One by Sarah Crossan (Website, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads)Published by HarperCollins on September 15th 2015
Genres: Action & Adventure, Love & Romance, Science & Technology, Survival Stories, Young Adult
Pages: 400
Format: ARC
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. Each of the sixteen-year-old girls has her own head, heart, and 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 Grace doesn't want to admit it. Not even to Tippi. How long can they hide from the truth—how long before they must face the most impossible choice of their lives?Carnegie Medal–nominated author Sarah Crossan gives us a story about unbreakable bonds, hope, loss, and the lengths we will go to for the person we love most.
One was not one of my typical reads… and by that I just mean that the style isn’t really something I normally grab. Crossan wrote this story in free verse, and I have to admit that when I opened it up I cringed a bit because like I said… not really my thing.
After reading it, I honestly don’t think there could have been a better way to tell this story.
You all know from my previous twin book reads that I have a thing for them… I like to see if an author can get the nuances, the complex relationship and emotions just right.
Crossan takes this one step further with Tippi and Grace. See they’re not just twins… they’re Siamese twins. Connected at their belly, their normal has always been a coordination and sharing of limbs but they also have a desire to be seen as two different people.
At the age of sixteen Tippi and Grace have to start a new school and that’s not even the biggest of their worries, a depressed father, an over-worked mother, a sister obsessed with dance who just might have an eating disorder and life proves to be an incredible challenge for these girls… but life isn’t quite done with them yet.
Something happens that forces them to face a possible future they never even considered.
This story was an incredibly fast read for me… the free verse definitely helped with that. The flow and pacing worked wonderfully and despite the story not being weighed down with a lot of words, I never felt like I was missing anything. Additionally this story is told in first person from the point of view of only one of the twins which was a bit different than I was expecting, but it actually really worked for me… I’m not sure I would have liked to experience this in dual pov.
Crossan did an amazing job of building this amazing relationship between Tippi and Grace. The way she made you understand that these girls never wanted a life apart even if it could have been possible… despite the challenges, the whispers and stares, the health scares, they couldn’t imagine not turning and seeing the others face, or feeling an arm wrapped around them, or falling asleep with the other’s heart beating next to theirs. This was their life and despite wondering what a life separated could bring them, they just didn’t want it.
If you’re new to free verse, I definitely think this is the book to start with, I completely enjoyed that aspect of it. This story is packed so full of ups and downs, highs and lows, you’re guaranteed a bit of an emotional roller coaster ride, but I promise you’ll find an touching story of love and sisterhood within the pages.
Thank you to the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.
Now head on over to my other half of the tour- Liza at WhoRUBlog has a Q&A with Sarah Crossan!Â
Enter to win a copy of One by Sarah Crossan
Recent Comments