Title: Identical
Author: Ellen Hopkins
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry
Pub. Date: August 2008
Length: 592 pages
Summary (from goodreads):
Do twins begin in the womb?
Or in a better place?
Kaeleigh and Raeanne are identical down to the dimple. As daughters of a district-court judge father and a politician mother, they are an all-American family- on the surface. Behind the facade each sister has her own dark secret, and that''s where their differences begin.
Or in a better place?
Kaeleigh and Raeanne are identical down to the dimple. As daughters of a district-court judge father and a politician mother, they are an all-American family- on the surface. Behind the facade each sister has her own dark secret, and that''s where their differences begin.
For Kaeleigh, she's the misplaced focus of Daddy's love, intended for a mother whose presence on the campaign trail means absence at home. All that Raeanne sees is Daddy playing a game of favorites -- and she is losing. If she has to lose, she will do it on her own terms, so she chooses drugs, alcohol, and sex.
Secrets like the ones the twins are harboring are not meant to be kept- from each other or anyone else. Pretty soon it's obvious that neither sister can handle it alone, and one sister must step up to save the other, but the question is- who?
Secrets like the ones the twins are harboring are not meant to be kept- from each other or anyone else. Pretty soon it's obvious that neither sister can handle it alone, and one sister must step up to save the other, but the question is- who?
My Thoughts: I was first introduced to verse writing when I read Glimpse by Carol Lynch Williams. This stuff is powerful. Its raw and full of emotion and leaves nothing that needs to be said out. I've never read anything by Ellen Hopkins before, not even Crank. It's not that I don't want to read it, it's just that... well there isn't really an excuse as to why I haven't read a book I've so desperately wanted to read for years. (My library doesn't even have it!) So, when the opportunity came for me to read Identical, I grabbed it.
"When I look into a mirror, it is her face I see. Her right is my left, double moles, dimple and all. My right is her left, unblemished." And so begins the story of two sisters, Kaeleigh and Raeanne. Their parents are married, but only by name. And their father loves Kaeleigh, but not in the way he should.
This is the type of story where the less you know before you read, the better. Although I was a little suspicious through the entire thing, the ending surprised me. It isn't the type that leaves you feeling amazing at the end. Its grimy, its disgusting, its powerful, its amazing, and I loved it.
I have read a lot of books; a lot that haven't left a definite impression. The ones that have are rare. Do you want to know exactly how many? Six. Just six books out of all the ones I've read. Identical got to me in a way most books never do. It's one of those books that will stay on my mind and continue to for a long, long time.
"When I look into a mirror, it is her face I see. Her right is my left, double moles, dimple and all. My right is her left, unblemished." And so begins the story of two sisters, Kaeleigh and Raeanne. Their parents are married, but only by name. And their father loves Kaeleigh, but not in the way he should.
This is the type of story where the less you know before you read, the better. Although I was a little suspicious through the entire thing, the ending surprised me. It isn't the type that leaves you feeling amazing at the end. Its grimy, its disgusting, its powerful, its amazing, and I loved it.
I have read a lot of books; a lot that haven't left a definite impression. The ones that have are rare. Do you want to know exactly how many? Six. Just six books out of all the ones I've read. Identical got to me in a way most books never do. It's one of those books that will stay on my mind and continue to for a long, long time.
I was going to pick this book up the other day but thought better of it, now I think I'm going to have to run to the bookstore again.. :)
ReplyDeleteAryelle @ ReadingwiththeFishes
It's a good book but it's also a little disturbing. I had to force myself to read some parts, and it's not because it was bad or boring, it was because some parts were too hard to read for me. There are some really hard things to read in this book, a lot of mature subject matter. There's a twist most will not expect at the end and will be suprised when reading it.
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