Double Identity

Double Identity
By: Margaret Peterson Haddix
Pages: 218
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers
Genre: Mystery
Rating: A+
Recommended to: Boys and Girls 10-14




      Twelve-year-old Bethany is a normal girl with two normal parents, although they are very protective about her safety and have an uncanny knack for predicting the things she'll need right when she needs them - such as glasses. She doesn't think anything is wrong until she approaches her thirteenth birthday. Her mother cries all the time and her father is acting oddly. One day he packs the whole family in the car and drives to somewhere unknown, across many states, and leaves Bethany with Myrlie, an aunt she never knew she had. She hears him tell her "She doesn't know anything about Elizabeth." But Myrlie won't tell her who Elizabeth is, or why everyone in town seems to recognize her. Then she gets a package from her dad with four different birth certificates for her - all with different last names, coming from four different states, and thousands of dollars. A strange man shows up at the house asking odd questions, and Myrlie knows all of Bethany's favorite foods. The mystery gets stranger and stranger, and Bethany is desperate to find out the secrets of her past everyone is holding from her.
      This book is exciting, thrilling, tragic, and a bit creepy. It will keep you up all night waiting for an answer to the strange happenings going on - I think the first time I read this I read it in one sitting. Bethany is a great main character. The twists that this book throws at you are incredible, and well thought, out, for the end is nothing you would expect, even though Margaret Peterson Haddix writes clues along the way. The ending is a bit quick, but the characters are realistic and interesting, and it is a fantastic read for anyone looking for a great mysterious mystery!!