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Identical | 
 enlarge | Author: Ellen Hopkins
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry
Category: Book
List Price: $17.99
Buy New: $10.89
You Save: $7.10 (39%)
New (16) Used (5) from $10.89
Avg. Customer Rating:  3 reviews
Sales Rank: 1290
Media: Hardcover
Reading Level: Young Adult
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 576
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.1 x 1.8
ISBN: 1416950052
EAN: 9781416950059
ASIN: 1416950052
Publication Date: August 26, 2008 (New: This Week)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand New, Perfect Condition, Please allow 4-14 business days for delivery. 100% Money Back Guarantee, Over 1,000,000 customers served.
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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:
 I'm an Ellen Hopkins fan, but this book just fell short for me... August 26, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
So, I was psyched for Identical, being a huge Ellen Hopkins fan. I pre-ordered it, and it showed up on my doorstep this morning. I eagerly began reading it, and figured out the book's biggest plot twist less than a hundred pages in.
I wanted to scream at Ellen Hopkins. Her "M. Night Shamyalan-esque" twist should not come as a surprise to anybody who has read Crank/Glass, or ever watch an episode of Heroes. I'm sure that figuring out the surprise early is part of my reason for disliking this book, but I know it is not the only reason.
SPOILERS AHEAD (minor, I won't give away the 'surprise' but there will be spoilers.
I felt like for a book that was supposed to be about sexual abuse, it was less about the father/daughter relationship and more about out of control teens in the vibe of Crank/Glass. The parts of the book about this relationship were great, but they were few and far between. The history about how the father became who he is today was fascinating, and Ellen Hopkins really should have played that up more. Another thing, in my opinion, that she could have done to improve the plot would have been to continue the story after the protagonist enters rehab. We know she can write about recovery (Impulse) and it would have added to the plot in my opinion.
All in all, this book was 'Eh.' It was a disappointment, as I have come to expect more from Ellen Hopkins. Consequently, I will still be a fan after reading this book, but I won't advertise it as I have with her other works. It seems as if this summer is the summer of gigantic book disappointments. First Breaking Dawn, now this...I really hope Brisingr (the last of the trifecta of great summer books, following BD and Identical) is great.
 The Compulsive Reader's Reviews August 26, 2008
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
There are so many similarities between Kaeleigh and Raeanne. They're identical twins. They share an absentee politician of a mother, and lonely drunk of a father. They both have had a painful childhood, and for both, it all began with a gruesome accident. But the source of that pain is entirely different for each girl.
For Kaeleigh, it's the pain of a father who loves her too much, who loves her as no father should love his child. Raeanne's pain is the feeling of being unloved and unwanted, except by a string of sleazy boyfriends with an abundance of alcohol and drugs. Each girl knows that what they're experiencing is wrong, but they know nothing else. And unless someone can do something to bring about a change, their pain is all they'll ever know.
Identical is depressing, disturbing, and yet strangely engrossing and electrifying. Through her irresistible and varying prose, Hopkins coaxes readers into the story, just far enough in for Raeanne and Kaeleigh grasp on, taking you on an unforgettable ride through their lives, and showing us their convoluted--yet curiously levelheaded--reasoning and their innermost thoughts. The beautiful and innovative poetry gets right down to what makes the twins tick in a frank and straightforward style that is not necessarily comforting, but is gritty and real. Full of passion, pain, remorse, and, amazingly, love, Identical is one of those books that will make you gasp theatrically at the end, and then want to immediately re-read the entire thing with new eyes--it is a book that will cause you to think.
Courtesy of Teens Read Too August 26, 2008
1 out of 5 found this review helpful
Ellen Hopkins does it again! Another page-turning book by this amazing author!
This is a story filled with drugs, promiscuity, and sexual abuse. Not for those that are easily offended or may have issues with the content. That being said, if you can handle the mature content, the book surely will not disappoint.
Kaeleigh and Raeanne are identical twins. But beyond the external comparison, internally Kaeleigh and Raeanne are as different as night and day. One twin is the apple of their father's eye. The other twin wonders why her father doesn't love her the same way.
One twin dares to defy their father's rules. Running around with the wrong crowd. Toking up during school hours. Trading sex for favors.
The other twin is the goody-two-shoes. Gets great grades. Is the lead in the high school musical. Has a great guy that loves her.
How could the two girls be so different? It all stems back to "the accident." No one will talk about what happened the night their father drank too much and caused the fatal accident. But ever since that night, things have been far from perfect.
Their mother has basically abandoned the family with ambitions of running for Congress. But could it be she's running from them? Their father forbids any of them to speak to his parents. A secret from his past never to be revealed, at least by him. And his love for one of the girls. A love that no father should share with his own child.
Keeping everything to themselves, the girls are on a course for self-destruction. Somehow, they must come to terms with everything since the accident, and possibly trust those that want to help them. But the secrets can't be revealed to outsiders, can they?
Ms. Hopkins tells her story beautifully. Weaving between sisters, she uses the same key words to blend the thoughts of the two together. Ms. Hopkins writes in free verse. At first the pages may not look like much, but upon reading the words written in the designs, the story unfolds and the pictures the words create give more meaning behind the thoughts. The story builds to a powerful crescendo and the ending comes as a surprise as the inner workings of the two girls are revealed.
Don't let the length of this book put you off. It's an addicting read that will find you thinking to yourself, "just one more page." Before you know it, the story has drawn you in and you are hooked until the final page. Ms. Hopkins' is a great author for those teens that are hesitant or resistant to reading. The story moves quickly, and the topics are those that most authors would be afraid to broach. She speaks honestly and openly to teens, who may come away that much more aware of the world that surrounds them.
Reviewed by: Jaglvr
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