You'll Miss Me When I'm Gone

Solomon, Rachel. You'll Miss Me When I'm Gone. Simon Pulse, 2018.

Adina and Tovah are fraternal twins; Adina's first love is the viola, while Tovah is more science-oriented, hoping to one day become a doctor. Their mother was diagnosed with Huntington's disease when they were fourteen; now that they are 18, they are going to be tested to see if they, too, will one day develop the disease. Once they receive their results, the twin who tested positive heads on a destructive crash-course, assuming that she should squeeze as much as possible out of her short life. The other twin, feeling guilty for not having a disease, isn't sure how to react.

When I started this book, I assumed that somewhere near the end there would be the inevitable call from the doctor's office saying they had switched the test results. I was wrong. I appreciated the diverse voices in this book and the way one sister clung to her Jewish faith while the other did not. I don't think this is a book I enjoyed reading, but it is one I am glad to have read. I could easily recommend it to older teens who still enjoy reading books about other people's suffering.

Recommended for: older teens
Red Flags: underage drinking; Adina has a sexual relationship with her viola instructor, which technically begins after she turns 18 but as she is still in high school and he's her teacher that's still creepy; language
Overall Rating: 3/5 stars