The Trouble with Twins

by Kathryn Siebel Narrated by Katherine Kellgren, Cassandra Campbell

Overview

Kate DiCamillo meets Lemony Snicket in this darkly comic novel about two sisters who learn they are each others' most important friend!

Imagine two twin sisters, Arabella and Henrietta--nearly identical yet with nothing in common. They're the best of friends . . . until one day they aren't. Plain and quiet Henrietta has a secret plan to settle the score, and she does something outrageous and she can't take it back.
*
When the deed is discovered, Henrietta is sent to live with her eccentric great-aunt! Suddenly life with pretty, popular Arabella doesn't seem so awful.
*
And, though she's been grievously wronged, Arabella longs for her sister, too. So she hatches a plan of her own and embarks on an unexpected journey to reunite with her other half.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

06/06/2016
Twins Arabella and Henrietta Osgood were inseparable when they were younger, but although they “were both beautiful girls... Arabella was somehow more beautiful than Henrietta. And that is where the trouble began.” When Henrietta’s jealousy takes a vindictive turn (her sister’s bangs are involved), she is sent away to live with a grim, demanding aunt, which separates the girls for the first time in their lives. Meanwhile, the adults in the story have more than a whiff of Dahl—frequently ridiculous, useless, and even downright nasty. Henrietta and Arabella’s journey to overcome numerous obstacles to reunite is filled with physical trials and emotional growth as they realize how much they need each other. An unnamed mother recounts this tale to her daughter, whose frequent interruptions (“ ‘Spectacles?’ asks the girl. ‘Glasses,’ says the mother”) create a clever, warmhearted overlay to this eccentric adventure. Sardà’s angular, Gorey-esque spot illustrations capitalize on the story’s gothic atmosphere, a promising debut for Siebel. Ages 8–12. Author’s agent: Miriam Altshuler, Miriam Altshuler Literary. Illustrator’s agent: Rebecca Sherman, Writers House. (Aug.)

School Library Journal

07/01/2016
Gr 4–6—Arabella and Henrietta may be identical twins, but they are not alike. Arabella is outgoing, cheerful, and popular. She even has "good hair." Henrietta, on the other hand, is solemn and shy, and Rose, the nanny, never even gets to her hair because she has such a good time fixing Arabella's shining tresses instead. Even their parents quite obviously (and a trifle disturbingly) favor Arabella. When Arabella abandons Henrietta to go to a party, Henrietta exacts a minor revenge and is sent into exile with odd Aunt Priscilla, who turns out to be quite interesting, despite her strange dining preferences. While their parents quickly forget Henrietta, Arabella finds she misses her twin tremendously and sets off to reconnect. The twins' story is framed by a mother telling the tale to her daughter, just as her own mother told it to her. The daughter's questions and the mother's responses move the narrative along subtly while anchoring it in a more recent time. As might be expected, the relationship between the twins and the storyteller is revealed in the end. Although no time period is specified, the illustrations (rotary dial phones, sweater vests, knee socks) suggest the 1940s or 1950s. The story is imbued with the nostalgia of that era and includes tenderly humorous moments. VERDICT Filling a need for children's titles without an edge, this is recommended for most middle grade collections.—Katherine Koenig, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh

SEPTEMBER 2016 - AudioFile

Katherine Kellgren and Cassandra Campbell share narrating this story-within-a-story. Campbell touchingly portrays a mother reading a tale to her daughter, who asks questions as the plot unfolds. Kellgren energetically introduces Arabella and Henrietta Osgood, identical twins who couldn't be more different. After Henrietta, more difficult and less favored by her parents, "punishes" her sister, she's sent to live with Aunt Priscilla, who lives in a creepy house with her black cats. Kellgren's best creation is former actress Aunt Priscilla, who's the most dramatic member of this group of eccentrics. When Arabella misses Henrietta, she has a thrilling and perilous journey to bring her sister home. Listeners will enjoy hearing the girls grow to appreciate each other and marvel at the unexpected conclusion. S.G.B. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

2016-05-14
If Lemony Snicket penned a story on twins it might be similar to this debut novel about the intriguing relationship between Arabella and Henrietta.Nobody can understand why the identical, white twin girls seem different, but the trouble begins at birth, when Arabella arrives more beautiful than Henrietta. And nobody notices that because of this difference, they favor Arabella and slight Henrietta with increasing cruelty. After years of mistreatment and neglect, Henrietta, as many jealous siblings have been wont to do, uses her mother's scissors to cut off Arabella's bangs. In a now oft-used metafictive style, a mother (whose identity readers discover later) narrates this tale to her daughter, whose questions interrupt the gothic humor and pithy commentary to expound on details and vocabulary. The real story focuses on the consequences of Henrietta's actions on both twins. Ever the scorned sibling, Henrietta is sent to live with her reclusive great-aunt, Priscilla, who dresses completely in black and requires her new guest to make fish-head soup. Once separated from Arabella, however, Henrietta begins to learn resiliency in unexpected ways—and likewise, Arabella learns a few lessons about empathy on her own. Black-and-white illustrations, reminiscent of Sophie Blackall and even Edward Gorey, enhance the mood and humor. Even readers without twins will identify with the universal truths of being a sibling. (Fiction. 8-12)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940172022890
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	08/09/2016
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	8 - 11 Years

Read an Excerpt

And so it begins in front of the fire, the story of two twin sisters. One remains with her family in their lovely country house, where yellow roses perfume the air. The other waits for her in another house, where she stands alone at huge arched windows. She is restless, pacing wooden floors that creak in the night when a cat jumps down from the bed to chase at shadows.
(Continues…)

---

Excerpted from "The Trouble with Twins"
by .
Copyright © 2016 Kathryn Siebel.
Excerpted by permission of Random House Children's Books.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

---

Videos