Identical

Identical

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4.34 of 5 stars 4.34  ·  rating details  ·  22,643 ratings  ·  1,745 reviews
"Perfect on the outside, but behind the Normal Rockwell facades, each holds its secrets. Dark, untellable. Practically unbelievable." -- IDENTICAL

Kaeleigh and Raeanne are 16-year-old identical twins, the daughters of a district court judge father and politician mother running for US Congress. Everything on the surface seems fine, but underneath run very deep and damaging...more
Paperback, 565 pages
Published December 21st 2010 by Margaret K. McElderry Books (first published August 26th 2008)
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Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 3,000)
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Nancy
My grandfather was a prick. He was an alcoholic and a gambler. He had anger issues and extreme mood swings. He was liberal with his money at the race track and when he was out drinking with his buddies, but it was a big deal if my grandmother wanted a new dress or my mom needed a new pair of shoes. I always hated the way he treated my grandmother and my mother and hated the way they behaved when they were around him. I hated visiting my grandparents on Sundays after church and especially hated b...more
Kristi (The Story Siren)
Okay so, WOW. I was first introduced to the power of verse writing when I read I Heart You, You Haunt Me by Lisa Schroeder. I love the rawness, no fluffy descriptions or unneeded stances, just pure emotion. Laci is a huge fan of Ellen Hopkins and she had been trying to get me to read one of her books for a long time. And it isn’t that I didn’t want to, I was just waiting for the right opportunity. And when opportunity comes knockin, you best answer the door.

I read a lot of books. And ones that m...more
Karin
One family - damaged by tragedy. A father who drinks too much; an absentee, professionally-driven mother. Twin girls left in the middle.

Kaeleigh and Raeanne are identical twins - each with their own deep, dark secret. One daughter attracts the inappropriate attention of their damaged father. The other daughter, usually ignored, takes part in riskier and riskier behavior just screaming to be heard. Both girls suffer in silence, living behind the facade of a perfect, all-American family.

Ellen Hop...more
Emily May
This book was... disturbing. Very disturbing. I really like the author's style and I think the use of verse is highly effective and contributes something to the story that I never imagined possible... but. And there is a but. I felt this book, unlike Burned which I loved, just went too far. It made me feel uncomfortable, too much so. I can't explain, I usually really like books that are controversial and stretch boundaries but... a man performing oral sex on his daughter while her twin watched a...more
Lina
Oh Ellen Hopkins you just love tackling hard issues and then slapping me in the face with some of the most sicking concepts ever. Then of course, we never get a truly happy ending. If you are familiar with Hopkins' other works like Burned, Impulse, etc then this should not come as a surprise to readers.

Identical deals with child molestation, pedophilia, domestic abuse and the complete destruction of a family. Kaeleigh and Raeanne are twins with totally different personalities, Kaeleigh is very p...more
Debbie
Kaeleigh and Raeanne are identical twins, mirror images of each other. They share a terrible secret.

Kaeleigh is the good girl--she does well in school and has a lead role in the school musical. Ian, her sort-of boyfriend, loves her deeply. Her father loves her too, but not the way a father should.

Raeanne knows about her father's visits to Kaeleigh's bed. While a part of her wants to protect Kaeleigh, another part of her feels jealous because her father didn't pick her. She breaks rules at every...more
Danni
I can certainly say that this is one of my favorite books now. In the beginning, I couldn't help but to think what the ending would be like. It never really gives you a sure-fire conflict. I mean, yes, one twin is molested by her father. The other is getting into a lot of trouble with drugs and boys. But while reading it, the whole time I thought maybe their problems would resolve themselves. Once I got to the ending everything made sense to me and I couldn't help but to stare at my wall for a f...more
Caroline
This is one of those really hard books to review, because it's difficult to say if I really enjoyed it. It deals with twin sisters, one who is sexually abused by their father for years and the other who watches it from her bed.

It's a story dealing with sexual abuse, mental illness, drug abuse, alcoholism, eating disorders and promiscuity in teenagers, and at times it was really horrifying and difficult to read. But, Ellen Hopkins is really excellent at pulling you through the tough spots with so...more
Thomas
Feb 10, 2009 Thomas rated it 5 of 5 stars  ·  review of another edition Recommends it for: More mature teens
Recommended to Thomas by: Read "Impulse" and decided to pick up this one
Shelves: five-stars
I have to say, this book is pretty amazing.

Basically it's about these two twins, Kaeleigh and Raeanne. They are half of the All-American family, with a dad who is a judge and a mom who is running for a position in Congress. But what lies beneath their facade is really dysfunction; and the worst, worst kind.

Kaeleigh, the introverted one, is being sexually abused by Ray, her own father, and also binges and cuts herself. Raeanne is the exact opposite and is more outgoing, but finds herself wanting...more
Terry
Just finished my ARC. Devotees of Hopkins' earlier books will not be disappointed; if you don't care for her previous volumes, this won't change your mind. Maternal abandonment, drugs, casual sex, a tragic past, cutting, bulimia, and incest are just the obvious troubles Kaeleigh and Raeanne juggle. Like Identical, the story alternates view points between characters, keeping the plot humming along. There is an interesting sub-plot with a Holocaust rescuer, as well as a teacher-student relationshi...more
Anna
Apr 15, 2009 Anna rated it 2 of 5 stars  ·  review of another edition Recommends it for: Mature readers
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Angie Fisher
I have been a huge fan of Ellen Hopkins since I read her first book, Crank, which was based on the story of her own daughter's dance with drugs. I was hooked prior to knowing it was personal, but became a lifelong reader upon that realization and the subsequent story of how it's not always a happy ending, especially in the real world.

A wordy introduction to the book I took on my long weekend to Denver with my children. While they were swimming, I literally could not close it. to say it was dist...more
MarnieSkinner
Reading the book Identical was a very different experience for me, in an imaginative sort of way. It was very disturbing to hear all of the problems each "girl" were going through; with their father, their mother, grandparents, Ian, and schooling. Everything happening in their lives was so dramatic, nothing seemed to be good for either of them. It hurt me to have to hear all their complaints, espeically when it came to Kaeleigh. Every turn of the page was very suspenceful, knowing and waiting fo...more
Aryn
Actual Rating: 1 and a half stars
I was kind and rounded up.

I finished this book last night and I'm still not entirely certain what I want to say about it or how I want to rate it. I wanted to sleep on it, mull it over - I'm still at a loss. So, I'm just going to start writing and hope that whatever spills out gives me an appropriate star rating.

What the back of the book says: "Kaeleigh and Raeanne are identical down to the dimple. As daughters of a district-court judge father and a politician mo...more
Margot
2.5 stars for this one, but will round up to 3. While I found Ellen's writing hypnotic and it sucked me in, in a big way, I felt like this just seemed too....taboo. (Not going to lie. I figured out the plot twist by just reading the synopsis. )

I get that Ellen wants to tackle the very real problems of child molestation, pedophilia, drug abuse, mental illness....but it felt just very visceral and too much trying to shock you with horrific scenes.

I am no prude, but seriously, I can do without a s...more
Erin
Identical is the story of twins - Kaeleigh and Raeanne. Told in verse - which is the way Hopkins always writes - the twins alternate telling the story of their dysfunctional family from their perspectives. Kaeleigh wishes her mother, who is on the campaign trail, was at home more. Maybe then her father would focus his misplaced love and attention on her instead of Kaeleigh. Raeanne, in the meantime, feels abandoned by her father, and so she turns to drugs, alcohol and sex.

At first, the book seem...more
Erika
Jan 30, 2009 Erika rated it 5 of 5 stars  ·  review of another edition Recommends it for: everyone
Recommended to Erika by: borders?
This is one of the best books i've ever read.

Its about two girls, identical twins, who have very different personalities. Its told from both of their perspectives and written entirely in poems. They lead a hard life after a life altering car accident. Their mother, now cold and heartless is a politician, and is rarely home. Their father is a drunk and addicted to oxycodon.

Kaeleigh is unsure of herself, and unable to love because she is being molested by her. Ian, her best friend and only goo...more
Apoorva
Let me start by saying that when I read a book, I am usually certain about whether or not I liked it. However, that is not the case with this book. "Identical" is the first book I have read by Ellen Hopkins, and I'm very unsure what to think, or if I want to read any of her other books.

I have never particularly enjoyed verse writing, so when this book arrived and I saw that it was ALL in verse, I considered just leaving it in a corner to collect dust. BUT! Yes, there's a "but". After reading a c...more
Cassy
Ellen Hopkins does it again. Really, I feel like there isn't a single book of hers that I just don't absolutely adore. Two identical twins dealing with the atrocities of their lives.

I really like that even though Kaeleigh and Raeanne were identical, they were still two very different people. Raeanne into drugs (though not as heavily as in some of Hopkins other novels), drinking and sex to deal with the problems in their lives. Kaeleigh just used drinking and blocking it all from her mind. She wa...more
Samantha
Such a phenomenal read! It's my first book by Ellen Hopkins and I definitely plan on reading more of her books. This book is the story of two sisters, Kaleigh and Raeanne, who are identical twins. They come from a family who, by all appearances, are perfect; however behind closed doors and away from the media, they are anything but. Their mother, an aspiring Congresswoman, throws herself into her work, wishing to be anywhere but at home; while their father, a court judge inflects his many dark d...more
Christina
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
M'Lissa
This was a compelling read that deals with lots of important teen issues- sexuality, self-esteem and body image, eating disorders,cutting,drug usage,identity and the undeniable influence of child abuse on all of these. I would be careful about recommending this book to anyone under the age of 16- the subject matter is mature and disturbing. It is written in an unusual format- each page takes the form of a poem- sometimes in a word-shape that relates to the context. This made the 500 plus pages f...more
Claudia
Aug 30, 2008 Claudia rated it 5 of 5 stars  ·  review of another edition Recommends it for: Hopkins fans -- the legions of them
Recommended to Claudia by: all the kids who've read her other books
Hopkins has done it again. With every book she pushes the boundaries of YA...the subject matter here is brutal...sexual abuse where the perpetrator is a parent. She shows a family falling apart with no one trying to repair it. Her twin narrators are so strong...her transitions from one voice to another are flawless. I continue to use her work to illustrate concrete poetry, poems in the shape of their subjects. She continues her practice of writing poems within poems. The 'holy crap' is NOT at th...more
Katherine
RATING: 3.5 Out Of 5

Its hard to rate this book, as 3 stars means you liked it, but how can you possibly 'like' a book with the themes and issues this books contains. But the rating isnt about if you liked it or not, its about how it was written, the story of it. While the story was disturbing and the themes within were horrible and disgusting it was a well written and thoughtout book.
Lisa Osur
I love Ellen Hopkins' books. Although some of the content is very edgy, her verse and visual writting are amazing! This particular story was extra edgy because it's about a disfunctional family where the father is abusing one of his teenage daughters UGH- so be warned as it is pretty graphic and disturbing in parts(you find this out pretty early on in the story so I don't think I'm giving anything away). However, the way Hopkins writes the parts of the twins- in tandem and in verse is something...more
Leslie
This book is well-written and cleverly executed in free verse that sometimes forms shapes for emphasis. I couldn't help feeling manipulated by the way the intense, emotional content was dealt out. It was almost too much. Do teens ever really have ALL theses addictions at once? It's almost as if the author went though a list of teen problems and used up most of the list in this book. It was a compelling read, but it left me feeling icky at the end and all I can see now are the flaws.

It got a sta...more
Brandy
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Rebecca George
This book is amazing. It has the perspective of twin girls, Raeanne and Kaeleigh who may be identical twins (obviously where the title of the book came from) but they are two completely different people. This book is about their lives and the struggles they go through. They live with a father who does things he should not do, and a mother who is most of the time not even around.

Raeanne would be considered the more strong willed one. She does not allow anything past her. She doesn't take crap fr...more
Ally
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Jessica
Apr 27, 2013 Jessica rated it 4 of 5 stars  ·  review of another edition Recommends it for: anyone
Kaeleigh

I love no one but Ian but I still can't see him.
Trapped by my dad
who continues to be mad
about the accident that ruined
and now causes an illusion.
Raeanne

Im desperate for attention and I want the same affection
that Kaeleigh gets from dad even though it's bad.
Moms a lost cause
ever since dad broke the laws.
Driving while drunk
put this family in a funk.
Mom's running for congress and always away.
Dad's a lonely judge only doing things his way.
Kaeleigh's the way and that's how it will sta...more
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Ellen Hopkins Fan...: Identical 5 5 May 18, 2013 05:07pm  
Mrs. Gallagher's ...: Emilys novel in verse review 1 8 May 01, 2013 02:48pm  
Mrs. Gallagher's ...: Identical- verse 1 5 Apr 27, 2013 12:53pm  
Identical- verse review 1 16 Apr 27, 2013 12:21pm  
JPL YA Reading Ch...: VERSE NOVEL 1 7 Apr 18, 2013 06:02pm  
question about the end 6 80 Dec 27, 2012 10:47am  
Did you like it or no? 53 162 Oct 24, 2012 11:53am  
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Ellen Hopkins is the New York Times bestselling author of Crank, Burned, Impulse, Glass, Identical, Tricks, Fallout, Perfect, Triangles, Tilt, and Collateral. She lives in Carson City, Nevada, with her husband and son. Hopkin's Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Pinterest pages get thousands of hits from teens who claim Hopkins is the "only one who understands me", and she can be visited at ellenhopkin...more
More about Ellen Hopkins...
Crank (Crank, #1) Impulse (Impulse, #1) Glass (Crank, #2) Burned (Burned, #1) Tricks

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