By Anne Ursu
Walden Pond Press, 2019. Fiction.
Calling Iris and Lark inseparable doesn't really cover it - they do everything together. And though they are identical twins, they aren't at all the same. Lark is creative, imaginative and dreamy while Iris is practical and logical. Then, they are assigned to different classrooms (for the first time ever) and put in different afterschool programs because their parents are convinced that the only way for the girls to grow as individuals is to grow separately. Iris, who sees herself as Lark's protector, is torn apart when she can't defend Lark the way she usually does. Convinced she is too sensitive, Iris tells Lark lies and keeps secrets from her for the first time in their life - trying to protect her twin from imaginary monsters. Meanwhile, an upsetting series of events plays out involving a murder of crows, missing objects, and the strange owner of an antique shop who insists he's doing magic.
This is not a perfect book - but the impressively detailed thoughts and emotions of two fifth grade girls is pretty close. The language of this book is beautiful and sophisticated and heightened by a sense of mystery, malevolence, and, yes, a little magic. This magically realistic book is touched by something slightly sinister and totally un-put-downable.
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