Sarah Crossan is the author of ‘Apple and Rain’, one of the 2015 Carnegie Award nominees that all the students who read it thoroughly enjoyed. When I saw this book available for request on Netgalley I couldn’t resist.
Grace and Tippi are conjoined twins. Though they are many other things, this fact is what seems to define them in the eyes of others.
Through the eyes of Grace, the quieter twin, we see the girls starting school as their family cannot afford to home-school them any longer. We view their family going about their daily lives, and the impact that the girls’ condition has on those around them. We gain some insight into the practicalities of living so closely intertwined with another person. This all sounds very worthy, but that is not the impression that you get as you’re reading this.
The free verse of the novel makes this a very easy read, but it keeps you firmly in its grasp. The emotional pull of our narrator Grace really kicks in as we watch the twins and their family dealing with the very real impact of their failing health. This was a beautifully-told story that had me in tears, and it is one that I will strongly recommend to those who enjoyed ‘Apple and Rain’.
I had to update this entry, as ‘One’ was the winner of the 2016 Carnegie Award. All the students that were involved in the Shadowing process rated this highly, and anything that helps readers see that poetry is not something to fear is to be applauded.