The Twin’s Daughter by Lauren Baratz-Logsted
Short Summary:
Lucy Sexton is stunned when a disheveled woman appears at the door one day… a woman who bears an uncanny resemblance to Lucy’s own beautiful mother. It turns out the two women are identical twins, separated at birth, and raised in dramatically different circumstances. Lucy’s mother quickly resolves to give her less fortunate sister the kind of life she has never known. And the transformation in Aunt Helen is indeed remarkable. But when Helen begins to imitate her sister in every way, even Lucy isn’t sure at times which twin is which. Can Helen really be trusted, or does her sweet face mask a chilling agenda?
My Review:
I love it when books change right in the middle of the story.
The first half of this book had me thinking the following:
- Interesting, but is there any point to this?
- This is a pleasant story, kind of simple, but pleasant.
- Okay I see maybe where she is going, a sort of coming-of-age story.
And then.. the book took a violent turn.
THE TWIN’S DAUGHTER reminds me of a YA version of Anna Quindlen’s EVERY LAST ONE. Although the stories are different the style and the shock value is the same. Set up your story with background and then hit your reader with something horrifying.
That said, the last half of the book was everything that the first half wasn’t. It was gripping, had me turning pages quickly and every time I thought I came to a conclusion it tore that conclusion away from me.
Before picking this story up I recommend you think about this question:
“Does every daughter really know her mother?”
