The Book Addict Reviews: Identical by Ellen Hopkins

Genre: Young Adult, Emotions & Feelings
Order Online: Amazon.com
Author Info: Website | Goodreads
Rating: 3 stars
Book picked up in Paperbackswap game.

In A Nutshell:
After finishing this book, I was speechless. The description on the back of Identical did little to prepare me for the emotionally raw story contained in the pages. This book is very well written and really draws the reader in, but the story itself is very troubling and hard to read. I am very glad that I read this book, but I do not think I could read it again.

Review:
After a terrible accident changes the Gardella family forever, every member finds a different way to cope.  While the outside world sees an All-American family with success, money, and beauty; the realty is for from the ideal.  Each member of the family is dealing with his/her own personal demons in very destructive ways, and neither parent has the time or inclination to help Kaeleigh and Raeanne handle their demons.  So instead of family dinners filled with conversations about school, work, and friends, this family hides from each other through their career, alcohol, drugs, promiscuity, and misguided love.


Ellen Hopkins creatively tells the story through verse and through the voices of different characters.  Some of her poems literally paint a picture with the words or highlight different aspects of the story in creative ways.  Through her poetry, Ellen Hopkins is also able to convey the emotions of her characters in a way that I have not seen in books written in prose.

Recommendations:
There are not many authors who write in a style similar to Ellen Hopkins, so if this book appeals to you I encourage you to look at her other books.