For the twins, who share things other people consider definitively private, their identities as separate people are complex. At the same time, we define ourselves by our relationships with others. Individuality is an essential part of identity we recognise ourselves as separate from others, as possessing some innate selfhood.

This will surprise approximately nobody who’s ever read a poem, but each word is placed for maximum effect, with multitudes of meaning. The titles of each poem variously add context, irony, emphasis it’s tempting to tear through the book because it’s a quick read, but it’s worth spending time with the text. The novel is actually presented as a poetry collection, though read chronologically it tells a fairly conventional narrative. Is there any other medium that can make your stomach drop with line spacing? It’s the closest the written word comes to music. The blank verse is never a gimmick, but instead a tool for chiselling away at the reader’s emotions. I’m always sceptical about supposed tearjerkers because I possess a cold, dead heart, but One is genuinely wrenching and beautiful. What I’m trying to say here is that this book made me cry at least three tears.

This poetry strips language down, makes it looser and more direct, which makes the reader feel closer to the characters. I loved Apple and Rain, Crossan’s previous novel, which included poetry as part of the story-telling, and I really need to read The Weight of Water because it’s set in Coventry! With a shoutout to the ring road and everything!Īnyway, One… It’s a verse novel about conjoined twins and it’s nominated for the YA Book Prize, and that in itself speaks volumes about UKYA and what an exciting scene it is to be (no matter how small) a part of. I went through several phases of reading and writing poetry for pleasure as a teenager, so I’m not a complete stranger to it, but this might be the first novel I’ve read entirely in verse. Soon, Grace and Tippi will have to make a massive, life-changing choice about the future. For other people the very idea is a nightmare, but they’ve never known any different, and is it such a terrible thing to share such a bond with your sister? Changes are on the horizon: new school, new friendships, money troubles, and more dangerous kinds of trouble, too. They’ve spent sixteen years sharing absolutely everything, including a body.

This is the ninth of my reviews of the YA Book Prize shortlist. I’m going to be reading and reviewing each title on the shortlist, so HOLD TIGHT and get ready for FEELINGS and OPINIONS.

One book sarah crossan