NeverSaid

Author: Carol Lynch Williams
Publisher: Blink
Genre: Teen
ISBN: 978-0-310-74661-4
Pages: 304
Price: $16.99

Sarah doesn’t know what has happened to her fraternal twin sister, Annie. Until a year ago, Annie was always the beautiful and popular one. But now she’s dropped out of the beauty pageants and gained weight. Annie won’t say what’s wrong, and Sarah is too caught up in her own problems to really worry much about it. But in one week, everything changes, as the sisters spend more time talking and listening to each other.

NeverSaid alternates between Sarah and Annie’s viewpoints. Sarah tells her story in first-person narrative, while Annie only speaks in poetry. Just as Sarah is kept guessing, so is the reader, until all is finally revealed. Several current issues are explored in this coming of age book, including fat shaming, self-esteem, bullying, and social disorders. As both girls come face to face with the crisis at hand, they finally realize they have the power to change things and move their lives forward in a positive direction.

Although Annie has had to deal with something traumatic, I felt her extreme behavior was not quite believable. Through most of the time this situation was happening to her, Annie was willing and happy to go along with it, so it didn’t seem natural that she would act out the way she did. But if the reader can accept this behavior as normal, this is an interesting and absorbing read.

Reviewer: Alice Berger