06 November 2010

The Opposite of Me


Pekkanen, Sarah. The Opposite of Me. New York: Washington Square Press, 2010.

Lindsey and Alex are fraternal twins. Ever since they were children, Lindsey has always been the hardworking, smart twin, while Alex was the pretty twin who got all the attention.  Lindsey has worked hard her entire life trying to impress those around her with her abilities in an attempt to get the spotlight Alex constantly steals from her. 

Lindsey's life falls apart around her and forces her to re-examine herself and her career choices, etc., while moving back in with her parents and helping her sister prepare for her wedding.  Tragedy strikes, an family secret is revealed, and everyone lives differently ever after.

This isn't my typical genre of literature to read, but I was intrigued by the concept of a family secret being revealed.  Were the twins adopted?  Maybe from different families?  Was someone switched at birth? Were they really quintuplets, and they have never met their other three siblings?  I imagined all sorts of exciting possibilities for this "family secret" as I began this book.

Even though I chose to leave my job, unlike Lindsey, who was fired, I could relate to her struggle.  Does she love her career because she enjoys what she does, or simply because she's never done anything else before?  What should she do with herself now?

I did not, however, much enjoy the rest of this story.  The tragedy was unbelieveably predictible and the "family secret" was not nearly as exciting as expected.  I was seriously disappointed.  I cannot agree with the reviewer quoted on the front of the book who called it "fresh and funny and satisfying."  It was not, unfortunately, any of those things.

Check it out from the library if you enjoy this type of novel, my friends, but don't say I didn't warn you.

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