Grace and Tippi. Tippi and Grace. Two sisters. Two hearts. Two dreams. Two lives. But one body.
Grace and Tippi are conjoined twins, joined at the waist, defying the odds of survival for sixteen years. They share everything, and they are everything to each other. They would never imagine being apart. For them, that would be the real tragedy.
But something is happening to them. Something they hoped would never happen. 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.
 |
| Image from Girl Reading |
Sarah Crossan outdoes herself with yet another book written in verse. Through the eclectic use of poetry we follow the inner working of Grace, one half of a conjoined twin. Grace and Tippi have been connected since birth and now, for the first time ever - have to go to a real school. This is shudder-inducing even without being a conjoined twin.
Tippi is louder, she is often the conversation starter and she is also the rock that Grace leans on. It becomes hard to imagine Grace without Tippi. There is this really striking moment when a classmate says that being a conjoined twin has to be the worst thing ever! and then we have this stunning poem about all the things that are worse, that having someone with you all the time, who knows you better than anyone else is not the worst thing ever and that really struck me. This book becomes more focused on the fact that these girls are people, just girls. They discuss other famous conjoined twins and note how after a lifetime of doing things, on their gravestone it still read conjoined twins - as if this is all they could ever be.
This story is full of these beautiful observations, I think because the form allows it. Grace's words flow in a way that resonates solely with her emotions, that partly the action doesn't even matter because between the lines she is saying something far better. Some of these poems you could frame they are so beautiful, just as a freestanding work.
Soon due to health complications with Grace's heart, being surgically separated is no longer just an option for an easier life. Now it is life or death. The lovely thing about this book, is that the separation is a small part of the story - the little 50 pages at the end, because it isn't what this book is about. The book is about Grace becoming more than just Tippi's sidekick. She becomes louder, braver even daring to fall in love when Tippi tells her outright this isn't something they can have. She stops worrying about the idea that when one of them dies they both die and starts enjoying her life, making friends, going away on trips and finding a way to provide for their crumbling family. She really is this thoughtful, quiet heroine who's battle against evil is fought within herself.
Grace and Tippi are surrounded by a broken supporting cast, each of them as tragically flawed as the next. Their sister has an eating disorder, their father is an alcoholic and there best friend has HIV. Everyone has there damage, every character has there issues but they are fortunate enough to not show it physically. There are points when you forget all the broken cast, when you forget Grace and Tippi are conjoined, when you forget Dragon is starving herself in the name of ballet beauty - you forget that these people are broken and then it hits you, hard - because not one of these characters gets away without any baggage, and that's kind of beautiful.
If you want something unputdownable, or want a book that will give you something thoughtful and lovely to think about and make you grateful that you live in a world where books like this exist - then this is the book for you. You'll forget it's written in verse and the words will just flow. It really is as good as that. I'm always giving Crossan 5 Stars, and today is no different!
Happy Reading.
No comments:
Post a Comment