One by Sarah Crossan Review

"Grace and Tippi. Tippi and Grace. Two sisters. Two hearts. Two dreams. Two lives. But one body.

Grace and Tippi are conjoined twins, joined at the waist, defying the odds of survival for sixteen years. They share everything, and they are everything to each other. They would never imagine being apart. For them, that would be the real tragedy.

But something is happening to them. Something they hoped would never happen. And Grace doesn’t want to admit it. Not even to Tippi.

How long can they hide from the truth—how long before they must face the most impossible choice of their lives?"

Told in poetry (specifically, free verse), One is an interesting tale of Grace, who is the conjoined twin of Tippi. To me, it's a unique and original story that I haven't read before. I so rarely read poetry, and it was very surprising when I first opened the book and saw it written in verses. I admit that I don't like poetry, because I'm very unused to its language and its writing style and its appearance. But One settles me in smoothly, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

First of all, I love the amount of research put into this book. I'm not well-versed in the subject of conjoined twins, but when reading this book, I feel like I learn facts not just feel the emotional rollercoaster that is Grace.

Grace is the introvert while Tippi is the extrovert. These two girls, who are identical twins that never quite separated at birth, are nearly almost complete opposites. But they love each other anyway, and they know each other better than anyone else. Their relationship is truly fascinating, and throughout the book, they lived their teenage years together. They went through everything together, facing rough topics like death and separation. And darn, when Grace talks, I gain another perspective and see things in a much different light.

I knew the ending before I read it. I was tipped off by the illustrations that are made on the first page of every single new part of the book. Besides, the title should probably tip off most readers, but yes, the ending is truly heartbreaking yet also uplifting. (It isn't so emotional for me, because I have a weak connection to a certain character. Therefore, I did not cry.)

The free verses are pretty, and the titles are unique. But as a seldom reader of poetry, I can't judge them. But I can tell you all that they flow without a hitch, and I understood the story/plot quite easily as if I'm reading a novel with heavy dialogue and wordy prose.

The plot is very active, but it is Grace (and Tippi) who drives the plot and makes the decisions. The story is never boring, and Grace has so many words to (internally) say.

In conclusion, One, which is YA Contemporary, is a beautiful and emotional tale. It is for fans of The Sister's Keeper, and it's ultimately a tale of two sisters told in stanzas and lines. Though they may seem to be abnormally joined together, they truly are soulmates.

Rating: Four out of Five