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oneWhat: One by Sarah Crossan

Who: Bloomsbury Childrens

When: September 1st 2015

How: A copy of this novel was provided by Bloomsbury Australia for review.

Grace and Tippi are twins – conjoined twins. And their lives are about to change. No longer able to afford homeschooling, they must venture into the world – a world of stares, sneers and cruelty. Will they find more than that at school? Can they find real friends? And what about love? But what neither Grace or Tippi realises is that a heart-wrenching decision lies ahead. A decision that could tear them apart. One that will change their lives even more than they ever imagined…From Carnegie Medal shortlisted author Sarah Crossan, this moving and beautifully crafted novel about identity, sisterhood and love ultimately asks one question: what does it mean to want and have a soulmate?

 

4cats2I wasn’t sure if I was going to end up reading One, but then I read two really lovely reviews for it, and decided that it was worth giving it a shot.

And it was.

I read One in two hours the night I picked it up. It’s written in prose, but to be honest, if you don’t take any notice of the line breaks, it reads pretty well like a usual book. Now, I know that might take away from the intended impact, but I just cannot read books in prose, so it was skip the line breaks, or skip the book. And I’m really glad I didn’t skip the book.

Even though I didn’t really read One as I was supposed to, I loved the writing style. Because it was written in prose, each poem had its own purpose and meaning. And a lot of them were really beautiful and emotional. A lot of them had my heart aching away in my chest.

I was expecting the book to be told from both Grace and Tippi’s perspective, but the entire thing is from Grace’s perspective, which I enjoyed. I think because she’s the more introverted and quiet one, so a lot of what she thinks she never says aloud. But all the thoughts and emotions are there to read.

I absolutely loved the fact that even though Grace and Tippi’s life was shown to be hard, it was never shown to be awful. The girls didn’t hate their lives, and there was one line where Grace said that she would rather be connected to Tippi than another hundred things in the world, and that being connected to Tippi was not “the worst thing ever” (which is what a passerby said). Even though I cannot imagine what life would be like for Grace or Tippi, I loved the fact that Grace knew that life was hard, and didn’t appreciate some of the shit that came with it, but she didn’t spend all her time wishing things were different, or hating Tippi. Grace was beautiful.

The ending really got me. I mean, I knew it was coming – I could just tell that One was not going to be a happy rainbow festival of a book, but man that ending. It was heartbreaking, to say the least.

To be honest, I cannot really say much more about One because there is a lot to it, but I think it’s best you discover all that by yourself, because I went in hardly knowing anything about this book, and that’s the way I liked it.

If you’re looking for a book that is full of heart then One is the one for you.

© 2015, Chiara @ Books for a Delicate Eternity. All rights reserved.

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Posted on: November 10, 2015 • By: Chiara

10 Responses to Review: One by Sarah Crossan

  1. Oh my god, just thinking about the end of this book makes me want to cry. Probably one of the saddest things I’ve ever read :( I don’t usually like verse novels but ONE was the one for me.

  2. I adore novels in verse (MASSIVE Ellen Hopkins fan here, yo) so I simply had to pick this one up. I just adored the interactions between the sisters and the rest of their family. Like you, I finished the book in one sitting.

    After finishing I just sat there for a good half hour because goddammit ALL THE FEELS, girl!! Brilliantly reviewed, Chiara. :)

    • Chiara says:

      I really want to try out Ellen Hopkins! I have heard so many good things about her books. The familial relationships in this book were some of the best aspects, I think.

      I KNOW. It was incredibly heart wrenching, right? I saw it coming, but I was still so affected. Thank you so much, lovely! <3

  3. Valerie says:

    Wait…this doesn’t have a happy ending? What…is it weird that I want to read this now because of that?

    I have read her book Apple and Rain and liked it, so I’m sure I’ll love this as well :)

    • Chiara says:

      Not at all D: Haha, no! I like emotionally packed novels, so I can understand why you might want to read it because of that!

      Oh, if you liked that one, you’ll be sure to love this one, I think :)

  4. I love novels told in verse! I’ve seen kots if positive reviews for this book so maybe I’ll try it out. I’ll have to brace myself for the ending though. Great review! :)

  5. For some reason, I have had massively terrible luck with novels in verse – of the seven or eight I’ve read, at least five of them have been one star/DNFs, which is rather sad. (Though, it is some consolation that the two or three I did enjoy completely blew me out of the water with their loveliness.)

    I’ve seen some beautiful reviews of ONE floating around, so I may pick it up – though I’m thinking it may perhaps be best to save it for a school break, just in case that ending is as debilitating as you say…

    • Chiara says:

      SAME. I just never really connect with them the same way as ‘normal’ novels, and often find myself annoyed, haha. I’m glad the ones you’ve enjoyed were super lovely, though!

      I hope you do pick it up, Topaz! It’s a really lovely novel.

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