This was slow with plenty of melodrama-in-the-mundane alongside the heartbreaking and strange, but I think that’s exactly what it’s supposed to be. If you enjoy psychological tension, fractured family dynamics, and YA romance, you may really like this—just be prepared for a slower middle section and a few unanswered questions by the end.

 

Energy: Vacillating. Affected. Ingenuous. 

 

🐺 Growls: The writing gets repetitive going over the character’s plans and the realizations. Some of the dramatic musing on things like romance, friendships, and the future fit the tone at first, but eventually it felt tedious and more like filler. 

 

🐕 Howls: It was often ambiguous when the main character was pretending to be her twin vs imagining hearing her voice. I liked the ending in theory, but the execution felt a little written-into-a-corner and sudden. 

 

🐩 Tail Wags: How the ending made me re-examine everything in hindsight. The YA romance was a mix of swooning and cheesy lines, but I know that’s because I’m an adult - I can imagine it as sweet and hopeful to my younger self.

 

Scene: 🇺🇸 Set in small town on the shore of Lake Michigan, USA

Perspective: A twin whose sibling was kidnapped as a baby and never found. To stave off the complete mental breakdown of their mother, our main character has been pretending to be both themselves and their twin sibling, but they’re questioning the health of this charade.

Timeline: Current (2010s or 2020s). Spring. Linear.

🔥 Fuel: What happened to the twin sister kidnapped as a baby? Is she alive? What will happen to the mother if they get her to understand reality? Who will our main character choose as a romantic partner? 

📖 Cred: Suspended disbelief to plausible. 

 

Friends TV show. Crashing waves. Knitted scarf. Treehouse. Beach jogs. Baseball game. Sweatshirt. Prom. 

 

Abduction (child). Abusive parent (emotional abuse, distant; physically abusive brief recall). Agoraphobia. Bullying (outing, passive aggressive, gaslighting). Homophobia (parental disapproval). Loss of child (as baby). Mental illness (dissociation, C-PTSD, delusions). Murder. Outing. Trafficking (human; discussion, class project).

 

Rep: American. Second generation Honduran American, Indian-American peripheral character. Queer. Hetero. Lesbian. 

 

📚 Format: Advance Reader’s Copy from Left-Handed Mitten Publications, Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members’ Titles and NetGalley.