Reviews for Identical

The average rating for Identical based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2009-09-14 00:00:00 Steven Sullender Posted at Shelf Inflicted My grandfather was a prick. He was an alcoholic and a gambler. He had anger issues and extreme mood swings. He was liberal with his money at the race track and when he was out drinking with his buddies, but it was a big deal if my grandmother wanted a new dress or my mom needed a new pair of shoes. I always hated the way he treated my grandmother and my mother and hated the way they behaved when they were around him. I hated visiting my grandparents on Sundays after church and especially hated being left alone with my grandfather. He died peacefully in his sleep at the age of 86. It was too good for him. Though I had no reservations about reading Tricks, some of the issues in Identical were a little too close to home for me, and I was afraid of triggering unwanted memories. My fear cast aside, I decided to borrow the unabridged audio version from the library. While my vague memories remained far in the past, I was able to feel a deep emotional connection with the characters. Ellen Hopkins must have teenagers of her own, or is very knowledgeable about the problems that can affect them. Her characters are solid, believable, and strong. As much as I enjoyed the narration, I find that the author's intimate writing style and loosely constructed free prose is meant to be read. After listening to the audio version, I borrowed the book just to see how the 16-year-old identical twins, Kaeleigh's and Raeanne's thoughts were shaped. The story is told in alternating perspectives by the twins and covers myriad teenage problems, including father-daughter incest, eating disorders, drug abuse, mental illness, promiscuity, and cutting. While the characters were easy to get to know, I found the issues covered a bit too overwhelming and excessive foreshadowing revealed a plot twist that was not a big surprise to me by the book's conclusion. Still, a mostly satisfying read and I look forward to Hopkins' other titles.

Review # 2 was written on 2011-02-09 00:00:00 Mario Ramari This book was... disturbing. Very disturbing. I really like the author's style and I think the use of verse is highly effective and contributes something to the story that I never imagined possible... but. And there is a but. I felt this book, unlike Burned which I loved, just went too far. It made me feel uncomfortable, too much so. I can't explain, I usually really like books that are controversial and stretch boundaries but... a man performing oral sex on his daughter while her twin watched and secretly wished it was her? The revulsion I felt was too much. Way too much. I thought the plot idea was great, very interesting and a rather dangerous subject area to delve into (child abuse, amongst other things). Basically, it's the story of identical twins, almost completely alike except one is the reluctant centre of her father's attention... sexual attention. The other twin feels unloved by her father and longs to please him... even sexually. That was the part of this book that made my stomach churn, not so much the abuse of one twin but the incestuous desires of the other. I read it in a few hours and was gripped in a manner that can only be described as 'horrified'. I couldn't put it down, like the inability to look away from a road accident even after seeing a mangled body. Perhaps it should be given more stars, but I didn't really enjoy this book. Who knows? I'll probably read it again in the future and I might decide to revise this rating. We shall see.