The most recommended books about twins

Two words: Princess Ari. She loves butter as much as I do, but that is not why I love her. This character is far from perfect, but she doesn’t let that stop her. She embraces who she is and refuses to let others’ perceptions of her dictate her sense of self-worth. She is no victim, even when she literally is one. Ari would have your back at all times, and then bake you tasty pastries after your adventures.

I had heard of Dr. Mengele’s experiments in genetics in WWII, but nothing specific. I didn’t know, for example, that he looked at twins and that he tortured children.

In this book, we follow twin girls, where chapters go back and forth between their points of view. The author does a stunning job of helping us see how a given situation can be interpreted differently by different characters and how the bravura of a character might be camouflage for tremendous fear.

Here, the children are resilient and extraordinarily decent in the face of hideous choices. It is far too easy to underestimate children’s understanding of morality. I was grateful for every page of this book.

Twins Sam and Sam (yes, their two mums, both psychologists, did decide to give them the same name) are not quite teenagers. They both struggle with fears and friendships on the brink of high school. I love this book because the humour is so subtle but spot on, the characters are so well-drawn, and the twins’ different anxieties about an impending school trip are so relatable. The fact that Sam and Sam have two mums makes their family distinctive, and the mums’ relationship is warm and believable, but is not the main element of the story.

Loot is a really fun book about kids for whom thievery runs in the family. Twelve-year-old March sees his father die during a heist, and now March is on a mission to find the precious stones that will reverse the curse on his family. On the way, he meets the twin sister he never knew he had, and together, they set out to find the jewels. What I love most about this book is that March is kind of an anti-hero. He’s not the all-around good guy that readers find in so many middle grade books. He loves being a thief and wants to carry on his father’s legacy. But, of course, March is a great kid at heart, and I couldn’t help but root for him all the way through this maze of a mystery.

First of all, any author by the name of Rainbow is already fantastic in my book. The story is engaging and well-written. Cath is the author of a ridiculously popular fanfiction and, on top of that, she’s heading to college. This book is popular for a reason, as the author depicts a strong main character who not only struggles to navigate the choppy waters of college life, but family life too by worrying about her dad. I sure love a main character with a big heart.

This story was interesting in the way that the author had two main characters who were twins with widely different roles. With one taking the role of the chosen one and the other being in a place to save her, this was an intense rollercoaster ride from beginning to end. Not to mention the worldbuilding, traveling through lightning, was a very unique idea that amped up the suspense. 

Sometimes you think you know all about a famous incident, I mean the Titanic has been overdone in films and books, right? Well, Stacey Lee gives it a totally fresh approach from the point of view of a young Chinese-English teen, Valora Luck. And while this is a fictional take on what might have happened, the fact that there were Chinese people onboard The Titanic, who at that time would not have been allowed into the USA makes for a gripping and thought-provoking read. And then of course there’s Stacey Lee’s wonderful storytelling!

Valora Luck has a dream that one day she and her brother will be famous acrobats, touring America. But once she’s on board The Titanic, she soon discovers she must hide her identity, both as a girl and as a servant, and use her talents to save her brother and his motley band of friends. But like… show more.

This book kept me guessing. 

A three-year-old disappears during her wealthy father’s fiftieth birthday celebration. Is it a case of stranger abduction, or something more complicated? Don’t ask the police; they’re clueless—literally. The mystery hooked me from the start, and the characters (absolute jerks, most of them) were so real, I could almost smell their boozy breath. I never did guess the shocking “darkest secret,” but that’s for the best. Correctly predicting a plot twist might be satisfying in the moment, but I’m more impressed when an author surprises me.  

I read this novel soon after returning from Wales where I was visiting on a writing fellowship. My experience of the country is contemporary while the book is set several decades in the past. But I found the references and nuances of life, society, politics, language, and religion familiar.

It is a beautiful study of realistic rural life without romanticizing it. Spanning nearly four generations and panning wide to take in the entire neighbourhood, it depicts history as lived experience. Be it late 21st century India or early 20th century Wales, ‘upended’ power dynamics in marriages in historically hierarchical societies lead to tragic, albeit interesting, stories whose impact continues to be felt many generations on. While this is the underlying theme of the story, the narrative doesn’t seek to educate. It simply paints an intricate and highly enjoyable picture.

I found it to be a classic, unputdownable book.

A boy without a name, referred to only as “The Human Childe”, lives in an underworld of magical creatures. Stolen from his true parents and kept almost as a pet or a trophy by the Fay King and Queen. He knows he is different and that he doesn’t belong here. 

In the world above is a boy named Edmund. Not really his name, for he is a changeling and replaced the true Edmund long ago, but this is the only family he’s ever known, and he loves them, and they love him. However, he can speak to birds and cats and accidentally sets his sister’s hair aflame.

This book is a very complete magical world with beautiful art throughout. The pacing is just excellent, and the story is really engaging.