Twins

I loveeee a good middle grade graphic novel, and Twins by Varian Johnson and Shannon Wright DELIVERED. Twins, middle school angst, class elections–this books got the right stuff. Shoutout to my former fellow intern Zakiya, now at Scholastic, for the hookup on this one. I was such a fan of the ARC of this, and know it’s going to be beautiful in its finished form too! If you like Raina Telegemeir and Kayla Miller, you’re going to want to gift this book to every young reader you meet–especially siblings, kids transitioning schools, or anyone looking for what makes them an individual.

Twins Maureen and Francine have mixed feelings about sixth grade: Francine is excited, Maureen is anxious, and it doesn’t help that the girls only have a few classes together. Maureen’s also in Cadet Corps, so she’s learning to march and drill as well as having to adjust to a new school environment and classes without her sister. Challenged by her Cadet leader, Maureen decides to run for class office–president. One problem…her sister, Francine, is running too. The twins go head to head in this race that tests their sisterhood, their family, their friend group, and teaches both of them about themselves and their twin.

It’s got humor, it’s got great family dynamics, and a good message at the end that isn’t super preachy. I’m a big fan. Seriously. I’m also SUPER excited for Act by Kayla Miller, which is also about a school election, but this book is different. It’s as much about finding yourself as winning a race, which is cool. The illustration style is right up my interests (I like the Raina-esque style that’s more flat and colorful, as opposed to comic book style or even BW/sketches). I did read a mostly uncolored ARC of this, but the few pages that were colored (and the other colored pages I saw on the digital ARC) were beautifully done!

Whether you’re a MG reader yourself, looking for a book to gift, or simply hoping to inspire other readers, you want to add this book to your collection. I’m ordering one for my sister, who is 10, and will be going into sixth grade just as this book releases! I also believe there will be more in the series, so yay!

Twins is on sale October 6, 2020, and you should pre-order it now.