Identical by Ellen Hopkins

Summary:

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.

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?

( from Amazon.com)

Review:

Ellen Hopkins's books where the first thing that had turned me on to novels in verse. I usually love her books because they deal with hard topic like suicide and drug abuse problems. Identical was no exception to this .

Identical was sick and disgusting yet so amazing that it made me keep reading for the 400 so pages. This book was one of the first books I had read that dealt with incest and and self image problems. Ellen Hopkins did well with this topic making it dramatic and interesting. Also, she created her main characters semi perfectly. I felt so sorry for Raeanne and Kaeleigh throughout the story because of how their dad's misplaced love and their mother tendency to run away when times get tough. In the end, I was sad to see to see the book closing up, but I felt it was the perfect time because Kaeleigh had finally found a way to overcome her problems. The only issue I had with Identical was that I thought the beginning took a while to get of the ground.

Other than that this book was unique and thought provoking. It has been a couple of days since I finished this book ,but it's still stuck in my head. I guarantee you will love this book if you give it a try.

A 5/5