Identical,
Ellen Hopkins,
Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division,
565
I found the book Identical in the South Hadley High School library from Ms. Mazur.·
Identical is about two sisters named Raeanne and Kaeleigh, who are twins but are completely different. The setting of the book takes place in their home and at school. To start off Kaeleigh is favored by their daddy, according to Raeanne. She believes this because their dad had Kaeleigh show how much she loved him in inappropriate ways, which they both don’t understand. You should know as well though their dad is a heavy alcoholic and their mom is never home because she is running for congress. When Raeanne sees Kaeleigh is being favored more she becomes very jealous and gets into drugs, drinking, and sex; all with her boyfriend Mick. Kaeleigh though, who shows her dad her love because he asks her to, is the complete opposite and doesn’t really want a sexually / physically relationship with Ian. In the begging you hear about one of Raeannes teachers Mr. Lawyer but he doesn’t really come in till later and when he does you find he leads Raeanne on. (-- You can’t give too much because you’ll give everything away . . . so I suggest reading this amazing book.)
Ellen Hopkins wrote Identical in more a poem format. It might be 565 pages but if you would put it like a normal book it’d be half of that. Also each chapter is labeled with one of the sisters names and that tells you who the chapter will be about. One page from a chapter about Raeanne goes, “Knitted together, / threaded by pain- / sharpened needles. / That one innocent / joining was only / the beginning, but / neither realized it / that night. And all / I could do was linger / in a dark corner, / sharp jabs of envy / tearing my eyes.” Each “/ “means it goes down a line. ·
When being a victim you want to find ways to get out of reality and Raeanne shows how she personally does, which isn’t the best way. “And I love the distant place / it takes me to. Everything feels / right there. Mellow. Easy. / Stress-free. I even love the munchies,” (Hopkins 27). You don’t need to smoke to get away from feeling unwanted; you can write or even go to counseling.
Parents need to pay attention to their children because they notice when something is wrong or when you have no awareness. “Not our neighbors. / Not our friends. / Not even our relatives. / No one / suspects Mom’s real motive for running for Congress is to run away from us,” (Hopkins 18). Communication is the best way to solve problems in a family; not running away from your family. When abused do not think any less of yourself, what happened to you, you have no control over it. You are still just as perfect as you were before the tragedy happened, “I So Do Not Deserve Him / He is / Mr. Perfect/ and I’m a perfect / ass to have ever, for / even a moment, believed / we could resemble a / real couple, in real love,” (Hopkins 312). You deserve the best of the best nothing less, again think nothing less of yourself.·
For me as a reader of Identical I was really spoken to by the language and points made by Hopkins. Sexually abuse needs to be presented more and more; victims need to be recognized. Being told to not to talk and keep it a secret is wrong, victims should not have to stand in silence and deal with abuse. Personally for me this book spoke to me because it’s easy to be lead on. All sexually victims stand up and be heard; let the next generation of victims know it is okay to talk.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I love Ellen Hopkins. I read her book called Burned last year and it was just plain amazing. I love her writing style. I think the poem form is really unique for a novel, and it gets more attention from the reader than a normal line by line book might. Ellen Hopkins' books are really deep, and make you question your own life. I definitely need to get this book and read it too. It sounds just as awesome as her other works.
ReplyDeleteI know I would like this book, first because it is written by Ellen Hopkins and also it is about sister's relationships. I know in my life i have been compared to my sister so i think it would be interesting to read about another sisterly relationship. this book has a a lot of normal life situations I can relate to and it seems like a very interesting book.
ReplyDeleteEven though it seems like a book for young female adults, I would probably read it. It is ridiculous how many children get sexually abused. Nobody should go to drugs and sex just to get away from there problems. It seems like a very emotional book but I am very interested.
ReplyDeleteI've never read a book that is in the form of a poem. The idea of this book seems really interesting and controversial. It's awful that one of the sisters goes to drugs, alcohol, and sex just to get away from her problems. There are other ways to deal with things like that and it is sad that she felt that she needed to do that. I think that I would read this book because the way its written is like nothing I've ever read before. Nice book choice.
ReplyDelete-Anna Kosciolek
Although I would probably not read this book, the plot still seemed very interesting. I became interested in your summary of the book because it seems to bring out great morals of staying away from drugs and sex even when times are tough. I was also impressed because at the same moment, Ellen Hopkins shows how getting into things like drugs and sex can be very dangerous. I find the story unique as well because Ellen Hopkins is able to show in her book two things that, although would generally be similar, can also be totally opposites. Nice Essay.
ReplyDeleteI've never read any books by Ellen Hopkins, however this book seems very interesting. I'm really into realistic books, which is true in this case. Teenagers resort to drugs to try and escape from their problems, and I feel like this story could be very touching to some viewers. I don't know if I'd want to read this book, but I'd suggest it to many teenagers, especially ones dealing with similar problems.
ReplyDeleteI like your essay a lot especially what you put as your response. Sexual abuse victims should speak up no matter what their age is. Though this is about a girl being sexually abused, boys are also sexually abused. I really would like to read this book, it seems very interesting.
ReplyDeleteThis book has a strong subject that doesn't get enough attention. I've never read a book in poem form before, but I love poems. That's why I think this book would be interesting to read.It's sad how people think they can run away from their problems because if you just try to run they will never leave. People need to face their problems, and maybe this book will teach that lesson.
ReplyDelete