This is a very good book because the story is from the point of view of a young person, so it is very relatable for someone my age. This story is also a very serious book and has a lot of representational parts in it. 4Q4P The cover art is awesome and I'd recommend this for high school students and adults. I chose to read this book because the cover art was very interesting. AdamM

It was really boring through most of the book, and a little corny. The title doesn't fit the book and I did not like the ending. Some of the metaphores were intresting and the book was well written, the storyline just wasn't very exciting. Q3P2 AHS/Heather F

beautiful! This story is alternately told by Noah, a 13 year old boy who was cut from his conjoined twin at birth (the twin didn't survive), and Grace, a nurse who is staying with Noah after his grandmother's surgery. Both have fears and secrets and they are unlikely companions. A sniper is on the loose and Noah irrationally fears his lost twin could be the culprit. I was completely sucked into this story and couldn't put it down. 4 1/2 stars! ( )

Reviewed by Marta Morrison for TeensReadToo.com

Noah is thirteen. He is the only survivor of conjoined twins. When he was just a few weeks old he was surgically separated from his brother. He lived and his brother did not. Noah feels guilty. Why should he have lived while his brother, who he believes is still alive wandering the earth without a home, didn't?

When Noah was four his parents died in a car accident and he has to live with his paternal grandmother. Mademoiselle, which is what Noah calls her, provides a roof over Noah's head but not much else for a growing boy. Her house is freezing cold. It is all white and nothing is out of place. She never hugs or touches him and they eat very little.

Mademoiselle is also an alcoholic. Then she goes to the hospital for a face lift and Nurse Grace comes to take care of Noah. Nurse Grace is the opposite of what Noah has been taught about how polite society should operate. Grace is big, loud, sloppy, and full of love. Grace has a secret, too. Her little brother was killed and she is still suffering from the tragedy.

THE SECRET TWIN takes these two lives and creates a psychological healing between the two of them. It is told from alternate perspectives, first Noah's and then Grace's. We see all the events from both set of eyes.

When I started this book I wasn't thrilled, but as I got into the reading I became enamored with the writing and the story. This is a story of redemption, change, healing, and acceptance. I strongly recommend this book for readers who want to think and be changed themselves. ( )

Booklist
( December 15, 2006 ; 0-06-078564-0 )

As enigmatic as the tarot cards that grace the book, this spellbinding story will entangle readers at the first sentence: They say the newborn doesn't see, but I remember this . . . . The story is told in two voices. One belongs to Noah, the prissy 13-year-old who has lived with his grandmother Mademoiselle since his parents were killed in a car crash. The other belongs to Grace, a determined health-care worker who has come to stay with Noah after Mademoiselle's facelift. Wraithlike Noah is used to eating the salad Mademoiselle favors. Grace is outsize, and her feelings about food and Noah are b as ample as her figure. Yet despite outward differences, an invisible cord binds Noah and Grace: Grace's brother died in a hit-and-run accident, and Noah was born a twin, sharing a heart with his weaker brother, who was sacrificed so Noah could live. He sees fleeting images of his brother everywhere. Orenstein's writing is magic--every word and phrase precisely chosen. Coupled with creative language are a nail-biting plot and intense characterizations. Throughout, readers are kept off balance with questions both concrete and abstract: What's really wrong with Mademoiselle? Who is shooting people in the neighborhood? Can Grace help Noah survive? Will he let her? --Ilene Cooper Copyright 2006 Booklist