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Identical |  | Author: Ellen Hopkins
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry
Category: Book
List Price: $17.99
Buy New: $9.97
as of 3/16/2010 13:47 CDT details
You Save: $8.02 (45%)
New (39) Used (16) from $7.99
Seller: treebeardbooks
Rating:  87 reviews
Sales Rank: 7233
Media: Hardcover
Reading Level: Young Adult
Pages: 576
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 1.9
ISBN: 1416950052
EAN: 9781416950059
ASIN: 1416950052
Publication Date: August 26, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | ISBN13: 9781416950059 | | • | Condition: NEW | | • | Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark. |
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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:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 87
 Hopkin's best novel February 28, 2010
M. Jones (Salt Lake City, UT)
I really didn't know what to expect when I began reading Identical, the first novel I had ever read by Ellen Hopkins. Since then, I have read the rest of her books but this one is the most powerful and creative than any of her other novels and I am glad I read it first. If you are going to read one book by Hopkins, I would recommend this one.
Hopkins has a unique style of writing. The words on each page are very few and structured more like mini poems which unfold and tell a story which focuses on power, feeling, and emotion instead of description and complex plot. Even though her books normal are around 500 to 600 pages, they feel like a 200 page novel and they easily can be finished in a day or two.
This isn't a novel I want to give a ton of information away about because it has a surprising plot twist that I believe would be a shame to reveal and take away the fascination and intensity one feels when reading it. The twist borders on brilliant or manipulative, depending on your point of view but I choose the former, mainly because the set up is perfectly constructed that I didn't feel cheated in the end. I felt sad, exhausted, and unlike some of Hopkins other novels, there remained some hope to be found in the closing pages of this, at times unbearable journey.
This is a story of identical twins. One twin, Raeanne, is wild, untamed, drug addicted and foul. Katleigh is shy, serious, and haunted twin in a serious relationship but still cannot give herself totally to her boyfriend. The twins have a distant political mother that is always out of town or away and is never there for her daughters. They also have a monster of a father, one of the most horrible villains in any book I have read. And he happens to be a Judge, quite ironically.
I read Identical in a single sitting. You race through it, much like a Dan Brown novel, but has a deeper level of emotion and power to it than a normal mainstream novel. Depth like this is normally not so common in most Young Adult Fiction that I read. And Hopkins never has captured the depth of Identical in any of her other books, though Glass and Crank come close.
At times the book made me appalled, angry and frustrated (especially at the father). I felt sadness for Katleigh and pity for Raeanne, but I always felt something which is a quality of a great novel, the ability for a wide range of feelings to pass through you as you read it. It is this power and enthrallment that helped offset some of the darker and more disturbing elements of the book. Although labeled as young adult novels, Hopkins books feel very much adult to me.
Be warned, this is a tough book to endure at times. However, the ending is redemptive and stunning and I closed the book upon reading it feeling both optimism and despair. I love books that make you think and this will keep the mind reeling long after the last page is turned. It doesn't cross that line of being too depressing like some of Hopkins other novels. Identical is a near masterpiece and an unforgettable experience.
Grade: A
 Just Couldn't Get Into It February 18, 2010
Laurie Jenkins (Murchison, TX USA)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I just couldn't get interested in the characters or caught up in the story. My husband and I listened to this audio book on our long commutes into work but neither of us enjoyed the story and we were relieved when the book ended and we could move on to something more entertaining. It takes dysfunctional to a depressing new low.
I found the narration to be underwhelming. There was little inflection and the reading pace seemed too set and rhythmic...my husband described the reading as "boring". I was most irritated that the pace of the reading just kept plodding along.
It was difficult to get into the story and took several hundred pages before making even the slight connection and discovering the 'jist' of the tale.
The whole tale was just not to my liking. It was off-putting in the way it moved forward. I think this story might be better read than listened to.
Deep, raw, emotional and gripping lyricism! December 27, 2009
The Book Pixie (Georgia, USA)
Identical was a gripping and emotional lyricism beyond compare of any book that I have come across in my many years of reading.
I admit that this book was not an easy read. At first, I didn't really know what to make of the format in which it was written. I thought it somewhat bizarre but once I got further into the book, I grew to love and understand it. Also, this is definitely not the kind of book to pick up if you are looking for a fun and light read. Identical delved deep into the mind and emotions of a sexually abused girl and her experiences. This book also addresses highly sensitive issues such as self mutilation, drug abuse, eating disorders and more. The details were often graphic and, to some, may be a little tough to stomach. This wasn't my first child abuse book so I didn't have quite as hard a time as others might would.
The characters were very well developed and authentic. The story itself was beautifully and realistically written. Though most of the book is spent building up to the climax, it was well worth the wait. With a jaw-dropping turning point and a strong and powerful ending, Identical was hands down one of the most suspenseful and enticing books I've ever read.
This was my first Ellen Hopkins's book and it definitely won't be my last. I do plan to eventually read this book again. As for recommending it, I don't feel that it is something everyone could read. I do believe, however, that it is something everyone should read. This is a difficult book and I understand that not everyone has the capacity to read some of the material. The weak of heart and stomach should be wary when selecting this book as their next read. With that said, I recommend this to everyone and leave it up to you to decide if you can handle it.
-_- uhh? October 26, 2009
This book has driven me crazy these past two days. It's one of those books where you can't decide whether you love the book, or hate it. I do know however, that I extremely appreciate Hopkins's writing.
It makes you think.
-h
 Definitely for the "older" young adult... October 26, 2009
H. McCubbin (Maryland)
One of the most unique yet disturbing and twisted books I've ever read. I honestly couldn't put it down. However, with that being said, the drug use, sex and other issues in this books are downright disturbing, yet I'm sure many teens have experienced or seen some of it, if not all of it, first hand. Everything makes sense when you get to the end of "Identical" but trying to figure it out keeps you turning page after page. I don't think this is a book I'd keep on a high school library's shelf, that's for sure.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 87
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