Double Identity

December 19, 2005
Haddix (the Shadow Children series) releases another suspenseful pageturner here narrated by Bethany Cole. As the novel opens, Bethany is anxious; her father has barely let her out of his sight and her mother has been weeping for months. Now, a few days before her 13th birthday, her father has put the two of them in the car, headed West. He leaves Bethany with her Aunt Myrlie and drives off with no explanation. The only clue Bethany has is what she heard her father say to her aunt, "She doesn't know anything about Elizabeth." Bethany is determined to learn why she has been left with an aunt she never knew existed, and what the mysterious Elizabeth has to do with it all. Later, Bethany appears to be in danger from a stalker—perhaps she is not the only one searching for answers. Haddix conveys Bethany's dismay and fear through believable dialogue and thoughts—the girl's growing awareness of uncanny similarities between herself and Elizabeth (their love of Froot Loops and tough vocabulary words)—and believably charts the heroine's slow warming to her aunt and cousin. Bethany's gradual feelings of anger and resentment towards her parents are particularly poignant. Haddix's timely novel raises provocative issues about what makes an individual unique, with both compassion and clarity. Ages 10-14.

November 1, 2005
Gr 5-8 -One October evening, Bethany's parents drive her to another state to stay with an aunt she never knew existed. Left confused and without a way to contact her parents, the 12-year-old tries to figure out the reason behind their strange behavior and learns some family secrets in the process. It turns out that she is the clone of her sister, who was killed years earlier in a tragic automobile accident, and she is being hunted by a man who wants to expose her secret existence for his own benefit. Although there is not much action, the twists and turns of the suspense-filled plot are more than enough to keep readers interested. When one question is answered, another one is raised. Readers will relate to Bethany's feelings of abandonment, as well as her struggle to set herself apart from the sister she never knew but with whom she shares so much. This quick, engaging read is a good choice for reluctant readers." -Michele Capozzella, Chappaqua Public Library, NY"

Copyright 2005 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2005
Gr. 5-8. The author of " Escape from Memory" (2003) and the Shadow Children series has penned another suspenseful sf novel guaranteed to keep readers riveted. After her mother suffers a nervous breakdown, 12-year-old Bethany Cole is deposited with Myrlie Wilker, an aunt of whom she has never heard. Myrlie and several other residents of Sanderfield, Illinois, do a double take when they see Bethany--for she reminds them of Elizabeth, Bethany's heretofore-unknown older sister, who died some 20 years earlier. In carefully crafted, gripping prose, Haddix slowly reveals the family secrets that have been kept from Bethany all these years: her sister's death, her parent's desperate grief, and the deal they made with a wealthy businessman. The ending is a little too neat, but Haddix's fans aren't likely to notice; secondary themes concerning cloning ethics and personal identity are also nicely handled, which makes this a good companion to Nancy Werlin's " Double Helix" (2004).(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2006
Left with an aunt she's just met in a town full of people who inexplicably recognize her, only-child Bethany discovers that her parents had another life--and another child--before her. Haddix uses the issue of cloning to amplify normal issues of sibling rivalry and parental love, but occasionally loses focus when pursuing intrigue rather than emotion.

(Copyright 2006 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)