Giselle and her twin sister Isabelle were born holding hands. Though they've always been encouraged to develop their own interests and friend groups, they're still as close as twins can be. On the way to a school concert, the family's car is struck by a van. One twin is killed in the accident, and everyone in the family is injured. The remaining sister swims in and out of consciousness. When she wakes up, she must deal with the grief of living without her twin.

This is a poignant story of a family suffering together through a terrible tragedy, and how grief can affect all kinds of relationships. There's a side plot about the teen driver who caused the crash that I found unnecessary, and I thought it actually detracted from the main story. Recommended to readers of realistic (sometimes tragic) YA. ( )

Giselle and Isabel are16 year old twins who are very different, but one of their lives are shattered when a random car accidents kills one of the twins. Questions start to as the police start to invistagate the accident. ( )

I sobbed through this book from start to finish but couldn't put it down. Edwidge Danticat again writes of love, loss, and pain in the most beautiful way. Her unique voice shows us so much of ourselves. ( )

This was a sad story, but for me it was also very touching. I thought the way Danticat described everything was very eloquent. For example, her writing made me want to take the time and listen to the Haitian singer, Emeline, for myself. Now, I listen to words I don't even understand. Though, mostly I just loved how this story was able to leave me with this grateful feeling in having found it. Someday, I will encourage my daughter to read it. ( )

16 year-old identical twins Giselle and Isabelle are headed to a late to a high school concert with their parents when another car crashes into theirs, leaving Giselle comatose in a hospital room. Told in flashbacks and the murky unconsciousness of Giselle, we learn more about the parents' planned separation, the closeness and "differentness" of the twins and their lives and loves, and the family and their Haitian story. Giselle doesn't know what's happened to her sister, but learns the worst (and suffers even more when her aunt thinks she's Isabelle and that Giselle has died). She awakens, and is eventually released to go home under the care of her injured parents, where they all have to figure out what life means without Isabelle.

This is a beautifully written story. I was completely captivated by it, could not put it down. While the plot is compelling, the writing captures the confusion, pain and loss of a teenaged girl perfectly. Danticat knows and loves her characters, and yearns for Giselle as we do, that she can find a way to survive after losing half of herself. This book would be appropriate for grades 7-9 as well as 10-12, but older students will get the subtlety of the book better. For fans of If I Stay by Gayle Forman. ( )