The Plot
Tragically, their mom died while out on her routine jog and so Iris returns to live with her sister and father. It's a huge adjustment for each of them but Ivy and her dad try to make Iris feel as at home as they can. Ivy is perplexed by Iris' nonchalant attitude regarding their mom's death. She evades talk of the subject, seeming more interested in the details of Ivy's life and what her new high school will be like. It seems to Ivy as though Iris is taking over her whole life. But she pins it down to Iris trying to adjust to her new life as well as grief. Her twin couldn't possibly be hiding anything...
The Cover
The book cover features a flower and a pair of scissors/shears. The stem and top part of the flower being cut as well as the fact that the sisters have plant/floral names might symbolise their separation. The shears also represent duality since the novel is about twins. Ivy mentions that her mom's favourite season was Spring, so that could also tie in to the cover.
The Characters
Ivy is the protagonist and narrator of the story. She is a conscientious, intelligent sixteen year old girl who has a love for swimming. Ivy is the archetypal 'good twin' to Iris' 'evil twin', rarely straying from the rules. She's a high achieving student in school and has a compassionate, thoughtful disposition. When her long-lost twin sister arrives, Ivy tries her best to be accommodating and to make Iris feel at ease in her surroundings. She's a likeable character whom you root for and hope things will work out for. What irked me though was the fact that although Ivy is a smart person, she basically ignored the red flags where Iris was concerned. She kept dismissing her behaviour and pinned it down to her having trouble adjusting. It drove me crazy!
Tyler is Ivy's boyfriend. He's described as being a solid, reliable guy and it's easy to see why Ivy's so crazy about him. Ty is very loyal to Ivy, standing by her through Iris' plotting. But even with all his devotion he still turns against Ivy at the end and that's another thing that drove me insane. How could he believe Iris over his girlfriend? The girl he said he loved and is supposed to remain loyal to? I guess that just shows his flawed human nature, but still... it wasn't right and I couldn't get over it. I felt attacked 😭😂
Iris is the yin to Ivy's yang or something like that. She's the wilder one of the two and from the get-go, gives off creepy vibes but the majority of the characters are too mesmerised by her charms to truly pick this up. This girl is set on taking over her sister's life. From the moment Iris stared at Ivy through the latter's bedroom window, smoke alarms should've gone off in Ivy's head that something disturbing is going on with her twin. And yet, as intelligent as Ivy is supposed to be, she dismisses it. There are scenes where you actually do feel sorry for Iris and that just shows how good she is at manipulation.
Some of the other characters are the twins' dad, Ivy's therapist, Meera, and Ivy's best friends, Haley and Sophie. Basically, they all fall for Iris' performance and are trapped in her web, even though they're not aware of that. My heart really ached for Ivy because virtually everyone in her life bought into Iris' stories and took her word over Ivy's. Though Iris is a master manipulator, which makes it easy to fall into her trap. Still, it would've been nice to see someone sticking by Ivy through it all.
Themes
The topics addressed in this book are family, siblings and mental illness. The author did a good job of showing the strained relationship between the sisters. I feel that the mental illness aspect could've been delved into a little deeper. It's implied that Iris has a psychiatric disorder but I feel like it was really just used as a plot device.
The Twin is an entertaining read with an interesting premise and I was captivated by it. But I feel like something was missing from it and it left me slightly dissatisfied.
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