User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
Look at this dark, haunted and sooo beautiful cover! It whispers to your ear slowly: “Pleaseeee read me!” And I did what I was told.
Good twin and evil twin, dark one wants to take place of the white one. This kind of mind bending, nail biting, nightmare summoning, evil soul conjuring stories are my all-time favorites and they never make me disappointed as like this book which gave me enough entertainment and irritating satisfaction.
You know classic “Single White Female” theme. They’re not twins but evil roommate Jennifer Jason Leigh became jealous of Bridget Fonda and she was so adamant to live her life by taking her place with planning deadly scheme.
She starts to dress like her, having a haircut like her, stealing the boyfriend of her by acting like her. This sick, mindf**king story reminded me of the deadly dance of this book’s twins: let’s take a look at our lovely twins Iris and Ivy. Don’t worry, their story is not less agitated than the classic replacing the lucky twin by threatening her life story.
Iris lives with his mother. Ivy lives with his father. Both twins are separated when they were only 10 and they have no special bond. The story started like “Parent Trap” movie, right? And you think that those sisters try to match make their parents to be a happy and big family again. NO! NO! NO! At the end of Parent Trap Dennis Quaid married with his childish wife who is younger than his son. (Sorry that was real life! It wasn’t written on the script. And Lindsay Lohan ate her imaginary twin to become a mean girl, end of the real story!) This time mother goes for a jog and falls down from a bridge! So mother is out of picture and Iris comes to live with her father and twin sister. But guess what, she whispers mean things to her sister when she is out of earshot of their father.
Iris starts to go to same school with her sister and compete with her at the swimming team. And poor Ivy feels threatened after finding not so cute Mickey Mouse kind of dead rat at her locker, having troubles with her besties and boyfriend. Her life starts getting out of control. And as you may imagine, their mother’s dying is not an accident. The evil twin might have killed her. So what’s gonna happen? Which one will defeat the other? Which one is going to be survivor? Is Ivy paranoid and did she imagine the entire fall-out of hers? Do you want to find out? Come on, grab the book, flip the pages and take a long sip from your refreshment. You’re gonna need all liquid courage to relax your nervous mind!
OVERALL: The story was not something so unique or original but it was still mysterious, well-written, heart throbbing. Pace was a little slow but it still gives the eerie and ominous feelings you need to get from terrifying thrillers. 3.75 rounded to 4 stars. It’s quite interesting and captivating YA thriller. I recommend it to the genre’s die-hard fans! I had mostly great time during my reading.
Special thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children’s/Delacorte Press and of course brilliant author Natasha Preston for providing me this nail biter, exciting book’s ARC COPY in exchange for my honest review.
Rating: really liked it
Definitely not a "twisty psychological thriller" as stated on the cover.
It was generic and not well written. Characters were all one dimensional and the ending was very unsatisfying and rushed.
Rating: really liked it
2,5/5
I hated the ending so much, I am ANGRY
Rating: really liked it
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When I was a kid, I was a big fan of the Scholastic Point Horror imprint-- if you're old enough to remember pulp fiction, these were basically the middle grade version of that: cheaply printed novellas, each under 200 pages, about trashy horror ranging from killer vampires, to serial killers, to dysfunctional family members. What would you get? You'd have to read to find out.
Natasha Preston is a new author to me. I knew she wrote thrillers and I think I even have a book of hers on my Kindle from when it was free years and years ago. I like thrillers but I'm also super picky about them. I don't want them to be predictable and I expect a certain level in the quality of writing. Unfortunately for THE TWIN, it fails on both counts: not only is it predictable as all get out, but the writing is super cheesy, featuring such gems as, "she was as fake as her Louis Vuitton purse."
Our heroine, Ivy, is a plucky TSTL over-achiever, who despite having straight As, takes forEVER to figure out that her twin has it in for her. Her twin is named Iris, and comes to live with Ivy and her dad after their mom dies. You see, their parents are separated and since Ivy and Iris are twins, they just decided to
Parent Trap it up and split the kids down the middle, same as everything else.
Something is not right with Iris. She doesn't show any grief about her mother's death-- not in the usual way, anyway-- and doesn't want to talk about their mom or anyone from her previous life. Instead, she wants to talk
all about Ivy and her friends. She wants to be in all of Ivy's classes, and even starts hanging out with Ivy's friends-- sometimes without Ivy. Ivy knows that her sister has suffered a loss and needs support as much as she does... but how much support is too much? And what happens if someone leans on you so heavily that it feels kind of like they're trying to squash you? Well... Ivy is about to find out
exactly what happens.
So, I did make it to the end of this book but I was rolling my eyes the whole way through at the bad writing. I kept hoping that maybe the ending would surprise me or the payoff would be good. But NO. The ending was terrible. I think the author was going for some kind of atypical Gillian Flynn-esque twist, but it just made me mad. Gillian Flynn's characters are brilliant, so those types of endings work because of the characters' twisted brilliance. This was just a carnival of idiocy, so the twist didn't really do anything but underscore just how STUPID everyone in this book really was.
I mean,
really.
I don't want to say anything more than that, because spoilers, but it's been a while since I was so frustrated with a cast of characters... and not in a good way. Everyone in this book was stupid and awful. In one of my other reviews, I said that I'm OK with characters making bad decisions for good reasons; it's only when they make bad decisions for stupid reasons that it starts to feel less like a carefully devised character flaw and more like subpar writing.
Middle grade readers and younger high school students may enjoy this, but unless you're into the book equivalent of a Lifetime movie or a revistation of the Point Horror novels of your youth, I wouldn't recommend reading this book.
Thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review! 2 to 2.5 stars
Rating: really liked it
I recieved this early as part of a book tour, all my opinions arw my own and given voluntarily. This review contains spoilers!
I really disliked this book. It started off alright but it was all right in there... There was no build up and as much as I felt tension and the need to finish it I didn't really believe it... Absolutely no one believes her? They've known her for a long time and suddenly they don't believe her... This makes no sense to me at all...
The ending! This ending killed me! I have zero answers to many many questions! It seems to have a totally open ending! I don't want to give major spoilers but... Seriously! I'm so frickin annoyed at this book! So upset with how it played out.
Rating: really liked it
I'm so mad at the author. Why was there no justice for Ivy? It was like the author had turned against her own main character. What was the actual point in reading this book, allowing the events to unfold when nothing was resolved or concluded well. Nothing. This book was a waste of time.
Rating: really liked it
Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest reviewDNF @ 30% but skimmed to about 51%.
You know those posts where someone says, "I made a bot watch 1,000 hours of _______ and this is what it came up with."
Well, I think a bot watched 1,000 hours of Lifetime movies and spat this out.
Nothing feels natural. Our narrator, Ivy the good twin, is not written very well. Her narration of the story is honestly so uncomfortably bad that I was cringing while reading it.
Every chapter ends the same:
*Iris (the bad twin) does something suspicious that ONLY Ivy sees as suspicious*Ivy: ...Why? (I am not exaggerating, "Why?" is literally the last line of many of the chapters)
Or something like:
"Why does she need to talk to
my friends?"
It's just way too heavy on the whole twin-sister-is-trying-to-takeover-my-life thing. Iris (bad twin) is NOT subtle. The friends INSTANTLY turn on good-twin, I'm talking first conversation with evil sister type shit. Of course evil-twin eventually comes for the boyfriend and OF COURSE he turns on good-twin too over something really fucking dumb.
We are told so many times by 10% that Ivy (good twin) is a "problem-solver" and "tries to fix everything" and she "doesn't understand Iris's behavior" and it got so annoying that I honestly wanted Iris to just take her out of the story early on so I wouldn't have to deal with her anymore.
Ugh. It was just bad.
Rating: really liked it
The Twin by Natasha Preston is a young adult thriller that reminded me a lot of the old movie Single White Female but with teen twins. Iris and Ivy are the twins in this story with Ivy being the protagonist of the book.
When Iris and Ivy were young their parents filed for divorce and at that time Ivy stayed with her father while Iris moved with her mother. Now though after an accident takes the girls mother’s life Ivy finds herself forced to make room for Iris back in her life. It doesn’t take long though for Ivy to see that Iris is pushing her way into all aspects of Ivy’s life as Ivy begins to question her sister’s motives.
Now, as I said this one reminded me strongly of a movie so I wouldn’t say the book is overly original as it stands however I still found the story entertaining to read. What we have is the age old battle of good vs evil with the girls with of course no one else seeing just what our “bad” twin is up to leaving the protagonist fighting the evil on her own. Definitely enjoyable enough to spend a few hours reading even if it didn’t really surprise me much.
I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.
For more reviews please visit https://carriesbookreviews.com/
Rating: really liked it
Ivy and Iris are twins. They are separated when their parents divorce. Ivy stays with their dad, Iris goes with their mother. When their mom is killed in what seems to be a freak accident, Iris comes to live with Ivy and their dad.
Iris slowly seems to take over Iris's life. She makes it seem as if Ivy is mentally unstable and jealous. As she starts creating drifts between Ivy and her friends, she also causes a rift between Ivy and their father. Looking into Iris, her old friends, and certain situations, Ivy comes to believe that there is something seriously wrong with Iris. She may even be a cold blooded killer.
I loved this book! While I always felt that Ivy was the sane one of the two, I sometimes doubted her myself. The story line was great. I would label it as a psychological thriller. I couldn't put the book down, it was a page turner. The only thing that I didn't like was the ending. I don't want to give it away for someone who hasn't read it, but this book is crazy good. Emphasis on crazy!
Rating: really liked it
I really wanted to like this one...
I like the concept of the evil twin and had high hopes for this book, but it just wasn't grabbing my attention and felt like a never ending string of bland high school drama. I held out hope that the ending would be worth it and at least leave me satisfied, but I could not have been more wrong. The ending irritated me even more than the rest of the book. Anyways, this book was not for me. Nevertheless, if it sounds interesting give it a try, or another book I would recommend by this author is The Cellar.
Rating: really liked it
I mean, it could have been great. But it was just meh, and that’s all I have to say about it.
Rating: really liked it
Disclaimer: My review for this book is based on an ARC sent to my workplace by Delacorte Press; all the following opinions I express are wholly my own. The Twin by Natasha Preston is a lot like a Sara Shepard book; it has an interesting premise, but there's not a lot of meat to it's bones.
I think it'll be perfect for the 12-16 year old age group; it seems scandalous, but in reality most of the material is very tame (and majorly unrealistic). It's not really a true thriller- it's a cotton candy version of one, meant to have you salivating at the end for the sequel, (view spoiler)
[especially with that cliffhanger. (hide spoiler)].
I found the plot little more than basic, the writing juvenile. When Ivy's parents divorced, her mother took her twin Iris, and Ivy herself stayed with her dad (don't even get me started on what kind of Parent Trap style fuckery that is, not to mention the complete lack of logic there). A couple years later, Mom dies, and Iris comes to live with her sister and father. Iris proceeds to straight up start single-white-femaling Ivy; taking over her school group (complete with depthless friends and a stereotypically bitchy head cheerleader), her (painfully basic) boyfriend, her hobbies, even her clothes.
Speaking of, Ivy's description of her sister is very "i'M nOT LikE oTHer GirLs!!", which was annoying, but at the same time, I kind of had to root for Ivy, because you pretty much NEED to root for the protagonist who may or may not be getting gaslit by her maybe-evil twin.
Most of the book was a run-of-the-mill read for me, something I certainly would've enjoyed as a preteen, but ultimately would not have stuck with me afterwards. The last quarter picked up and started becoming more enjoyable to read (it's probably screwed up that the MC was much more relatable to me, and that the book was more fun in general, when she was losing her shit completely), but then the last chapter had to go and both lose me AND annoy me at the same time.
(view spoiler)
[I'm SO tired of psychiatric wards being used as plot devices in YA novels. With mental health being approached more realistically and respectfully in media these days, I thought we'd leave the whole trope behind, but clearly not. It fundamentally bothers me that young teens could end up avoiding seeking help and treatment for various mental health issues because the picture they have in their heads of professional help has been created and shaped by Girl Interrupted vibes and not much else.
I am not saying in any way, shape, or form, the psychiatric commitment, especially the involuntary kind, is fun or a walk in the park. It's difficult, it's scary, and without going into too much detail, I know that because I've experienced it. But it can also be life changing, and I would never have gotten the help I needed to turn my life and mental health around if I had held on to the belief that a psychiatric stay was something like out of this book, or any other shitty straight-jacket type scene I consumed from books or TV or movies.
I'm not saying we shouldn't be discerning with what is presented to us, but I believe authors, especially ones with an audience of such an impressionable age, should write with responsibility. Take from that what you will. (hide spoiler)]
Rating: really liked it
So, this book had so much potential. It had the good twin bad twin thing that could have been written in such an interesting way, where the twins were both morally grey and could have avoided typical sibling tropes. But no it instead went for the basic good v bad twin.
Now the middle of this book wasn't bad, in fact, I had a lot of hope for this book. BUT THEN THE ENDING. That ending ruined the book for me, it could have been so good. If this book turns out to be the first in a duology or something then maybe the ending can be redeemed, but as of right now, the ending ruined the entire book for me. It was rushed, seemed incomplete, and ugh just made me so mad.
Overall, I'm giving this book 2 stars. I don't know if I'll read more from this author or not, but yeah this wasn't a great experience.
Rating: really liked it
01/23/2020 Pretty Little Liars vibes?? The book
not the series—if you know
you know !!
Rating: really liked it
When their parents divorced, identical twins Ivy and Iris are split apart. Iris chooses to live with their mother, while Ivy stays with their father. But when their mother dies, the twins’ worlds are turned upside down as they’re forced to live under the same roof, and try to come to terms with their mother’s death.
The story is told from Ivy’s point of view, and after only a few pages, I’ve already come to the conclusion that I don’t much care for her. She’s a bit self-centered, somewhat neurotic, and very high-strung. The first thing she does when she and Iris get home is take off to be with her boyfriend, completely leaving Iris alone in a place she’s not really comfortable with, without any kind of warning. Then once she’s back home, even though Iris makes it clear she doesn’t want to, Ivy tries to talk about their mother, and gets annoyed when Iris asks her to stop.
Ivy has this compulsive habit of biting her lip, and she does it so much I’m surprised she hasn’t chewed it off yet. Her mind never shuts off, jumping from one thing to another to another at lightning speed, to the point that just reading about all the things she thinks about at once mentally exhausted me. On top of that, she comes off as more than a little paranoid, always questioning everything, whether she has a reason to or not.
We also get the cliché “everyone in school is staring at us.” I come from a small town, and even when a new student came in, no one ever stared and talked about them like they were from another planet rather than another school. People don’t do this.
Once Iris starts going out on her own, Ivy begins to get paranoid about where she’s going, and who she’s meeting with. It comes off as if she’s entitled to know everything about what Iris is doing at all times.
The author might have intended for this to be a mystery/thriller, but all I can read it as is a teenaged girl getting more and more paranoid, who starts to think that an ever-increasing number of people are plotting behind her back and are out to get her.
(view spoiler)
[By the time the final confrontation rolls around, I have just one question. One simple thing could have ended all of this, and proven that Iris wasn’t who she pretended to be. When Ivy confronts Iris in the climax, why the hell did she not record the conversation with her phone?
Iris admits to everything! It would have been the perfect chance for Ivy to prove that she was innocent in all of this. But of course, Ivy has no proof, no one believes her, and Iris gets away with everything.
I also won't believe that the mental hospital doesn't have cameras in their patient's rooms. That also would have allowed someone to hear what Iris was talking about when she was doing her villain monologue. (hide spoiler)]Ugh… This book frustrates the hell out of me...
