Identical

Review: Identical by Ellen Hopkins
Released: August 2008
Pages: 565
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Grade: A+

Summary taken from jacket flap.

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?

Ellen Hopkins has done it once again. Now I have to admit that so far the only book of hers that I've read is CRANK. But I loved it so I figured I'd love this one too. From the very first page I was hooked. Ellen writes amazingly well in verse. The pages just flow together. It's easy to feel what each girl is feeling when they're talking. I just believe it was very well written. When I can actually feel like I'm inside a character's head that's when I know I'm reading a great book. If you've read anything else by Ellen (and of course even if you haven't) I highly recommend picking up a copy of this. Due to some of the disturbing things in this book I wouldn't recommend it to anyone under the age of 16.