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Identical | 
 enlarge | Author: Ellen Hopkins
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry
Category: Book
List Price: $17.99
Buy New: $10.28
You Save: $7.71 (43%)
New (28) Used (8) from $10.28
Avg. Customer Rating:  17 reviews
Sales Rank: 1224
Media: Hardcover
Reading Level: Young Adult
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 576
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.2 x 2
ISBN: 1416950052
EAN: 9781416950059
ASIN: 1416950052
Publication Date: August 26, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
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?
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| Customer Reviews: Read 12 more reviews...
 Could've Been a Good Story...But Not In Poetry Form October 8, 2008
Maybe I missed something when I choose this book, but when it arrived I discovered it was written in freestyle poetry form. What a letdown!
I enjoy poetry, but not when it is used to tell such a graphic, detailed story. This book, for those like me, would have been a big hit if it had been written as a story, not hundreds of poems.
 Somewhat disturbing October 8, 2008
I have got to read some samples of my books so I can see what kind of books I'm getting. I just could not get into this book so I decided to quit. I am not one to do that so I tried 3 times. Same thing, poetry or rhyme, whatever you want to call it, I just do not like this type of book. Give me good old chapter books everytime.
Not for My Girls October 8, 2008
I have twin girls and this is supposed to be a young adult book, so I was immediately interested. I'm sorry now. There is no reason on God's green earth that this book should be read by a minor. Heck even adults should avoid this dreck.
Who wants to read about a young girl being abused by her father ad infinitum. And how graphic do we have to get? And it makes her twin sister jealous? Sheesh. Sex, drugs, more sex, more drugs. Incest. Ignorance. I believe in giving good reviews. I can't here. I could ignore this book, can't do that either, because I agreed to review it.
Okay, the writing is okay, I can see where Ms. Hopkins has talent, but I thought she took up way too many pages with her free verse. This all could have been put on a couple hundred and saved three hundred pages of paper
It's such a shame when such a talent wastes it this way. One star for content, four for talent gives me an average of two.
Now I know there are going to be people who don't like my review, people who think perhaps this book might educate young girls, might keep them from been abused or by getting them to tell if they are. I'm not one of those, sorry. I just would not want my daughters reading this.
 Ellen Hopkins at her best October 8, 2008
Readers of Ellen Hopkins' gritty YA novels in verse won't be disappointed by her latest book, IDENTICAL. In it, sisters Karleigh and Raeanne struggle to make sense of a family situation that goes beyond dysfunctional to downright gut-wrenching. Hopkins often uses a complex mirror structure with poems on opposite pages, creating identical poems within poems written in different voices with impressive results. Overall, IDENTICAL is a disturbing, beautifully written story about abuse and the sense of self, and at the same time, it's a page-turner and a mystery that delivers one heck of a punch near the end.
A note to teachers, librarians, & parents -- this isn't one of the young adult books that I'd recommend handing to a middle school student. The disturbing subject matter places it squarely in the realm of older high school readers, but for some of those more mature readers, particularly those who have faced abuse in their own worlds, IDENTICAL will be no doubt be a book with the power to change lives.
Definitely worth the creepy October 7, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
First off, I would like to say that Ellen Hopkins is a teriffic author. Her formation of poetry into a story is nothing short of gripping.
This book is, in many parts, creepy and downright disgusting. However, if you can trudge your way through these necessary plot essentials, then you will be rewarded with an amazing story. The plot was truly mesmerizing, as well as full of emotion. When Kayleigh silently pleaded for her father to stop walking towards her bedroom, knowing exactly what he would put her through, you can feel her painful anticipation. Raeanne is an equally vivid character, and her personal coping methods are just as intense as her twin's.
I think that this book is worth reading for mature audiences. Parents: Keep your elementary and middle school children away. Otherwise, read this novel, especially if you liked any of Ellen Hopkin's other books.
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