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Published Sep 2015
400 pages
Genre: Poetry & Novels in Verse
Publication Information
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.
"Starred Review. Writing mainly from Grace's perspective, Crossan interjects the voices of friends and family, offering a glimpse of the difficulties conjoined twins and their loved ones face. In asking important questions about how bodies shape identity, Crossan's novel achieves a striking balance between sentimentality and sisterly devotion." - Publishers Weekly
"Starred Review. Grace's elegant and intimate first-person narration combines with her wry sense of humor to create a likable character in a believable situation. This is honest, unapologetic realism from a diverse perspective not often seen in young-adult fiction. Not to be overlooked." - Kirkus
"Employing free verse to chronicle their coming of age, British author Crossan smoothly embeds historical and medical information regarding her well–researched topic while intently portraying each twin's personality and unique characteristics…Crossan trusts her characters and her readers to find their better selves through her gently paced story." - Booklist
"Poignant and compelling…Though the sisters have unique physical challenges, they share that universal teen desire to fit in, fall in love, and find a distinct identity." - VOYA
"Through her understated, evocative narration, Grace's coming of age becomes a meditation on difference, a celebration of the deepest bonds of sisterhood, and…a stirring tragedy. Grace's uniquely moving "story of how it is to be Two" will inspire compassion - and elicit plenty of tears." - The Horn Book
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Sarah Crossan has lived in Dublin, London and New York, and now lives in Brighton. She graduated with a degree in philosophy and literature before training as an English and drama teacher at Cambridge University. Sarah has won many international awards for her verse novels, including the CILIP Carnegie Medal, the CBI Book of Year award and the CLiPPA Poetry Award. This is her first novel for adults.
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