One by Sarah Crossan

July 10, 2018

Grace and Tippi are conjoined twins, joined at the waist, defying the odds of survival for sixteen years. They share everything and they are everything to each other. They would never willingly choose to be parted. For them, that would be the real tragedy. But starting a new school as conjoined teenagers can make it hard not to at least imagine a normal life with dates and walking through the hall without having people stare at you. When the twins’ health starts to tremble, they have to make an impossible decision.

We get the story from Grace’s POV which is a very intimate experience. We get to know her thoughts, her beliefs, her worries and how she copes with her extraordinary life. To her, Tippi is everything, not just her twin but a part of who she is and she cannot imagine a world without her.

The twins start a new school and although they are considered freaks at first, they manage to make friends and experience typical coming-of-age events (such as falling in love and skinny dipping). You feel greatly for the characters and you quickly realize that whether you’re normal or not, people can easily have the same issues. Their father drinks, their mother works too much and their sister is obsessed with her weight as a ballet dancer. Despite the chaotic family life, love surrounds the twins in a way that is undeniable. When their health starts to decrease, everyone is willing to help in their own way and the twins has to make a decision, they hoped they would never have to face.

This book is written in verse and I didn’t use to enjoy this format but I have been reading some great examples lately and it’s definitely growing on me. This story is so captivating that you quickly forget the format and just want to devour the whole story in one sitting.  I really like our main character Grace as well. She’s the more silent twin, the observer, but also a strong individual who dares to imagine the unimaginable.

I highly recommend this book and I will definitely be picking up more titles from Sarah Crossan as I have fallen in love with her writing!

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