Jake and Lily

A wonderful story about twins growing up and growing apart as only the brilliant Jerry Spinelli can do it.

Spinelli uses humor and wit to tackle real life issues of bullying, belonging and finding your own identity. This is a great story about twins who struggle to understand their changing dynamic as they grow up. Jake and Lily highlight the pitfalls of growing up and making decisions for yourself.

I could see it coming. I could see his goo-goo eyes every time we saw the Bumpsters riding around. I figured sooner or later Jake would join them. Just thinking about it made me mad. mad enough to decide that when it finally happened, I would just spit, burp, and call "Good riddance! Who needs ya?

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Who cares?"
What does she want? Does she want me to spend my whole life with nobody but her? Oh look, there's Jake and Lily, They're seventy-nine years old and they still play poker and ride bikes together. They still hear each other five miles away. Still sleep in the same bedroom. You can't tear them apart. Aren't they adorable. Twinny twin twins.

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I've liked every book by Jerry Spinelli that I have read. This story is told in two voices. The twins, Jake and Lily, share alternate chapters to tell their story. The two voices do not really sound different to me but the characters are well drawn, 10 years old and growing.

Jake and Lily are twins, and all their life they have had a secret connection to each other. They can't play hide and seek, because the always know where each other is hiding. They can answer each others questions before they're asked. Things like that.
But after they turn 11, Jake starts wanting to

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hang out with a little gang of boys in the neighborhood instead of his sister, and their connection begins to fade. Lily still wants Jake to be her best friend forever, but he seems tired of her.
They tell their stories in alternating chapters. Lily's focuses on dealing with the loss of her brother. Jake, who has more or less abandoned her, focuses on his fiends - the leader of the gang being a neighborhood bully. Jakes chapters, around the middle section of the book, get a bit uncomfortable to read, because we're following this hateful bully, and Jake seems to be enjoying the meanness.
Of course, things all work out well in the end for everyone concerned.
Lily I felt a lot of empathy for. Jake, not so much through most of the book. Yes, he redeems himself in the end, but there are a lot of pages in which to dislike him.

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Jake and Lily by Jerry Spinelli

Summary: Jake and Lily are not just brother and sister - they are twins. They have always been there for each other and shared a special bond until one day Jake decides he wants to be his own person. What's a twin to do?

What I liked about the book: Last year my school

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had 17 sets of twins. This upcoming school year we will have just as many, maybe more. So I've been on a search for twin stories to add to our collection. You can always count on Spinelli for a good read. He paints a humorous story about the challenges siblings (and especially twins) face. Young readers will enjoy Lily's adventures and will sympathize with Jake's wish to have his own identity while understanding Lily's sense of betrayal when Jake wants to find his own friends. The chapters alternate between Lily and Jake, allowing them to present their own versions of the story. This would be a great read aloud - perhaps even for students to use in a readers' theater.

What I didn't like about the book: This was a great read. I'll be honest - there is one character that I didn't like - Bump Stubbins - but we are not supposed to like him. Overall, this is a great addition to any classroom or school library.

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