REVIEW: One by Sarah Crossan

One by Sarah Crossan

GENRE: YA Contemporary

RATING: 4 Stars

GOODREADS ~ AMAZON ~ AUTHOR ~ TWITTER

Grace and Tippi are twins – conjoined twins.

And their lives are about to change.

No longer able to afford homeschooling, they must venture into the world – a world of stares, sneers and cruelty. Will they find more than that at school? Can they find real friends? And what about love?

But what neither Grace or Tippi realises is that a heart-wrenching decision lies ahead. A decision that could tear them apart. One that will change their lives even more than they ever imagined…

From Carnegie Medal shortlisted author Sarah Crossan, this moving and beautifully crafted novel about identity, sisterhood and love ultimately asks one question: what does it mean to want and have a soulmate? 

MY THOUGHTS:

If you're looking for a beautiful, lyrical novel that makes you laugh, cry and think a little bit harder about life, then look no further than One by Sarah Crossan.

One follows Grace and Tippi, conjoined twins and their thoughts and lives as they enter public school for the first time in their existence.Think Wonder by R J Palacio but more unique. What I liked about One was that it didn't just show you the twins but their families as well. I especially liked the perspective of their other sister and how this has just as well affected her.

One is written as poetry pose, with each chapter being a short poem. This made the book even more emotional than it already was, giving it a lyrical feel. These short chapters and focus on each of the twins' characters in turn really highlighted to me how although these twins were conjoined, they were two separate people; an issue that is present for any twins. The issue of the two twins was really well researched by Sarah Crossan and there were little aspects of their lives that really made me think about their situation from a different angle I had never seen before.

The reason I dropped a star for One was because I felt that the novel was more focused about the characters rather than a solid plot. This would have been OK but due to the unique nature of the theme, it was hard to connect to the character development as much as it was needed for a loose plot. However, the ending twist, though slightly predictable was extremely emotional and brought me to tears.

*I RECEIVED A COPY OF THIS BOOK FROM THE PUBLISHER FOR REVIEW BUT IT HAS IN NO WAY AFFECTED MY OPINIONS.*