Did Alice do the right thing to stay with Mary? How would their lives have unfolded had Alice followed her heart?

Alice opts to stay with her twin, Mary, but "dreamed at times about another life and what might have happened." How do you think the pair's lives would have unfolded had Alice followed her heart? Do you believe she did the right thing?

This was the story that sat with me through the book. Why did Mary have to "off" Alice and then keep her body around for a while? Had Alice followed her heart when she was young, maybe Mary would have ventured out or accepted her life as a spinster but we'll never know.

Co-dependency is sad and forever blocks both individuals from growing and becoming the best they can in life.

I understand that the bond between twins can be very strong, and that the two of them were dependent on each other for survival, but I think that Alice's handling of her first opportunity was unfortunate to say the least. If the relationship were one of mutual respect and love, then perhaps some solution to the dilemma could have been worked out. Each subsequent experience only worsened the situation and resentment takes over.

They loved each other in a devoted but toxic way; however, Mary wanted Alice to stay with her because she couldn't face life without her sister. Was it jealousy, the feeling that no one loved her, or competition? When Alice fell in love, Mary felt threatened and chose to punish her sister by killing her. I didn't suspect that--SHOCKING!!!

Not being a twin, I can't know what kind of a bond they had. I was cheering Alice on to follow her heart. What happened was devastating!

I certainly didn’t foresee that Mary was as “off balance” as she was. The author mentioned several times that Alice was the twin that people warmed up to, and Mary was the darker, more introspective one. But who knew she would end of killing her sister? So, yes, Alice should have left, but I’m not sure she realized how unbalanced her sister was.

I hoped Alice would part ways with Mary so was disappointed that she gave up all opportunities to venture forth, and of course her terrible demise solidified my feelings. Mary’s life was a tragedy, too.

That was such a sad and shocking section. Looking back I think Alice should have run for it! Alice knew Mary better than we ever could and she knew her twin was prone to darkness. However,I don’t know that even Alice would have predicted that Mary would have attacked her so violently. It was beyond unfortunate that these two women were left so alone and codependent at such a very young age. The isolation seemed to increase Mary’s obsession with keeping her sister and the orchard separated from the rest of the world and added to her instability. Alice needed to think more of her own needs and her own desires. Perhaps had she insisted on moving forward earlier in her life she not only would have escaped her fate, lived a happier and longer life, but Mary may have been more able to adapt and moved forward as well and her mental state might not have become so precarious.

I found myself wondering whether Alice stayed with Mary out of love or out of fear. I do wish she had listened to her yearnings and found a life of her own apart from Mary.

This part of the book was incredible. Such a complicated relationship that we didn’t really understand how unhinged it really was. A bit Norman Bates like. I loved it.

Oh my. I was so saddened by this story, by one twin sacrificing her life for the other, for Mary making Alice sacrifice her life. I don't think Alice should have stayed, and I certainly don't think Mary should have murdered her to make her stay.

This story line began with so much heartfelt sympathy for Alice, and devolved into a creepy horror story - felt so weird to me. I wanted Alice to hit the highway far sooner, and leave Mary behind, but then there wouldn’t have been the continuing creepy thread, which I admittedly found cool

Twins have a bond that no others can understand, so it did not surprise me that Alice did not leave Mary. But who knew that Mary was so deranged?