Lost and Found by Andrew Clements
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This was a really cute book and a great view into the lives of twins. I read this for my tween book group and I think the kids will really like it. Clements sets up a great premise with the similar names, combined school folders, and the fact that the only people who really can tell the twins apart….are the twins themselves. I felt bad for them though, because I felt like the parents should know their boys better, but I suppose the story wouldn’t work as well that way. I am sure most parents can tell their twins apart, though if they are used to each one wearing a different color, as the boys in this story do, then I guess it would be easy to pull a switch on parents taking that difference for granted. It’s a good lesson for kids about lying and how those lies can snowball until there is no turning back. But I also found it interesting that the boys knew they would be in trouble, but wanted so badly to see what it was like to be only one person, instead of one of a pair, that they did it anyways. And of course the reason they lied in the first place is the very thing that gets them out of major trouble in the end. I would have liked to see a bit more about the parents trying harder, but I also liked the simple ending, which is really more of a new beginning for the boys. And really it’s about the boys accepting who they are and moving on from there.