Twinepathy by C. B. Cook
Science fiction. 210 Pages. 4 Stars
Synopsis:
Twinepathy
(twin-eh-pa-thy)
n. a telepathic connection between twins, both figuratively and literally
Albany York has a secret.
Albany and her twin sister, Brooklyn, have spent years successfully hiding their telepathic connection. But when a girl falls unconscious at their doorstep, the girls learn that they might not be the only people in the world with extraordinary powers and that a memory thief is on the loose. As the twins try to help the girl find her memories, they discover that the superhero world might be bigger—and more dangerous—than they ever imagined.
My Review:
First off, that cover is just cool! I love it and it suits the story so well. Kudos to the cover designer!
Okay, now for the review of the story itself. The premise of this story was neat. I enjoyed the organization Cook created, but even more than that, I truly enjoyed the different superpowers she came up with. They were unique twists on some classic powers. She didn’t go with the standard “flying” or “teleportation.” Each character had something special and they all came in handy at some point. The plot overall drew my interest. I don’t recall any major plot holes, though I do remember questioning the plausibility (even within Cook’s super hero world) of some plot points and threads. It kept me guessing and I never found anything predictable. There weren’t any mind-blowing surprises, but it was nice to read something that had a continuous flow of mild surprises along the way. Cook also left us a few strings and breadcrumbs that hint at further storylines to untangle down the road.
The setting changed up a little bit because of our teleporters, but the overall world I would categorize as modern. It wasn’t a fantasy world; just our everyday normal world. In fact, I think this book lent a lot to the “everyday, normal” tone and atmosphere. I felt like the IDIA headquarters was a little blandly described, but perhaps that was to be expected. The descriptions were a little scarce in other parts of the story too, but I never felt like I was totally in a blank world.
I think Blaze was hands-down my favorite character. He felt like the most developed of the characters to me. (I’m really, really hoping Lightporter is more about him!!!) He had a history that we’re briefly introduced to and a personality that just warmed my heart. As I said earlier, I truly loved the different super powers. They made for unique and interesting characters. Keller and Anvil promise to be deeper characters too. I’m curious about Keller’s personality and character. Anvil has a warm personality beneath that tough exterior, which I totally liked, but I’m looking forward to digging into his past too. Maddie, I think will prove to be a rounder character than Albany’s description of her lets on. Similarly, Data has a history that piqued my interest. Denver is another character I really, really liked, even though we saw little of him. As much as I admired the secondary characters, the cool super powers, and the unique personalities, there were times that the characters acted…oddly. Their actions didn’t add up and the writing felt a little forceful in that regard. Though I liked our MC, Albany, well enough, I think she’s a poor narrator. She tends to repeat things and give the same descriptions over and over, which can be frustrating to the reader at times. She seems to see the people around her in one way only and then the characters actions reveal more about their personalities than the readers get from the narration.
Which brings me to the writing itself. The story isn’t poorly written. It’s simply written and straightforward, which lent me to feel as if the target audience was more toward the middle school level. Though, I’m not sure that was Cook’s intention, that’s the impression I got. I didn’t find any grammatical mistakes, though (and this may have just been the particular copy I received from Cook) the formatting was a little off. There were sentences that switched to bold in the middle or just a phrase, but it seemed random and unintentional. After the first chapter or so, I got used to it, but it is something I would expect the final copies won’t have. Oh! I did want to add that Cook nailed the present tense! I never once felt jolted out of the story and it was consistent all the way through. I think present tense is so difficult to write in, so great job on that!
Overall, the story was creative and engaging and the characters were fun and full of promises for more to come. The setting was a little bland, and the writing simple, but I wouldn’t discount the book on those accounts. There was no romance, no foul language, and some very mild violence in a few fight scenes. I’d happily recommend the book to any middle school reader or those older readers who find superheroes interesting.
Note: I did receive a free copy of Twinepathy from the author. This does not affect my review or impression of the book. I will disclaim though, that I did round my rating up to a four, though it felt truly more in between three and four.
More:
Book two of IDEA is Lightporter
I have not read or rated the sequel, but I plan to, so stay tuned for updates! Head on over, check them out, and tell C. B. I said hi!