Ellen Hopkins
Identical tackles perhaps the most difficult subject matter of all. It is about identical twins whose father is sexually abusing one of them.
I chose this subject matter because the issue touched the lives of three of my friends. Today, they are successful, beautiful women who you would never believe this might have happened to. I want readers to know it is possible to find a way beyond this terrible place, into a brighter future.
Mirror Mirror
When I look into a
mirror,
it is her face I see.
Her right is my left, double
moles, dimple and all.
unblemished.
We are exact
opposites,
Kaeleigh and me.
Mirror-image identical
twins. One egg, one sperm,
one zygote, divided,
sharing one complete
set of genetic markers.
On the outside
we are the same. But not
inside. I think
she is the egg, so
much like our mother
it makes me want to scream.
Cold.
Controlled.
That makes me the sperm,
I guess. I take completely
after our father.
All Daddy, that’s me.
Codependent.
Cowardly.
Good, bad. Left, right.
Kaeleigh and Raeanne.
One egg, one sperm.
One being, split in two.
And how many
souls?
Identical received starred reviews from Kirkus and Publishers Weekly:
Hopkins’s gift with free verse reaches new heights in this portrait of splintered identical twins. . . . Kaeleigh and Raeanne maintain distinct voices throughout as they wrestle with psychic damage and an astonishing, devastating realization. Sharp and stunning, with a brilliant final page. [starred review]—Kirkus Reviews
Hopkins’s verse is not only lean and sinuous, it also demonstrates a mastery of technique. [starred review]—Publishers Weekly