Greenwillow Books
September 15, 2015
400 pages
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Tippi and Grace share everything—clothes, friends . . . even their body. Writing in free verse, Sarah Crossan tells the sensitive and moving story of conjoined twin sisters, which will find fans in readers of Gayle Forman, Jodi Picoult, and Jandy Nelson.
Tippi and Grace. Grace and Tippi. For them, it’s normal to step into the same skirt. To hook their arms around each other for balance. To fall asleep listening to the other breathing. To share. And to keep some things private. The two sixteen-year-old girls have two heads, two hearts, and each has two arms, but at the belly, they join. And they are happy, never wanting to risk the dangerous separation surgery.
But the girls’ body is beginning to fight against them. And soon they will have to face the impossible choice they have avoided for their entire lives.
There are certain authors you know you can trust to be your go-to when you want to read a specific kind of relationship or character done right, Sarah Crossan is that author for sisterly relationships. After reading Apple and Rain, I was especially looking forward to One and Grace and Tippi's relationship. Now, I know that Crossan really, really, really can do unique, impeccably done stories about the bond and relationship between sisters, with unique struggles.
Tippi and Grace aren't your ordinary twin, teenage sisters. As conjoined twins, their lives have been different from most - from the shortened life expectancy to the medical tests and the home schooling.
Now, as they begin 'actual' school, we - and they - get to learn more about who they are.
At first, I did wish that both sisters had been narrators, but as it continued, I appreciated the single narrator. Having Grace as our narrator was a great parallel to how the girls wanted people to see them as individuals, not one person just because they shared part of their body.
Though she was not a main character or part of very much of the action, I loved their sister Dragon. She was someone that easily could have been a main character -- complex, interesting, with her own story -- but she showed us a lot about Grace and Tippi, how their family has been impacted by them being conjoined twins, how Dragon, specifically, has been impacted. The author really did an astouding amount with her character and the insight she provides.
Sarah Crossan did a beautiful job with One. Her main characters are different from others I've read and their story absolutely leaves you with something (or things) to think about and the secondary characters are all deserving of the main focus, too, they are so well done.
One is written in verse and I love its style, what we learn about the characters, what we see, and the emotion it is all able to incite. This is one story you won't be able to put down and then won't forget.
Other books you may also enjoy: Apple and Rain by Sarah Crossan and The Originals by Cat Patrick
copy received from publisher for review
Oh goodness. This sounds fantastic. Probably a fast, light, poetic and flowing read too if it is in free verse. What a title. That single word inspires so much once you understand the premise. That cover art too...I feel like this is a book that simply cannot get lost in the onslaught of new releases. This is genuinely unique.
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