How would you feel if you had a secret friend, a twin, you hadn’t seen since you were both tiny?  What would you do if you had the chance to find that long lost twin?  After Sunny Skyland comes across a backpack full of cash–which she makes a reasonable effort of finding an owner for–she makes the decision to embark on a cross country trip and track down her twin.  No matter what it takes.  Runaway Twin is her story.

The setup of finding a pack back of cash in the woods–cash that no one steps forward to claim, and that isn’t counterfeit or marked by a bank as stolen–is a bit far fetched, and gives a pretty good indicator of how realistic the story that follows will be.  But, hey, we’re talking about a story where twins are separated at a super young age and never reunited and where no one makes any effort to figure out where the missing twin is, so how realistic do we really expect this story to be?  It’s a teen fantasy, a flight of what if, and as such has several major strengths to recommend it:

• It can get kids talking about the assumptions they make about those who are less fortunate–kids they may know who’ve been in ‘the system’ or don’t have a traditional family.  If they’re not wearing the latest clothes, and maybe their grades aren’t as good, what are the strengths they do have?  What are the ways their life experiences have (perhaps) helped them grow?  Valuing each person for their own unique strengths is one of the first signs of true maturity.
• It can help kids think about priorities, and the way that wanting to impress someone else–even your parents–can lead to poor choices.
• It provides great insights into a perspective of entitlement, and the way that such an outlook can sour a person on their life and rob them of the very blessings/riches they’re accustomed to.

The story does this so well because the author did such a superb job of creating in Sunny a likable, sympathetic character.  She’s highly flawed, and makes more than one judgement call that almost gets her killed.  But, she’s a brave soul, kind-hearted, and wise beyond her years.  She’s also clever, which a character should be whenever they can possibly manage it.  This genuine likability on Sunny’s part carries the story past many obvious flaws (including small ones, like the absence of cell phones and presence of pay phones), and left the story thoroughly enjoyable despite its flaws.  Rather like Sunny.

Now, let’s see what Apricot-kitty thought of it:

“Must you torture me so?  Oh, yeah, it’s easy to like Sunny, but what about that dog of hers?  He’s so disgusting, and dog-like, and…thoroughly dog-defining.  And yet, I would have been sad if she hadn’t found him and they hadn’t cared for each other.  Do you see what you’ve done?  I’m feeling sympathy for a dog!”

So…I think that’s a loved it, from the kitty?  Truly, the author’s great strength was writing a story with characters she made you love, and she did it repeatedly with multiple background characters, in addition to Sunny.  Bravo, for that!  She also did an excellent job of giving us a twist at the end, which is unusual in these stories but was highly satisfactory.

I do have to add one more caveat…at the very tail end of the book, it’s stated that Sunny will be writing her story for a school essay and titling it The Runaway Twin.  If you, like me, hate that kind of ending–since it smashes the veil of believability just when I want to enjoy the close of my book–let your eyes glaze over that bit, and make up whatever final sentence you want.  I think you’ll feel the story is worth it. 🙂

For more Marvelous Middle Grade Monday reviews, spotlights, interviews and giveaways, stop by Shannon Messenger’s blog, and happy reading!

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