READING: Double by Jenny Valentine

Double by Jenny Valentine

Publication date: February 27th, 2012
Published by: Hyperion Books Of Children
Source: NetGalley
Genre: YA Contemporary, Thriller
Rating: 4/5

When the sixteen-year-old runaway Chap is mistaken for a missing boy named Cassiel, his life changes dramatically. Chap takes on Cassiel’s identity, gaining the family and friends he’s always dreamed of having. But becoming someone else isn’t as easy as he hoped—and Chap isn’t the only one hiding a secret. As he teeters on the brink of discovery and begins to unravel the mystery behind Cassiel’s disappearance, Chap realizes that he’s in much deeper danger than he could have imagined.

After all, you can’t just steal a life and expect to get away with it.

Double is the story of a teenage runaway named Chap who is mistakingly taken for a boy, Cassiel, who went missing two years ago. Chap, homeless and abandoned himself, seizes the opportunity to finally live the life he always dreamed of, never minding the consequences. 

Double was brilliantly written by Valentine. Her portrayal of Chap is amazing. He is so tormented, poor guy, throughout the whole book. On one hand, he knows what he is doing is wrong, stealing someone else's life and lying to the people who consider him their son and brother. On the other however, he wants that life more than anything, it's what he wanted his whole life and for something like that to be handed to him so easily, he couldn't just pass it by. Guilt eating away at him along with the constant fear that he's going to say or do something that will expose him, is ultimately more than he can handle and he decides to get to the bottom of Cassiel's mysterious disappearance before he and the people he comes to care about, fall completely apart.

All the other characters in Double were wonderfully written as well, even though the book undoubtedly revolves around Chap. I felt so bad for Cassiel's mother and what she went through when he disappeared and I couldn't help but be mad at Chap for deceiving her so. But as a reader, I felt the same dilemma he felt: go or stay? What's wrong for others in contrast to what's right for me.

Even though the ending was a little far-fetched in my opinion, Double is a very artfully written, quick read, full of suspense and mystery. Especially recommended to readers who don't necessarily expect a romance in a YA novel.

This book has been given to me by NetGalley free of charge