Journal Post #6

“Must be a dream/ But if it is, I need to stay/ Locked inside it forever./ I can’t believe he’s here./ I can’t believe he still loves/ me, but my heart says he does”(548). Kaeleigh awakened to find Ian in her room and he explains that he loves her to much to be without her. While I was reading this final chapter it made me happy that Ian came back, and was willing to walk with her along her long road to recovery. She had so much pain and suffering in her life, it is nice to know that she finally has something happy to live for. As long as her Dad doesn’t stand in her way “Ian is the only good thing in my life./ Don’t you dare try to keep him away from me!”(550) Kaeleigh yells to her father when he comes to pick her up. We are then introduced to her newest ally, Grandma Charlotte, who will support her on her long arduous journey to happiness. 

Journal Post #5

The story line just twisted like a crazy roller coaster. While Raeanne is having sexual relations with Ty (her boy toy), Kaeleigh’s boyfriend Ian comes knocking on the door looking for her. This is where we receive some startling information. When Raeanne announces that she isn’t Kaeleigh, Ian responds “Raeanne/ is dead, Kaeleigh. She died/ in the accident, remember?”(519). The character of Raeanne whom we have been led to believe is alive and well-ish throughout the story, is actually a figment of Kaeleigh’s grief stricken imagination. In fact she died in the accident that is often referred to in the book. What a change, now I am thinking back to earlier chapters, and reflecting on what was truly Kaeleigh but was manifested as Raeanne. It gives a whole new level of intrigue to the plot, and draws my interest even more. I can’t wait to see how it ends.

Journal Post #4

Kaeleigh is madly in love. Every time she tries to get close to Ian (the boy she loves, and he has loved her since she was little) she freezes  "...a different/ snake strikes, with lightning/ ferocity. Not cobra, but python,/ threading itself around me,/ squeezing... The python has dissolved/ into the jungle, left me numb/ with confusion and need."(280,282). This 'python' inside of Kaeleigh keeps her fears,wants, and needs tied up in a knot in her stomach. Whenever there is something that she wants to do, the python shows up and keeps her from doing it. It freezes her and puts up a wall between her and what she needs. It also makes her fear everything that gets close, like love. It strangles her heart, and keeps her from living her life. This is one of her biggest problems, she can not kill the python inside her. Will she ever be able to be with the love of her life? Will the snake ever die?

Journal Post #3

Kaeleigh is a very interesting character, she has a lot going on in her life. When she admits "Some very/ intense demons have so/ got hold of me."(117) it proves that there are a lot of bad things that have happened to her. Yet she keeps all of her problems locked deep inside her. She doesn't give them any way to escape. She is given many times throughout the book to come clean and spill all of her secrets, but she never does. Some times these demons keep her from opening up to important people in her life. Kaeleigh doesn't deal with her problems very well. No one can help her because no one knows that there is anything wrong. Her problems are far worse than just mental and physical abuse. She has wounds that no person should ever have to suffer or experience. Yet what is happening in her life, could be happening anywhere in the world, and to anyone. It's scary what people are capable of.

Journal Post #2

"We live in a smug California/ valley. Rolling ranch land, surrounded/ by shrugs of oak-jeweled hills./... with its windmills/ and cobbled sidewalks ... The houses line smooth black/ streets, prim rows/ of postcard-pretty dwellings,/ coiffed and manicured from curb/ to chimney."(4-5). When I read it, I picture a beautiful rich town located in a 'smug California valley'. As a side note at the end it reads "...they're perfect/ on the outside. But behind/ the Norman Rockwell facades,/ each holds it's secrets."(5). The way it is described makes it sound perfect, no flaws or problem's. Yet it is a facade for rich family's problems, a mask.For them it is where they keep their secrets, hidden from the world. There are many people around the world that have family problems, weather they are rich or poor, or the problem is mental or physical abuse. No matter what, no child, wife or husband should ever have to hide behind a mask or feel ashamed to share their problems. 

Journal Post #1

In Identical, the first few chapters discuss the home life of the Gardella family. The twins Kaeleigh and Raeanne are the only children. Their mother Kay Gardella, is "running for congress so she can run/ away from us (Kaeleigh and Raeanne)."(18). Daddy/Ray, is the father and a respected judge who "... comes/ home every/ day, dives/ straight into/ a tall amber/ bottle, falls/ into a stone-/walled well/ of silence, a/ place where he can tread/ the suffocating loneliness."(8). Life seems to be in constant turmoil in this household. Prior to the infamous 'accident' "we'd laugh and my/ parents would kiss and all/ was perfect in our little world."(15). Since the accident the twins have been forced to raise themselves as their mother is avoiding the family by immersing herself in politics and their father is drowning his sorrows in a bottle. Kaeleigh, is a sweet and innocent child with demons of her own. She obeys the rules of the house, and is loved by her father but longs for the love of her stone hearted mother. Raeanne, is rebellious, fearless, and constantly craves love from her father. She satisfies her craving with marijuana and boys. So far the novel has raised a few questions for me, like; what happened in the accident? And are there bigger problems in the Gardella family? There might end up being bigger things going on within this messed up family. They make themselves look perfect on the outside. When inside, they have dark secrets hidden deep in their soul. Who will uncover these dark secrets?

Identical- Novel Study

Identical
By: Ellen Hopkins
Published by: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Copyright: 2008
Number of Pages: 565

I am expecting this book to have an intense story and keep me interested. Having the book be about two sisters is an easy subject to relate to. What I have heard about Identical is that it is a very good book and I am excited to start reading.