One: Winner of the Carnegie Medal 2016

by Sarah Crossan

Grace and Tippi are twins - conjoined twins.

And their lives are about to change.

No longer able to afford homeschooling, they must venture into the world - a world of stares, sneers and cruelty. Will they find more than that at school? Can they find real friends? And what about love?

But what neither Grace or Tippi realises is that a heart-wrenching decision lies ahead. A decision that could tear them apart. One that will change their lives even more than they ever imagined...

From Carnegie Medal shortlisted author Sarah Crossan, this moving and beautifully crafted novel about identity, sisterhood and love ultimately asks one question: what does it mean to want and have a soulmate? Shortlisted for The CILIP Carnegie Medal in 2016

• ISBN10: 1408829460
• ISBN13: 9781408829462
• Publish Date: 27 August 2015
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
• Imprint: Bloomsbury Childrens Books
• Format: eBook (EPUB)
• Pages: 448
• Language: English
• URL: http://bloomsbury.com/

Reviews

[Jo]

3.5 Stars.

Originally posted on Once Upon a Bookcase.

On hearing that Sarah Crossan had written One, a book about conjoined twins, I was so eager to read it. However, I finished the book feeling a little disappointed.

Tippi and Grace are conjoined twins. They have been homeschooled their whole lives, to keep them away from the cruelty of others, but now their parents can no longer afford it. Tippi and Grace start their senior year of high school with trepidation, waiting for the stares and cruel words. But they find school isn't so bad once they make friends with Yasmeen and Jon, the only two people outside of family, medical professionals and teachers who see them as two individual people, rather than a curiosity to be afraid of or bully. Their lives start to get a little complicated when Grace starts to fall for Jon; there's no chance Jon could possibly like her, being one of conjoined twins, but even if he did, how could any real relationship be possible? But soon the girls realise Grace's feelings are the least of their worries; when their health is threatened, the biggest and most dangerous of their lives lies ahead.

The premise of the story is wonderful. I was really interested and intrigued to see where Crossan would take Tippi and Grace's story, and to see how much we would learn about conjoined twins and their lives. But I did have trouble getting emotionally involved in the story. One is 448 pages long, but it's also a verse novel, so there isn't a huge amount of text. One is the kind of book you could fly through in one sitting, it's a super quick read. and I found the story goes by too quickly for me to feel much connection to the characters.

I do not deny the huge amount of talent it takes to write a story in verse; to be able to tell a full, complete story in the structure of poetry, with really very few words. It's amazing and admirable. But for this kind of story - an intense and highly emotional story - I need to feel connected to the characters, I need to be emotionally involved in their story to care, and this structure just didn't work for me. I didn't care as much as I should have for the story being told. When we reached the climax, I felt sad for the characters, my eyes filled with tears, but tears that didn't fall. If this story had been told in prose, my heart would have broke and I would have been sobbing uncontrollably on the bus home. Instead, I finished it, put the book away, stared out the window, and my thoughts quickly turned to other things. Don't get me wrong, I do like verse novels, it just seems for me, with a novel that is on such an emotional topic, verse doesn't hit me the way prose does. That's not to say it won't affect other readers differently. I guess it just comes down to what grabs you personally.

Unfortunately, One wasn't a book that worked for me on an emotional level, but it's still a fascinating and interesting story. It's eye-opening and thought-provoking, and I'm sure a lot of people will love it.

Thank you to Bloomsbury Children's Books for the proof.

[Kelly]

http://www.divabooknerd.com/2015/09/one-by-sarah-crossan.html
One left me an emotional mess and by far Sarah Crossan's best storyline to date. Told in verse, the storyline follows Grace, one half of conjoined twins along with sister Tippi. Where Grace is quiet and prefers not to rock the boat, Tippi likes to charge into any situation and likely to confront those who stare at the girls both in horror and wonder. With their mother losing her job and her father already out of work, the public donations for the twins have dried up and to finish their education, they're facing the prospect of attending school among the whispers of their peers. While both are terrified what lies within the hallowed walls, Grace is more open to the prospect of finding friends, even finding love.

Their story isn't unique to young adult, but their situation is. I haven't come across any other books that have explored the theme of conjoined twins and as Grace's character mentions, even the twins themselves were not expected to live into their teens. The twins have always been the sole focus of the family, whether it be due to their health or finances and younger sister Dragon is a product of unintentional neglect and faces her own upheaval. It felt incredibly realistic, as their parents were torn between providing for their family with what little means at their disposal and wanting to protect Grace and Tippi from the cruel injustices of the world. At school among the stares, the girls find solace with new friends Yasmeen and Jon. Yasmeen is fiercely protective of her new friends, while Jon and Grace share moments of something more than friendship between the two. Grace's situation doesn't allow for privacy and despite Tippi's warnings of not becoming attached, Grace finds herself falling in love. I found the romance a bit too bizarre and felt flippant where Tippi was concerned, seeing as the twins has always shared a closeness beyond their physical attachment. But I do understand Grace and her need for normalcy, especially as she feels like the weaker twin and refers to herself as a parasite upon Tippi's life.

The verse aspect was lovely, so few words creating an incredible impact on the reader. It's poignant, emotional and uplifting, a story of hope which will ultimately leave readers anguished and needing more. Sarah Crossan is one of the young adult contemporary authors who creates passionate and sentimental storylines with sensitivity and a realism rarely seen within our characters. Although beautifully heartbreaking, One was a joy to read.

[shannonmiz]

This review was originally posted on It Starts at Midnight
I loved the idea of One the minute I'd heard about it. I mean, conjoined twins?! Sign me up! Has this even ever happened before in YA? Conjoined twins fascinate me, even if that is a non-PC thing to say. I mean, I would never gawk at people, or think them strange, I understand the physical stuff. What I cannot wrap my head around is the psychological component, the emotions attached to living joined to another person, another soul. And here's the thing: I never will. I was born as a singleton, and joined to no one in any way. So I can't possibly understand what that is like, just as a conjoined twin could never understand what it feels like not to share vital body parts.

That said, Sarah Crossan did a phenomenal job of getting into that mindset. It's told in verse, which I will admit to being wary of. But I needn't have been because it is kind of perfect for this book. I really think it worked well, and the writing was absolutely stunning. I felt the emotions vividly, and I definitely felt for Grace and Tippi, and really, their whole family. It's told from Grace's point of view, which is really incredible. Grace worries about all the normal teen stuff, but also about people thinking she is an absolute monster because she is conjoined. And people... well, people are cruel. People stare, people whispered (or just flat out spoke aloud rudely), and were not at all subtle about their curiosities.
Tippi and Grace start school, and finally meet friends (who, incidentally, have secrets of their own), and right when they start to feel the slightest bit like typical teens, their bodies decide to fight against them. They have a lot of choices to make and situations to navigate, especially for two girls at such a fragile time in their lives.

And the family is a mess too. Of course, the medical bills and special everyday needs for conjoined twins basically suck. I can't even imagine the fortune it must have cost, and the family is paying for it monetarily, and much, much more. Every family member has their own issues that they're trying to navigate, and while Grace and Tippi would love for the focus to be off them, it isn't in the cards right now.

The only downside to the verse-telling was that it was a little easy to be as connected to Grace as I'd wanted to be. But the story did still pack an emotional punch on many levels. And there were moments that were predictable, but again, it didn't really take much away from the story for me.

Bottom Line: Even though I assume none of us are conjoined, the struggles that Grace faces are so relatable- dealing with family, and peers, and concerns about the future. The writing is lovely, the book is thought provoking, and the emotions are high. It's quite a beautiful book overall.

[Leah]

This was a very interesting - and unexpected - read. I didn't know it was written "free verse" which means it's written with poems that don't rhyme or anything. I've only ever read one other book in this style before, and it wasn't really my cup of tea. If I'm being totally honest, I don't quite understand why One was written in this way; for the most part it read mostly like a normal book, except the words were spaced out a lot. There were bits that stood out, for sure, and it was quite a lyrical novel, but I'm not sure free verse is ever something I could read again and again. It's better just once in a while.

The book itself only took me about 45 minutes to an hour to read, it's a very, very short novel; obviously because of the writing style. There's no loooooong paragraphs or anything and I was surprised to finish it so quickly (and with tears in my eyes).

To read a story about two conjoined twins was both heartwarming and heartbreaking all at the same time. Grace and Tippi were both extraordinary people, and it made me sad that people would stare at them, just because they were different. I so wish we lived in a better world, without judgement.

The book was just heartbreaking, though. I actually never imagined I would have felt so much emotion as I closed my Kindle, but I did. Sarah Crossan broke my heart and it was so mean of her to do that. It was so unexpected, but not unexpected. Even thinking about it makes me sad. This is definitely an amazing book that made quite the impact, considering it's short reading time.