"Double Identity" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Upon seeing me pick up a copy of Running Out of Time, a friend recommended that I read Margaret Peterson Haddix's Double Identity. So I did. And considering that I read it in just a couple of hours, you could say that I liked it. Bethany isn't sure what is going on. Her parents just dropped her off at her aunt's house, but prior to this moment, she didn't know that she even had an aunt. Her parents leave her behind and the only clue she has is the name "Elizabeth." It takes some time, but she finally finds out that Elizabeth was her older sister who was killed in a car accident before she was born. However, even after that revelation, everything is not as it seems.

The entire time I was reading this, I was on the edge of my seat (both figuratively and literally, as I sit weird when I am cold). I never quite knew which turn the plot would take but what I liked about it was how Haddix set everything up. My problem with many suspenseful novels is that plot twists often come out of no where in such a way that the reader couldn't have predicted any of it. Haddix does a great job of setting up potential plot points without bashing the reader over the head with hints that it might be important. I'm not sure if I would have cared for this book when I was a kid (I wasn't into anything with suspense or science at that age), but reading it as an adult was a very enjoyable experience.

Happy Reading!
-Melly