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Identical
672 pages
A jagged, breathless descent into the darkest corners of family trauma and fractured identity, told in visceral free verse.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like holding your breath in a dark, claustrophobic room. The narrative moves with a propulsive, jagged energy, driven by the stark and visually arresting free verse that forces you to absorb every devastating blow. It is an unflinching, raw exploration of trauma, fractured identity, and the toxic secrets that rot a family from the inside out. The mood is heavy and dread-soaked, pulling you deeper into a harrowing psychological spiral where nothing is as perfect as it seems on the surface. It is a deeply unsettling but impossible-to-put-down experience, perfect for readers who gravitate toward dark, emotionally devastating contemporary fiction that refuses to look away from the ugliest realities of abuse and survival.
- Mood
- claustrophobic
- dread-soaked
- harrowing
- haunting
- Tone
- raw
- unflinching
- urgent
- dark
- intense
- Pace
- propulsive
- Themes
- fractured identity · family secrets · trauma and abuse · illusion of perfection · destructive coping mechanisms
- The writing
- Sparse, jagged, and visually striking free verse that forces the reader to pause and absorb the emotional impact of every word.
- The arc
- A descent into a suffocating nightmare of trauma and addiction that culminates in a shattering, mind-bending revelation.
- Who it's for
- Readers who crave dark, emotionally devastating contemporary YA that tackles taboo subjects with unflinching honesty.
Content notes
- sexual abuse
- incest
- substance abuse
- self-harm
- eating disorders
About the book
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?
Description from Open Library.
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