Identical By Ellen Hopkins (Spoilers)

Identical written by Ellen Hopkins is the best book I have read this semester! I started reading this book because I desperately wanted to read a novel in verse this semester, but I did not want to read the same book everyone else in my class was reading. I chose Ellen Hopkins because, unfortunately, she was the only author I could find in the book store who wrote in verse.

This novel is about twin sisters who are connected not only because they are twins but also in the thoughts they have (as we see in the connection in words between chapters). Kaelaigh, the twin that is soft spoken and fairly innocent, is sexual, verbally, and physically abused by her father on a regular basis. Kaeleigh is constants battling with gorging on food, cutting herself and trying to find love from her mother.

Raeanne is the polar opposite of her twin. She is tough, trying to find love from many different men becuase she can not find love from her father, and she is very strong. No one can mess with Raeanne without being told off. SHe is constantly trying to look out for her sister and is the only one who knows the families dirty secrets.

This book is extremely graphic, going into details about the sexual abuse Kaeleigh experiences. This is the only thing that makes me question whether I would choose to use this book in a classroom Like Smack, I feel I would get a lot of angry phone calls from parents. However, I think this book would be great to use as a mentor text on how to write in verse. Each poem in this novel is connected and the last word of each chapter is connected to the last word of the first poem in the next chapter. The novel is beautifully written.

I would recommend this book to anyone with the disclaimer that it is almost unbearably graphic.

Ghostgirl By Tonya Hurley

The book Ghostgirl by Tonya Hurley is the book I read after finishing Smack and it was the perfect book to read after such an intense book. Although the novel is about a girl, Charlotte, dropping dead while chasing her crush, Daemon, in her high school, the novel is not a tear jerker. It was hard for me to have very much sympathy for Charlotte while reading this book because I did not like her. She was completely self-centered and ridiculous for most of the book!

However, I feel this book would be perfect for a read-aloud book. It is an easy read and is funny. This novel also deals with teen death, being self-centered, and being lonely. These are conflicts most teenagers have to deal with.

One of the reasons I chose to read this book is because a classmate presented this book in class and the cover looked amazing. This book is a pretty book. The edges of the pages are silver, the cover is really creative and the pages in the book are white, pink and black. Also, this book has a website that is also very creative, including excerpts of the book, fun activities and horoscopes. Everyone should at least check out the link. -- http://www.ghostgirl.com/

Lastly, this book has a sequel, "Ghostgirl Homecoming". It is just as pretty as the first book and I have a very strong urge to read it!

Smack By Melvin Burgess (Spoilers)

The novel Smack written by Melvin Burgess is a story focused on two teenagers in England in the 1980's. The two main characters are named Tar and Gemma. The two are 14 years old and both run away from their parents, but for very different reasons. They meet others who have run away and learn how to squat abandoned houses in order for them to have places for them live. While living on the streets, both Gemma and Tar get hooked on the drug heroine and become "junkies". We learn about their constant battles with the drug and being on their own. The characters, although they feel like they are adults, show how childlike they really are throughout this depressing, yet informative novel.

This novel is extremely graphic. That is why I struggle with the thought about this book being taught in a classroom. I feel that if I tried to teach, i would get a lot of angry phone calls from parents. However, I still feel that this book should be taught. This text gives great examples of writing from many different perspectives because each chapter is from the point of view of a different character.

Another reason I feel that this book should be taught is because it is very informative about the risks of heroine, and drugs in general. We learn how hard it is for a person who gets hooked, to get clean. It is nearly impossible and none of the characters get completely clean in the end. Also, Melvin Burgess researched for this book. he interviewed people who lived on the streets, addicts and dedicated a lot of his time to researching this book. Although Melvin Burgess did not live on the streets himself, he worked hard to make this novel as accurate as possible.

I think it would be really hard to teach this book, but it needs to be done, because this novel is too great to be ignored.