him. "You work at a place like this. Don't play innocent." Later, my family went broke, and I ended up working at a nightclub just to get by. The private room was loud as hell. I lost a game, and everyone at the table started chanting for me to take my bra off. My face went hot. I stood there, completely frozen. Then a low voice cut through the noise with a cold laugh. "You work at a place like this. Don't play innocent." I looked up. Our eyes locked. His stare was icy, full of pure mockery. It was the college guy I'd slapped years ago.

Frankie (Isa as the birth name) has not had an easy life since her father killed her mother when she was six. She gets minimum age working as a waitress and it's not enough to get good housing. Her fate changes when she meets Trey, a business tycoon at the bar she waitresses. Frankie's first impression of Trey is that he is rude, arrogant and entitled. Trey on the other hand is fascinated by how Frankie dresses and behaves and he is sure he is going to sleep with her which he does finally and becomes obsessed. Frankie's best friend and coworker at the bar introduces her to an extra hustle which involves supplying meds to pharmacies. Frankie has no idea that they supply contraband drugs and that one of the pharmacies affected is Trey's, who owns a chain of them. When Trey finds out that the drugs being supplied are fake, he launches an investigation and Frankie is in the middle of it. He is shell-bent on punishing her so he hires her as a help and doesn't pay her. Frankie knows she can't do anything about it because she doesn't want to go to jail so she lets him treat her however he wants. She ends up losing her and Trey's baby (he had no idea she was pregnant), and hates him more. Trey is devastated and does anything to make up for it. She finally forgives him and they get back together.

My husband, Garrett Kachmar, vanished overseas with his ex, Linda Sharpe. They left me with one thing—an illegitimate, screaming baby. Twenty years later, I posted that my "son" had passed his exams. He was joining the police force. That's when Garrett came back. With Linda. And a lawsuit. At the plaintiff's table, Linda looked polished—soft makeup, perfect posture. Her voice? Pure control. "After Garrett divorced, we got married and had a big, healthy boy. Jemma couldn't stand seeing us happy, so she stole our son. We searched for twenty years. She refuses to give him back. We're his biological parents. We have the right to take him." Garrett shot me a glare. "Jemma, just because you can't have kids doesn't mean you get to steal mine." The trial was livestreamed. The comments exploded. [Can't have your own kid so you steal one?] [You destroyed a family. Sick.] [Give him back to his real parents!] Then my "son" was called into the courtroom. And the whole room went dead quiet.