Book Review for Identical

Title: Identical
Author: Ellen Hopkins
Pages: 565 (in poetic style)
Identical is a novel about two twin sisters, Kaeleigh and Raeanne. Their parents are often not home, and when they are home they don't feel loved enough by both. The whole family is a mess in the first place, because of a car crash which almost killed their mother (and she never forgave their father for it) Kaeleigh (who is loved by her father) just wants to feel loved by her mother, while Raeanne wants to feel loved by her father. This makes the twins insanely jealous of the other. Kaeleigh is loved by her father in a sexual way, and just wants to be freed from him. When she meets a boy named Ian, she falls in love with him, but she feels it's not right, because of all the things her father has done to her. Raeanne is once again jealous of Kaeleigh because Raeanne just gets with guys for drugs, and she knows she'll never have love like Kaeleigh. After this it gets sort of confusing... Raeanne is with her "boyfriend" Tyler, when Ian walks in and freaks out. He yells at her because he thinks Raeanne is Kaeleigh. She tries to explain that she is in fact Raeanne, but Ian tells her that Raeanne died years ago in a car crash, the same car crash that turned Kaeleigh's parents against each other. Kaeleigh is then put in a mental institution for having multiple personality disorder.

     It did take a while to get into this book, but once secrets were revealed, it really got interesting. Things got a little confusing sometimes, but in the end the book explained itself and made you realize how things fell into place. There wasn't much action, but the book still kept you hooked with suspenseful situations, and emotions that are hard to understand.

     I would give this book 4 out of 5 stars, because even though it took a while to get into, once you're hooked, you stay hooked til the end. It was probably the least predictable book I've ever read, but the outcome wasn't so crazy that it couldn't happen in real life. It has some really intense parts an intense emotions that make you think "wow". Overall, a very intense and good novel.

Book Review for Perfect Match

Title: Perfect Match
Author: Jodi Picoult
351 pages
Genre: Realistic Fiction
     Nina Frost notices her young son Nathaniel, is acting strange, and suddenly won't talk at all. Nina takes him to a doctor to see if something is medically wrong with him. The doctor says there's nothing wrong with Nathaniel's voice, but that he had been molested by someone, and this is how he coped with it. Nina and her husband Caleb's worlds are shattered, and they try to teach Nathaniel sign language so he can tell them who molested him. At first Nathaniel signs "father" and Nina immediately accuses Caleb, and files a restraining order. After further evaluation, Nina finds out Nathaniel meant Father as in a church Father. While they are in court, Nina shoots Father Glen (the man accused of Nathaniel's molestation) so she can put an end to her nightmares. Later the doctors find Nina killed the wrong man, it was a different Father who molested Nathaniel. Nina is held for manslaughter, and Caleb poisons the real molester, without anyone noticing.

     I really liked this book, because there were so many unexpected things that happened. I had NO idea that Nina was going to murder the Father, or that it was the wrong guy. Everything I expected to happen didn't end up happening, because Jodi would always make an unexpected twist to the story. The entire book was intense, and kept you wanting to read more. There was never a point where I actually predicted something correctly, so most of the major events threw me way off, and made the novel very intense.
   
     I would give this book 4 out of 5 stars, because the book started intense, and stayed that way the entire time. There were no relaxing parts, and no relief until the very end (and even then, there is barely any). The beginning sort of drags, but personally I think it's just because you really want to know all the details, and they don't come soon enough. Overall this was an excellent read.