ARC Review: One by Sarah Crossan
10:00
Series: None
Author: Sarah Crossan
Published August 26th 2015 by Bloomsbury Children's Books
Goodreads Synopsis
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?
Goodreads
Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.
Right, well this review will be something. One is told from the point of view of Grace, a conjoined twin, who is never separate from her sister, Tippi. Since their birth, they have done everything together, and have defied all odds to live to be 16. Now, they have ran our of money to afford home schooling, and the state are sending them to a private school, to become like 'normal' teenagers. Their friend, Yasmeen, understands them - she is also dealing with the knowledge that she doesn't have a 'normal' life, and her life expectancy isn't all that great. As family issues come to a forefront, Grace and Tippi have to make tough decisions about their future, knowing one choice could change everything, forever.
First of all, let me say that it only took me approximately 2.5 hours to get through One - so that's a plus. From the very beginning, I knew One and I would not be friends. It's written in a sort of free-verse, which really annoys me. I mean, what's wrong with a bit of prose. I've previously read Crossan's Apple and Rain, and that was utter perfection. Perhaps for that reason, I had too high a hope for this book. I know I'm a bit of an outlier, but this just wasn't for me. I even said on twitter that I may just be a 'cold hearted bitch' because the feels weren't happening. Yes, it was unbelievably sad, and I couldn't begin to imagine what I would do if I was in a similar situation; even if I was one of the secondary characters. Myself, I'm an only child, so I don't understand the connection siblings have. I've always been alone, and that's just how I like it.
One thing I did like was Grace. She was a loveable protagonist, but I would have preferred to hear something from Tippi too. If it was dual POV, it may have improved my rating. Dragon was also I character I liked. She had issues too, and because she was'normal', in comparison to her sisters, she was left alone for the most part. She pulled her weight more than some characters, *cough*dad*cough*, and that is definitely something to be proud of. Now, for their father, he was a complete, and utter, waste of space. Seriously, I wanted to slap him most times. I can understand that having conjoined daughters, and the medical bills that comes with that, is hard, but really, you're just going to waste even more money on booze. What a joke!
I don't know what it is, I just didn't enjoy this book. I so wanted to love it. I mean, on goodreads, the average rating between my friends was 4.52, with an average of 4.41 overall. So, I guess to some people it was amazing. I enjoyed the writing - the language was beautiful - but that was about it for me. I'm not trying to deter anyone from reading One, rather, I just want people to know this is a marmite sort of book - you either love it, or you don't. For me, the best way to describe this is 'meh', it was ok, and a very quick read, but didn't blow me over. I just wish it was more like Apple and Rain.
Dates Read:
August 2, 2015
Rating
2 Stars
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