Identical (novel)
Encyclopedia
Identical is Ellen Hopkins
' fifth novel, released in August 2008
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For Kaeleigh, she is the misplaced focus of Daddy's love, intended for a mother whose presence on the campaign trail means absence at home. All that Raeanne sees is Daddy playing a game of favorites—and she is losing. If she has to lose, she will do it on her own terms, so she chooses drugs, alcohol, and sex.
Secrets like the ones the twins are harboring are not meant to be kept—from each other or anyone else. Pretty soon it is obvious that neither sister can handle it alone, and one sister must step up to save the other.
Raeanne Gardella: Raeanne, on the other hand, wants any kind of attention she can get from her father, even the kind that should not be given to a daughter, because she believes it is the only kind of love he can give to her, after witnessing everything he has done to her twin sister. As she grows older she focuses on drugs and sex to take away the pain and replace the love she is not getting from her father or mother. She is the more aggressive twin out of the two. she is the one who breaks all the rules. Near the end of the novel, it is revealed that Raeanne died in the car accident. The Raeanne in the story is, in fact, Kaeleigh, whom is suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorder. While she appears to be nothing more than an entity created by Kaeleigh's stressed out side, she seems to still be the protective sister to her.
Ellen Hopkins
Ellen Hopkins is a novelist who has published several New York Times bestselling novels that are popular among the teenage and young adult audience.-Career:...
' fifth novel, released in August 2008
2008 in literature
The year 2008 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*January 1 - In the 2008 New Year Honours, Hanif Kureishi , Jenny Uglow , Peter Vansittart and Debjani Chatterjee are all rewarded for "services to literature".*June 15 - Gore Vidal, asked in a New York Times...
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Premise
Kaeleigh and Raeanne are identical down to the dimple. As daughters of a judge father and mother running to be a congress women, they are an all-American family—on the surface. Behind the illusion each sister has her own secret.For Kaeleigh, she is the misplaced focus of Daddy's love, intended for a mother whose presence on the campaign trail means absence at home. All that Raeanne sees is Daddy playing a game of favorites—and she is losing. If she has to lose, she will do it on her own terms, so she chooses drugs, alcohol, and sex.
Secrets like the ones the twins are harboring are not meant to be kept—from each other or anyone else. Pretty soon it is obvious that neither sister can handle it alone, and one sister must step up to save the other.
Main characters
Kaeleigh Gardella: Kaeleigh's sexual abuse from her father starts shortly after a tragic accident causes strong tension in her parents' relationship, which makes them grow very distant as time goes by. Pretty soon her mother, an important politician, finds any excuse to not come home. Kaeleigh's father tries to replace the love lost from her mother by turning to her, the twin who is most like his wife, while she was still barely a teenager. As a result, she fears sex and has an unsteady relationship with her best friend, Ian, who loves her and with whom she thinks she might also be in love, but because of her traumatic past she feels unworthy and thinks she can never love. She turns to binge eating and cutting as a way to cope with her problems. She wishes her father would stop loving her the wrong way and start loving her like a daughter and still loves her mother despite the fact that she seldom comes home.Raeanne Gardella: Raeanne, on the other hand, wants any kind of attention she can get from her father, even the kind that should not be given to a daughter, because she believes it is the only kind of love he can give to her, after witnessing everything he has done to her twin sister. As she grows older she focuses on drugs and sex to take away the pain and replace the love she is not getting from her father or mother. She is the more aggressive twin out of the two. she is the one who breaks all the rules. Near the end of the novel, it is revealed that Raeanne died in the car accident. The Raeanne in the story is, in fact, Kaeleigh, whom is suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorder. While she appears to be nothing more than an entity created by Kaeleigh's stressed out side, she seems to still be the protective sister to her.