Mini Review Monday – Identical (Spoiler Free)

Hey everyone! Here I am with another Mini Review Monday created by me, where you write a short review for a book/series you haven’t reviewed on your blog. Because either you read the book before you started blogging or you never got around to it. If you decide to participate in this new meme, please feel free to leave a link to your post in the comments below. Also! Let the people know if it’s a non-spoiler/spoiler review.

---

Title: Identical
Author: Ellen Hopkins
Genre: YA, Realistic Fiction, Verse
Published: August 26, 2008
Read: Autumn of 2008
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

 

Synopsis 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.

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?

---

I will never forget my feelings and thought process while reading this book so many years ago. Till this day, this stands as one of my favorite books ever. It impacted me.

Ellen Hopkins is not only an author who writes in verse but she writes Realistic Fiction that has tons of trigger warnings. I’m not much into Realistic Fiction, however, Hopkins has always been an exception for me.

Identical isn’t only about twin sisters living this teenage rebellion. It’s about mental illness and survival. If you haven’t read any Ellen Hopkins books, please start with this one. You will not regret it.

Identical is told by both sisters, Kae and Rae. We the readers get to see the minds of these  twins who look exactly like one another living separate lives with so many secrets. Family plays a really big role here too with their actions and way of living because the twins are trying to prove something to each parent. But is that ever enough?

Identical will make you think what is right and wrong. Will make you think outside the box. This is not a light and fluffy read. This is a painful read with hard truths.

Photo Credit Here

Photo Credit Here

---

Follow me on Twitter: @ChicNerdReads
Friend me on Goodreads: Gretchen (ChicNerdReads)