Two or Three Things I Forgot to Tell You

Two or Three Things I Forgot to Tell You by  Joyce Carol Oates

Merissa, Hannah, Nadia, Chloe and (Katrina) Tink have been best friends at their very exclusive high school.  Tink is the leader, even to the extent that they call themselves Tink Inc.  Everyone is intimidated by Tink, a former child actress, who says and does outrageous things.  But as seniors, the group needs to carry on without Tink because she committed suicide.  

The story is told in three parts:  first from Merissa- the perfect one, the one who was accepted early by Brown University;  the new lead in the school play; the one whose family is falling apart; the one who cuts herself to have enough pain to forget the rest.  

The middle section features Tink, multi-talented, charming, exasperating, enigmatic; now gone, with some of her secrets.  

Nadia is the last voice, a girl who is now called the school slut because of an incident when her drink was altered. Nadia now fixates on her science teacher as her savior.  To all the girls in her inner circle, Tink is still present- they have dreams about her, wonder how she would handle a situation, even hear whispers from her.  These characters will stay with you long after you finish the novel.

We are left wondering about many peripheral characters who are intriguing but dropped:  Colin, who acts like he has deep problems; Virgil, the science geek from Budapest.  Even Chloe, one of Tink’s inner circle, is poorly fleshed out.

And there are still perhaps two or three things I forgot to put in the review….

For mature 14 up

Identical

Identical by Ellen Hopkins

Raeanne and Kaeleigh are the identical twin daughters of a Superior Court judge and his wife. When a horrible accident nearly kills the entire family, the wife runs for Congress, creating an absence for the family--both in their home and their hearts.

In her mother's absence, Kaeleigh becomes the object of her father's sexual attention. Raeanne begins abusing drugs and alcohol, and laments that her father doesn't love her because she gets none of his attention. Kaeleigh begins to cut and becomes bulimic. This is a pit so deep it seems impossible to find a way out.

This novel is so agonizing that readers are almost soothed by the fact that it is told in blank verse. Anything more would be too hard to read.

Because of the incest, the drugs, and the sheer horror of the novel, it is best placed in the hands of kids in grade 10 and up. (MJH)