I just love Spinelli. Even though he tells a similar story with new names and faces, it's the kind of story you can never hear enough of, because every time you read it, you become just a little bit better.

The story reminded me of Crash, except that the duel narrators opens this one up to girls as well. Jake and Lily are twins who've always had a special connection, but as they get older Jake starts to pull away. As Lily gets closer to her long lost Poppy and struggles to cope with losing her b More...

Twins Jake and Lily have always been close, so close that they can complete each other's thoughts. But this year, Jake seems to be moving in a different direction. He's hanging out with a different group of friends, including Bump Stubbins, a local bully that Lily cannot abide. Readers have a chance to follow the story from two perspectives since the twins are writing a book about their lives. This particular device allows readers to feel empathy for both characters, especially when Jake finds h More...

I love Spinellli. This was a weird and good story.

The book started on a very high "cuteness" level, but then settled into a good medium. I loved Jake's story although seeing bullying just breaks my heart, even though I think it is one of the most effective ways of powerfully demonstrating the lesson Jake learns in the end. I liked Lily's end game to be an independent person (She really is kind of crazy at 11 when you think about it), though some of her process with her grandpa was weird. It's h More...

Jake and Lily Wambold are twins so inseparable that they can read each other’s thoughts. They can’t play hide and seek, because they always know where to find each other. But the summer they turn twelve, things begin to change. Jake makes some new friends and Lily feels abandoned and lost without her brother. At first she reacts in anger, but then her Poppy inspires her to find her ‘just Lily’ life. As Lily finds her own life, she learns more about herself and others. Jake, through his experienc More...

A roundly charming book. THIS is the book to read about bullying this year; THIS book takes place in the real world, is peopled by real people, talks down to no one, and--while, as in real life, there are adults present--the kids are the focus, the do-ers, the ones who make stuff happen.

I was going to write, on reading the first third or so of the book, about how delightful both Jake and Lily are. Then the book grew darker; Lily was still delightful but too sad to be comfortable with, and Jake, More...

Jake and Lily are twins. For as long as they can remember they have been each other's chosen playmate and constant companion. Their story told from both Jake and Lily's point of view details their toughest summer yet in which they learn a little about themselves as individuals and make their own separate groups of friends. Great coming of age book with exploration of some interesting relationships. Lily spends a lot of time bonding with her grandfather who is also dealing with a loss (his wife) More...

Jerry Spinelli is one of my favorite children's authors. MANIAC MAGEE, THE LIBRARY CARD, and STARGIRL were three of my absolute favorite books. JAKE AND LILY might not be an instant classic, but it is a wonderful story for boys and girls.

Jake and Lily are fraternal twins who sleepwalk to the train station on their birthday. It's one of many ways they're connected, including a sense for where the other is and what they're doing. But as they mature, they can't stay glued to each other. Jake starts More...

Jake and Lily are twins and they have this kind of super power connection. Once when Lily was inside coloring, she yelled out loud “I’m stuck!” and it turned out that Jake was stuck under a fence in the yard. Another time Lily was about to run into the street chasing a ball, Jake yelled out “STOP!”, but he was at the dentist five miles away. When they were younger Jake and Lily were best friends and always together. They called their special connection their “goombla.” Their goombla starts to fa More...

Originally Posted Here

Jake and Lily have been together ever since they were babies, they experience each other’s feelings and every night on their birthday the both sleepwalk to a train station. So when their parents suggest that it’s time to make some friends and have their separate rooms, Lily’s not happy; Jake doesn’t really care. But once Jake makes some friends, he forgets about Lily, and is suddenly mean to her. Lily’s alone, she has no friends to hang out with and she misses the old Jak More...

This book is about the title characters Jake and Lily. These characters are twins with very distinct personalities and a unique bond. The story discusses how the relationships between boys and girls differ as both mature. The relationship Jake and lily had in the beginning was very close, always knowing how each other felt, but as they reach the age of 11, this all changes. Jake wants to hang out with his friends and Lily wants to be with Jake, but ends up feeling rejected by Jake not understand More...

Jake and Lily are twins – the spooky kind. They hear each other's thoughts, sense when the other twin is in danger, and, most magically, sleepwalk together every year on their birthday. Lily wants to believe that they are a matched pair – alike in every way – but Jake has his doubts. In the summer of their eleventh year, Jake finally moves into his own bedroom, and the twins begin the painful process of differentiation.

I was hooked from the first chapter, which is narrated in alternating lines b More...

I'm glad I stuck with this book. I decided to read it because 1) I loved Jerry Spinelli when I was younger (Stargirl!!!!!), and 2) This was one of those super cheap Kindle books on special this month. I figured I couldn't go wrong for two dollars.

At first it was very "cute," like to the point where I wondered if I should continue with it, or if his books had been like this when I read them years ago-- you know, when I was still at an acceptable age to be reading YA lit. I dunno. Lily just seemed More...

Jake and Lily were born eleven minutes apart on a train speeding through the Moffat Tunnel in Colorado. Their whole lives, they have shared a special twin-connection. They can communicate without speaking. Jake can sense when Lily is in danger. They spend every waking minute together. Until Jake becomes friends with Lily's least favorite person, Bump Stubbins.

This was a very charming book. Most kids will not have read a book that switches off between narrators. This would be a great introductio More...

THREE WORDS: Completely Captivating & Touching

MY REVIEW: Every once in a while a MG Contemporary comes along and really captures my heart, mind and imagination completely…Jerry Spinelli’s Jake and Lily is definitely one of those books!

Twins Jake and Lily are more than just brother and sister, they’re best friends. They have a powerful connection that allows them to know when the other one is in trouble or hurt, finish each other’s sentences and communicate without words. The twins were born More...

Jake and Lily are twins, and since they’ve been six years old, they’ve realized they’ve got something special. Something they call goombla – the ability to know the other’s thoughts, feelings, and location. And even though they are different from each other, it’s like they’re two halves of the same person. But now that fifth grade has ended and summer is starting, things are different. Jake and Lily each get separate rooms. Jake starts hanging out with a new group of guys, including Bump Stubbin More...

Jake and Lily are twins. They were born in the California Zephyr train, in the Moffat Tunnel.

Cool.

They have something special that intertwine them. Both can feel the other’s thoughts, fear, and presence. In their birthday since they’re sixth, they somehow wake up in a train station. That is their secret, the thing that makes them special. Goombla.

Super cool!

But now they’re both eleven and having their summer holiday, Jake starts hanging out with other boys. He never has time to play with Lily an More...

This book is really amazing it is my favorite book of all times. Jake and Lily are twins and they think they have "goobla", goobla is a magical power that tells them where the other person is when they are playing hide-and-seek and when one is in trouble the other one calls out for help. For a example " Jake was at the dentist, which is five miles away from his house. Lily was playing with a ball the ball went onto the street in the middle and she was going to go get it, but there was a car comi More...

Jerry Spinelli's books are reason for celebration. A hundred years after the release of Jake and Lily into a world of young readers starving for substance and the strengthening of our emotions and character that great literature offers, when Jerry Spinelli is no longer writing new stories and all we have left of him is a collection of transcendent juvenile novels that changed millions of hearts and affected billions of others, I hope we never lose the sense of what a gift it was each time Jerry More...

Jake & Lily are twins who have always felt that they were 1/2 of the same whole. They have a special connection that even they can't put into words. So they make up their own word for their magical connection- Goombla. Because of their Goombla they never feel lost or lonely even when they are alone. But even twins who are as connected as Jake & Lily must eventually find their own identities. One summer everything changes. Jake embraces the changes while Lily fights against them. Before t More...

Jake & Lily are twins who have always felt that they were 1/2 of the same whole. They have a special connection that even they can't put into words. So they make up their own word for their magical connection- Goombla. Because of their Goombla they never feel lost or lonely even when they are alone. But even twins who are as connected as Jake & Lily must eventually find their own identities. One summer everything changes. Jake embraces the changes while Lily fights against them. Before More...

I truly liked this story. At first, I wondered where the story was going, but it is the story of Lily and Jake, twins, and how as they grow, they need to forge their own lives. Lily is resistent to the idea and wants them to be together all the time forever. Jake gradually moves away by making some new friends, the "Death Rays". Lily eventually finds her way after a few missteps. The best thing about the story is how Lily and Jake gradually become close siblings again. I was very moved by the De More...

I will admit that I am a huge Jerry Spinelli fan, and will read anything he writes. This middle school book is a perfect example of what I love about him. There are some serious messages about growing up, embracing the changes that inevitably come with said growing up, making choices about who we want to be, and recognizing that ALL actions (or non actions) have consequences. And while these are easily identified, they are not overly heavy handed or preachy. Lily and Jake, the two main character More...

Jake and Lily are twins who share a special closeness and understanding. In the course of growing up, Jake separates from his sister and begins to hang out with the neighborhood boys. Lily, who isn't ready to give up their unique relationship, is devastated. (Spoiler Alert)
With the help of her grandfather, she begins to develop her own interests and friendships. Jake, meanwhile, begins to realize that a person you hang out with may not really be a friend after all, and that someone who might be More...

Jake and Lily are twins, and this story, narrated by both in alternating chapters (like Paul Zindel’s The Pigman) traces their special relationship at a time when one of them is ready to form a separate, non-twin identity while the other doesn’t even grasp the concept. Jake is hanging out with some neighborhood boys Lily can’t stand. Lily, left to spend increasing amounts of time alone or with her grandfather, searches for a hobby or friendship to replace the void her brother has left her.

One th More...

Some of Spinelli's works are masterpieces that trigger shattering sobs and make you ache for the characters. This is not one of them. Which is not to say that it's hilarious and makes you cheer for the characters either. Instead, it's just blah. I think the only emotion elicited was pride in having managed to finish in one sitting so I wouldn't have to pick it up again.

The concept of alternating narrators intrigued me at the beginning, but I didn't get a sense of what were supposed to be vastly More...

Jake and Lily are twins. They've been inseparable up until the time this book begins, and they are even able sometimes to communicate without words, and even while miles apart. But the summer they turn 11, Jake is beginning to feel confined in the identity of Twin, and wants to separate himself from Lily, who would still prefer to be best friends with her brother, and sees no need to change. She is particularly afraid that they will lose their special powers of communication if they emphasize th More...

I've always wondered what it would be like to be a twin. Would I always want to be around him/her? Would I want my space? Would we have special 'twin powers'? This book gave me agreat insight onto those wondering thoughts I have always had. There's nothing like family, especially a sibling you're very close too, and then to suddenly see the bond slipping away. This was hard for Lily when Jake didn't hang out with her anymore. All it took was Lily finding herself and realizing that she and Jake w More...

I didn't actually bother to read anything about this one, and thought it was going to be about guy and girl friends who grow apart as that gets weird. I would still like to find a book along that theme, but really enjoyed this twin story. It took awhile to get into, but the switching back and forth between the two "authors" helped move it along. I enjoyed that they had a strong family unit and involved parents. I kind of wanted to hit the brother most of the way through the book, but I feel that More...

Jake and Lily by Jerry Spinelli

Twins. It is not a new topic for fiction, especially not for young adult fiction, so Jerry Spinelli breaks no ground with his newly released novel, and yet, even knowing that the same-birthday sibling world has been explored numerous times, if you are going to go there again as an author, you need to create something new. Spinelli attempts to make his mark in the twins-literature world by having pre-teen, differing-sex, opposite ends of the personality-spectrum kid More...

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