Parents' Guide to

Identical

By Stephanie Dunnewind, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 16+

Thick free-verse bestseller takes graphic look at incest.

Identical Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this book.

Community Reviews

age 14+

Based on 15 parent reviews

age 13+
This Ellen Hopkins novel touches on subjects a lot are to uncomfortable with. Being a child of abusers my siblings and I used this as almost an outlet. The long story kept us on our toes for a very shocking final twist.
age 15+

Socially Enlightening

Ellen Hopkins craftes gritty, above par, novels on what life is like for a sick percentage of pre teens, teenagers and young adults. The mature content is presented in a very elegant way and it shines light on the problems many face. Identical faces the problems of "identity" and what it means to be solely unique. Just as "Crank" and "Glass" reveal how drugs can turn even a straight A "good girl" into an addict; and "Fallout" discusses the impact of her choices on her children. Beautifully crafted books I would recommend to anyone of age to fully understand the subject matter.

This title has:

Educational value
Too much violence
Too much sex
Too much swearing
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (15):
Kids say (21):

With IDENTICAL, Hopkins sticks with her successful formula, writing a thick book of free verse poetry about abused, self-destructive teens. As readers tick off behaviors (bulimia --check, cutting -- check), more cynical readers might wonder why she didn't make the girls triplets so she could toss in a few more. The biggest complaint is the lack of editing -- there's simply no reason this needs to be 565 pages long. Even easy-to-read poems can't make up for redundant lessons and tedious action.

Both parents are caricatures, and the twins are preternaturally self-aware as they engage in overblown prose like "Why can't he and I find/a way to accept each other, lose ourselves in all-/encompassing love, the kind that can save you?/ The kind that can glue/ all the fragments of two/ broken hearts together." The novel's twist, while shocking, veers into soap opera territory.

Book Details

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