Want a NOOK? Explore Now
Lucy is stunned when her mother's identical twin sister shows up at the front door. Separated at birth, the twins have led dramatically different lives and Lucy's mother, Aliese, will do anything to make it up to Helen. But Lucy soon suspects that Helen enjoys being mistaken for her mother a bit too much. Then, on New Year's Day, Lucy finds her mother and aunt tied to chairs in the parlor. One has been brutally murdered-but which twin has died?
A Victorian-era girl struggles with confusion when her mother's identical twin suddenly appears and joins her family. She struggles with horror when one of the twins becomes the victim of a grisly murder. But which twin has survived: her wealthy, gracious mother or her impoverished, tough aunt? Lucy begins the story at 13 and ends it a married woman. She's the only daughter of a wealthy London family, portrayed too like a modern middle-class American family despite Baratz-Logsted's attempts to fit the dialogue and behavior into the appropriate era. Characters are nicely diverse until some abruptly change personalities; although these changes may arguably result not only from the murder but also from the misperceptions of an unreliable narrator, readers may well feel that the author does not play fair in her presentation of the mystery. Nevertheless, the story offers many absorbing elements of young love, suspense and surprise that undeniably appeal to fans of the gothic romance. Flawed but ultimately successful. (Historical mystery. 14 & up)
JSP_SPARKY
Posted August 23, 2011
I read this book on my nook and LOVED it!!!!!!!!!!!! I would not change a thing. I would recomend this book to someone who is maybe 11 to 14 or 15 years old, is not grossed out by discriptions of bloody murder, and loves a great and wonderful book.Worth the price.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.CatchingTheFire
Posted June 27, 2011
one of the best books i have ever read
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.kittydanza
Posted October 27, 2010
THE TWIN'S DAUGHTER, by Lauren Baratz-Logsted, absolutely blew me away. At the beginning of the book, I was not sure if I would be too invested in this young girl and her hoity-toity lifestyle, but when Aunt Helen appeared, I was captivated. I do not think I have ever read a book that tossed me for a loop so many times than this one. I fell in step along with Lucy not being able to trust anyone who she thought was close to her. As a fourteen year old, she was fascinated with her long-lost aunt who was doing anything and everything to fit into the mold of her well-off twin. I was suspicious of her intentions to be too much like Aliese but when a terrible tragedy struck, I immediately sided with Lucy in her deductions of what happened. As the story continued, my suspicions were once again raised as her family structure was slowly crumbling. Lucy was a great character to experience. She was tenacious, and reminded me of Elizabeth Bennett (from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice). She was well off, but she stayed honest to herself and always asked questions and spoke her mind freely. I adored the friendship between Lucy and Kit. I always knew of his intentions for her, but Lucy's ever-active brain unknowingly brushed him aside. Overall, this was a fantastic book. There was romance, intrigue, mystery, and high volumes of suspense that will keep you reading until the final page.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I started The Twin's Daughter. Was it a mystery? A family story? What?
What it ended up being was a very long book. One worth reading, I think, but it was long. Maybe it seemed longer because I was sitting in a room without air conditioning while I was reading it, but I thought I would make that observation.
The Twin's Daughter has plenty of interesting characters. I'm huge on characters - a great character can make up for a lacking plot, but an amazing plot can't make up for a horrible character. And The Twin's Daughter was going to need the amazing characters to go along with the amazing plot. We have Lucy, who annoyed me for a little bit at the beginning, but then reminded me more of me as the book went on. Kit, her handsome next door neighbor - if you read it, you'll understand what I mean when I say "camels." (Seriously; you should read it JUST for the camel jokes in the last eighth of the book.)
I loved Aunt Helen, though her character underwent a sudden transformation that didn't seem natural. On the other hand, so did Lucy's mother, and I loved her at the beginning, too. That was part of the story, though - people aren't all what they seem.
And DAMN! This plot! I can honestly say the the reason I kept reading in an un-air conditioned room in 100 degree heat was because I had no idea what was going on, in the best possible way. I had my suspicions of what was going on, and Lucy had hers, and we kept chugging through to wait and see if we were right. And we were right! And then we were wrong! And then we realized nothing is ever as it appears! (Though I was proud of myself; I did call a couple of the final points, though not the overall final one.)
Anonymous
Posted November 25, 2012
She should make a sequal!
Anonymous
Posted April 25, 2012
Well this was a mistake...
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted April 6, 2012
A great mystery always keeping you geussing and it is realy hard for me to find out the plot before i'm halfway through the book and i was always second geussing myself so it was a fabulous read and i enjoyed it
7189518
Posted April 17, 2011
awesome!!!!!!!!!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted March 30, 2011
Really great book. It's a must get book! (. *' ).
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.The Twin's Daughter was a classic, murderous tale that left me feeling flabbergasted. The dark undertone was enticing and mysterious. Lauren contributed a sophisticated, Victorian style that sucked me in. Lucy, an intuitive little girl grabbed my attention from the beginning. Her bright energy and observant personality was infectious. The maturity she presented at thirteen was well-developed and admirable. The story opened up with Aunt Helen arriving unexpectedly at the Sexton's residence. Aliese, Lucy's mother was floored with the discovery of having a twin sister. Helen's aura was hard to read, yet created some type of suspense.
Coming from a different, orphanage upbringing, Helen established goals in reaching proper education and etiquette. Eventually, Helen started growing on me, even if her demeanor was shady. Another aspect I enjoyed, was the blooming relationship between Lucy and their neighbor Kit. Kit was such a sweet-natured boy that seemed to always have her best interest at heart. The most shocking part of this book was the ending. Lauren literally threw me for a loop, I didn't see coming. The moment I thought I had everything all figured out, bam! Everything changed. It is by far one of the most unique conclusions I've ever read in YA. Finally, every element from the characters to the precise, detailed writing worked. I love books that make you think outside the box and Lauren surely did that. The ultimate betrayal and jealousy found in this story will definitely make you question people's agendas.
I need to start out by saying that I liked this book but I want to also warn readers that it was not a quick read. I wouldn't say I struggled to get through it but at the same time it took me longer than most to complete. I wasn't truly prepared for the overall story line in this book. I don't know that the summary/description on the back of the book does it justice but I was floored when finally getting a little ways into it.
Lauren Baratz-Logsted will not be an author I accuse of having predictable plot points. I was just trying to keep up with her and I'll admit that I think I failed in that department, I was totally out of my league half the time. I might still be trying to figure out what happened to be honest. It was what I would call a wild ride but it was a bit frustrating at times because to me I was constantly confused for some reason or another. I never could get a handle on what was going to happen or who was going to do what. People were undergoing very large changes and I was just trying to keep up half the time. I'll be very curious to see what everyone else thinks of Lucy, Helen, Kit and the rest of the gang, for now I'm going to keep trying to piece everything together and see if I can start to make sense of it all.
Anonymous
Posted January 12, 2012
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted December 30, 2010
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted January 31, 2012
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted July 29, 2010
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted July 7, 2011
No text was provided for this review.
Overview
Lucy is stunned when her mother's identical twin sister shows up at the front door. Separated at birth, the twins have led dramatically different lives and Lucy's mother, Aliese, will do anything to make it up to Helen. But Lucy soon suspects that Helen enjoys being mistaken for her mother a bit too much. Then, on New Year's Day, Lucy finds her mother and aunt tied to chairs in the parlor. One has been brutally murdered-but which twin has died?