Twins by Varian Johnson, Illustrated by Shannon Wright

 

Maureen and Francine are identical twins and getting ready to start the new school year in middle school. Maureen is the picture perfect, straight A student, but a bit withdrawn. Francine is more assertive and more in tune with what's cool. Throughout elementary school, the two girls were tied at the hip, doing everything together. Now that they are starting middle school, Francine wants to be herself, independent of Maureen. The first day of school, Maureen dresses in a hat and now has pierced ears. Maureen is upset because she was placed in Cadet Corps, has a different lunch period, and has only two classes with her sister. Francine continues to assert her independence by running for class president.

Maureen talks to her Cadet Corp teacher to get extra credit which she needs to get an A to make up for her lack in marching skills. Her teacher suggests running for office for extra credit. Her teacher also reveals that her parents had requested the schedule she has and wanted her in Cadet Corps to help her with her self-confidence. Even worse, she finds out that her parents did it at the request of Francine. Furious with her family, Maureen decides to run for class president against her sister. 

A fun, light book about sisters, family, middle school life, and learning to be independent. The fact that Maureen and Francine are African American is inconsequential to the story, which is the beauty of it.

Mark's Book Picks Score: 3

Reading Level:2.9 • Interest Level: 4-7 • AR Points: 1 • Lexile Level: GN360L • Publisher: Scholastic • Pages: 247 • Copyright: 2020 • ISBN: 978-1-338-23613-2 • Available in Perma-Bound Binding