Insta Review: One, by Sarah Crossan

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Conjoined twins Tippi and Grace are so close, they’re joined at the hip. Literally. (I know, I know, eye roll.) At 16 years old, they have already outlived their life expectancy with flying colors, and the world doesn’t really know what to do with them anymore. High school, friendships, romance, family dynamics; Tippi and Grace deal with all the issues typical of 16 year old girls. Until Grace starts blacking out without warning, and Tippi can’t catch her breath, and their problems become anything but typical. In the book’s author’s note, Sarah Crossan writes, “Researching this novel has been painful. I have spent many hours in tears…”, and that comes across very clearly in the writing. Tippi and Grace’s story, told in verse, has no shortage of drama. I’ve read a few of Sarah Crossen’s other novels, and her writing feels like Jodi Picolt for a younger set (think heavy symbolism, intense emotion, and soap-opera plotlines). For me, that’s more of a deterrent; but for many it will be a selling point. One touches on light drinking, smoking, cursing, romance, and disordered eating, but nothing more than what you’d see in an “after-school special”. What puts the book in YA territory is the focus on death and the heart-wrenching choices the girls and their family are forced to make. Readers that love drama, sisterly stories, and novels in prose will speed through One and happily move onto Sarah Crossan’s other novels. #bookreview #ireadya #youngadult #yalit #poetry #weneeddiversebooks #bookstagram

A post shared by Ms. Fitz (she/her) (@fitzbetweentheshelves) on May 6, 2018 at 3:31pm PDT