Skip to main content

Jake and Lily

I'm always on the lookout for fun and new sibling stories which is why I snapped up Jake and Lily by Jerry Spinelli as soon as my library. Not only are Jake and Lily siblings, but twins, and the book switches between their perspectives.

Synopsis (from Goodreads):
This is a story about me, Lily.
And me, Jake.
We're twins and we're exactly alike.
Not exactly!
Whatever. This is a book we wrote about the summer we turned eleven and Jake ditched me.
Please. I just started hanging out with some guys in the neighborhood.
Right. So anyway, this is a book about
goobers and supergors
bullies
clubhouses
true friends

things getting built and wrecked and rebuilt
and about figuring out who we are.
We wrote this together
(sort of)
so you'll get to see both sides of our story.
But you'll probably agree with my side.
You always have to have the last word, don't you?
Yes


Jake and Lily are different, whether Lily wants to do admit it or not. Jake is organized and doesn't like to get in trouble. Lily is temperamental and is often in trouble. They do have a special connection to each other that they have only told one other person about. Every year on their birthday, they both have the same dream and sleep walk to the train station where they wake up. They can often read each other's thoughts and sense each other from large distances. I wondered at this element since it seems so terribly stereotypical, almost fable like, something everyone believes twins can do, but how many can? Despite this there is a really good story here of family, friendship, and the ties that bind people.

Jake and Lily have very distinct voices. Lily is dramatic, Jake anything but. Jake wants his own room, Lily is horrified by the idea. Lily thrives on her twinhood, Jake...not so much. When Jake starts spending time with other people he has good reasons for it, but it tears Lily apart.
Jake: What does she want? Does she want me to spend my whole life with nobody but her? Oh look, there's Jake and Lily. They're seventy-nine years old and they still play poker and ride bikes together. They still play poker and ride bikes together. They still hear each other five miles away. Still sleep in the same bedroom. You can't tear them apart. Aren't they adorable? Twinny-twin twins.
Lily: Jake looks like he's having the time of his life, and I'm not a part of it. Things were great for a while, after we shared the snow fort bruise. That got him off the we're-different kick. But now it's back, worse than ever. Some of me is stunned. Shocked. Like I've been walloped by a two-by-four. The rest of me is sad. My heart hurts.

Jake has a point, they need to be with other people. But Lily has one too, because Jake is experimenting with punkhood and there were times I wanted to smack him upside the head.  Yet I definitely had a preference for Jake. His voice seemed more genuine to me and far preferred his struggle to Lily's, though it too was very real.  They are both endearing characters, as are the host of supporting characters that come with them.

This is a solid realistic fiction book that would appeal to both boys and girls.

 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Serafina and the Black Cloak

Serafina and the Black Cloak  by Robert Beatty is a thrilling tale of mystery and adventure set at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC in 1899. Having lived in Asheville and visited the house several times, there was no way I was going to pass up a chance to read this. (Also it's MG fantasy, always a bonus for me.) Serafina lives in secret in the basement of the Vanderbilt's spacious vacation home. She has lived there most of her life. Her father worked on the house as it was being built and is the mechanic who runs the massive generator and keeps the electricity going. Serafina is the chief rat catcher, slipping through the halls of her massive home secretly and quietly. She is light on her feet, sees well in the dark, and is quick enough to catch the vermin and keep them out. Serafina knows she if different and strange. Her father insists she stay hidden. But all that changes when one night Serafina witnesses a horrible crime. A little girl, a guest in the house, is fleein

Shorter Musings MG Fantasy

Here are some shorter musings on recent MG fantasy reads. Anya and the Dragon   by Sofiya Pasternack This book is fun. It is a book full of adventure, an obvious bad guy, some more complicated morally gray area characters, and a strong, brave heroine. It is also a book about friendships, community, and fighting for what is right. All things that usually work for me really well. While I enjoyed this, I did feel it was a little overlong and there were certain plot points at the end I didn't love. However, there were things I thought were done really well, such as Anya's Jewish faith and the idea that power needs to be challenged. In the end it was a middle of the road read for me, but it is one I will certainly be recommending to dragon and fantasy adventure lovers I know! R is for Rebel   by J. Anderson Coats This is tough because I usually really like Coats's books. I had such a hard time with this one though on so many levels. It's difficult to get into because t

Favorite Kissing Scenes

When thinking of a favorite things post I could do for February I decided it would have to be kissing. I've already done couples and I was feeling in the mood to do something fluffy and Valentine's related. So kisses it is. I read more MG than YA, and the YA I read tends to not focus on romance so this was actually harder than I expected it to be though a few jumped into my head right away. (And one of my choices does actually come from a MG book. One is adult. Gasp!) The actual scene from the book is quoted followed by my thoughts. The king lifted a hand to her cheek and kissed her. It was not a kiss between strangers, not even a kiss between a bride and a groom. It was a kiss between a man and his wife, and when it was over, the king closed his eyes and rested his forehead against the hollow of the queen's shoulder, like a man seeking respite, like a man reaching home at the end of the day . - The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner Turner doesn't write the

Shadowshaper

Shadowshaper  by Daniel José Older is everywhere. Best of lists. Award buzz. Blogs everywhere. It's one of those books everyone is reading and talking about. I had it on my TBR but decided I definitely needed to read it before the year was out just so I could weigh in on one of the most talked about books of 2015 if asked. It is deserving of every good thing said about it. Every. One. Sierra was looking forward to a relaxing summer break. Her plans involved hanging out with her friends and painting. They did not involve being chased by zombie like creatures and threatened by a magical power connected to her family's heritage she has never heard of. When murals begin fading all over her Brooklyn neighborhood, Sierra is perplexed. When her grandfather, who had a stroke, begins to apologize and starts repeating strange phases and insisting Sierra get the help of a boy she barely knows to help her finish her mural, Sierra is concerned but mostly about her grandfather. Then at a

The Field Guide to the North American Teeanager

The Field Guide to the North American Teenager by Ben Philippe is a book I picked up on a whim at the bookstore when it first came out. I liked the cover. I thought it had an engaging premise. I went into it with a healthy does of trepidation because the execution could have gone so terribly wrong. Fortunately, Philippe is an excellent character writer, and I thoroughly enjoyed my time spent reading about Norris's adventures in Texas and high school. High school junior Norris Kaplan's life is ruined by his mother when she takes a job that requires them to leave the only home he has ever known in Montreal, Quebec. Moving is always hard, but Norris knows for him it will be harder than it's ever been for anyone else. Norris is moving to Texas. He will be a Canadian living in Texas. Not just a Canadian. A French Canadian who speaks fluent French. And not just your average run-of-the-mill French Canadian. A black son of Haitian immigrant parents French Canadian. If Norris has