Author - Ellen Hopkins
ISBN - 1416950052
Publication Date - 2008
Plot - Kaeleigh and Raeanne are identical twin sisters who seem to have the perfect family from the outside. Their father is a very respectible judge in the community, and the mother is a prominent politician. But what looks OK on the outside is dark and sinister when seen from within.
Kaeleigh is the daughter who is constantly being sexually molested by her father. He seems to have replaced the missing love of his wife with that of the daughter he believes more resembles her. The abuse is horrific and terrible and Kaeleigh tries to develop some coping mechanisms through it all. Most frequently these mechanisms are in the area of overeating and in cutting. Eventually she takes to drugs and alcohol as well.
Raeanne seems to have escaped the sexual abuse that her father gives to Kaeleigh, but she does not like this at all. There is something dark in her that makes her want the kind of attention that her father seems to be giving to Kaeleigh. She turns to alcohol and sex as a way to gain the love of the father that she feels like she is not getting at home. She is also the more dominant and protective of the sisters. She wants to protect Kaeleigh from all of the abuse that she is receiving and will do anything to protect her.
Each of them seems to go spiraling into a darker and darker whole, to which we realize that the grandparents are aware. Not only that, they also sense the sexual abuse that is taking place at the hands of the father. The whole world of the two comes crashing down until we realize that the two worlds are really one world. Kaeleigh is actually experiencing Disassociate Identity Disorder, or what some may refer to as Multiple Personality Disorder. Raeanne was not unreal, but her actual twin who had died in a car accident years earlier. Kaeleigh has developed this as a personality to try to protect herself from the abuse that her father gives her. And the very end has Kaeleigh experiencing some level of healing, but she still holds onto the character of Raeanne on the inside, so that she can draw from her strength.
Kaeleigh is the daughter who is constantly being sexually molested by her father. He seems to have replaced the missing love of his wife with that of the daughter he believes more resembles her. The abuse is horrific and terrible and Kaeleigh tries to develop some coping mechanisms through it all. Most frequently these mechanisms are in the area of overeating and in cutting. Eventually she takes to drugs and alcohol as well.
Raeanne seems to have escaped the sexual abuse that her father gives to Kaeleigh, but she does not like this at all. There is something dark in her that makes her want the kind of attention that her father seems to be giving to Kaeleigh. She turns to alcohol and sex as a way to gain the love of the father that she feels like she is not getting at home. She is also the more dominant and protective of the sisters. She wants to protect Kaeleigh from all of the abuse that she is receiving and will do anything to protect her.
Each of them seems to go spiraling into a darker and darker whole, to which we realize that the grandparents are aware. Not only that, they also sense the sexual abuse that is taking place at the hands of the father. The whole world of the two comes crashing down until we realize that the two worlds are really one world. Kaeleigh is actually experiencing Disassociate Identity Disorder, or what some may refer to as Multiple Personality Disorder. Raeanne was not unreal, but her actual twin who had died in a car accident years earlier. Kaeleigh has developed this as a personality to try to protect herself from the abuse that her father gives her. And the very end has Kaeleigh experiencing some level of healing, but she still holds onto the character of Raeanne on the inside, so that she can draw from her strength.
Critical Review- Having an aunt who is a schizophrenic and a father-in-law who suffers from bipolar disorder, I am very sensitive to the needs of the people who are a part of that community. By putting off the revelation about the mental illness to the end of the novel, it does kind of muddy the waters about what things were actually real and what things are just a vision of the character. But there is a truth in that, anyone who would experience that disorder, there would be moments of unreal all the time. I know that with the bipolar disorder, when my father-in-law is not taking the medication, he experiences times of euphoria, to which he leaves all sense of reality, and cannot even be counted on for what his perception of the world is.
Aside from the areas of disorder, the novel does an excellent job of telling of the effects of sexual abuse in the family. It does an amazing job of showing the dark contradicted feelings of the person experiencing the abuse. It brings up the idea that the person desperately wants love from an individual, but the right kind of love. And when the love is an abusive sexual one, it shows how it complicates feelings of self-worth. After reading this novel, I am definitely going to re-read it to rethink all of the issues involved.
Aside from the areas of disorder, the novel does an excellent job of telling of the effects of sexual abuse in the family. It does an amazing job of showing the dark contradicted feelings of the person experiencing the abuse. It brings up the idea that the person desperately wants love from an individual, but the right kind of love. And when the love is an abusive sexual one, it shows how it complicates feelings of self-worth. After reading this novel, I am definitely going to re-read it to rethink all of the issues involved.
Reader's Annotation- Two twins are connected in every seeming way possible. They are two parts of the same person. What happens when the "love" of a father divides the two? What happens when that love destroys everything it touches, including the psyche's of the two twins that it is meant to love and protect?
About the Author - Ellen Hopkins began her career in the non-fiction field, writing books for children. But in 2002 she found out that her daughter had developed a severe meth-amphetamine addiction. Keenly aware of all the damage that was being caused by her daughters use of the drug, and desiring to sense some connection and responsibility she might bear for her daughters condition, Hopkins set out to write a novel about the monster of crank.
This cathartic journey encouraged her to explore a wide range of subjects that might be effecting teens with a series of verse novels including Burned, Impulse, Identical and Glass. Each of these explores the drama effecting teens and how their choices have a significant impact on the rest of their lives.
Booktalking Ideas - Discuss the plot twist at the end of the novel. How effective is the plot twist in context with the rest of the novel. Does it leave holes in the story that would be unresolved.
This cathartic journey encouraged her to explore a wide range of subjects that might be effecting teens with a series of verse novels including Burned, Impulse, Identical and Glass. Each of these explores the drama effecting teens and how their choices have a significant impact on the rest of their lives.
Booktalking Ideas - Discuss the plot twist at the end of the novel. How effective is the plot twist in context with the rest of the novel. Does it leave holes in the story that would be unresolved.
Genre- Drama, Free Verse Poetry
Curriculum Ties - What is the nature of DID? - Science
Discuss the use of Free Verse to write an entire novel. - Literature
Reading Level/Interest Age - Grade 10+
Challenge Issues - Sexual abuse at the hands of a father might alarm some parents to want to remove it.
Overcoming challenges - Have information on sexual abuse on hand and make a pamphlet that shows how it explores the nature of sexual abuse and all of its horrors in the novel. Encourage parents to read novel with teen so that they can discuss warning signals and making sure they understand that they should inform someone if they know it is occurring. Provide numbers for sexual abuse hot lines.
Overcoming challenges - Have information on sexual abuse on hand and make a pamphlet that shows how it explores the nature of sexual abuse and all of its horrors in the novel. Encourage parents to read novel with teen so that they can discuss warning signals and making sure they understand that they should inform someone if they know it is occurring. Provide numbers for sexual abuse hot lines.
Why Included - I was recommended to Ellen Hopkins by the teen librarian at the branch I was working at. She said I would find very interesting controversial literature.
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