Children’s Book Committee – February Pick

Untwine
by Edwidge Danticat
(Scholastic, 2015)

After a terrible automobile accident, 16-year-old Giselle wakes up unable to communicate or ask about the fate of her parents or her identical twin.

Our Young Reviewer says:

Untwine was an incredible book about one girl’s journey to self discovery after the loss of her twin sister. Giselle’s struggle to truly figure out who she was after going through emotional turmoil before and after her sister’s death was very emotionally involving and moving. I couldn’t put the book down. I was so drawn in by Giselle’s struggle to figure our who she was after she experienced such grief. It really makes one think about factor’s that determine who we are and how the people we meet, places we go, experiences we have all the have the ability to greatly impact us and in Giselle’s case, it took such a drastic trauma for her to truly realize who she was and wanted to be, especially when what she had previously thought about herself had been greatly altered by her sister’s death. I loved how Edwidge Danticat incorporated aspects of Haitian culture and history into her novel and made that a large portion of Giselle’s identity.

– Olivia, 16, Bronx, NY

Want to become a Young Reviewer?  See our past monthly picks.

Advertisement