Double

by Jenny Valentine

Overview

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.

Award-winning author Jenny Valentine delivers an explosive mystery where dark secrets, betrayal, and loss pave the way for one teen's chance at redemption.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781423154563
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	02/21/2012
Series:	Single Title (One-Off)
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
File size:	393 KB
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

Jenny Valentine studied English literature at Goldsmith's College, which almost made her stop reading but not quite. Her debut novel, Me, the Missing, and the Dead, was a William C. Morris Award finalist and won the prestigious Guardian Children's Fiction Prize in the UK under the title Finding Violet Park. She is also the author of Broken Soup, a Best Books for Young Adults title. Jenny is married to a singer/songwriter and has two children. She lives in Hay-on-Wye, England.

Editorial Reviews

What starts as a case of mistaken identity turns into a bizarre mystery in this exhilarating thriller from Valentine (Broken Soup). Homeless, 16-year-old Chap is killing time in a London hostel when he’s presented with a coincidence-born opportunity of a lifetime: if he pretends to be Cassiel Roadnight, a teen who has been missing for two years and who looks just like Chap, Chap can have the life and family he’s always dreamed of. As he tries to pass in his new identity among the dysfunctional Roadnights, constantly fearful of giving himself away, Chap begins to suspect that there’s more to Cassiel’s disappearance than meets the eye. Now he’s caught in a delicate balance between knowing too little and asking the wrong questions. Valentine ramps up the paranoia and mystery steadily, letting the story unfold with a grim inexorability. Some of the twists are a little unbelievable, but the slow series of revelations, coupled with Valentine’s incisive exploration of identity and perception, add up to the kind of tense, nerve-wracking story that teens will race to finish. Ages 12–up. Agent: Adams Literary. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

What are the odds of two identical missing boys? The possibility will haunt readers in this British import by Morris Award finalist Valentine. When 16-year-old runaway Chap, named by his reclusive grandfather, gets locked up for fighting in a London hostel, detectives are certain that they've found missing Cassiel Roadnight, who disappeared two years ago on the firework-filled Hay on Fire fall festival. Longing for a real family, Chap assumes Cass' identity and tries to ingratiate himself with the Roadnights as he moves into their home. Weighed down by his lies and the family's doubts ("Your eyes used to be blue"), his ruse is not as easy to carry out as he imagined. Chap's spare, first-person narration intensifies this taut, psychological thriller as he also begins to wonder why and how Cass disappeared. Flashbacks, fraught with identity, loss and betrayal, fill in the back story on Chap's own life, which is just as mysterious as Cass'. Piecing together clues from his and Cass' lives, Chap can't help but believe that he may be living with Cass' killer. With the next Hay on Fire quickly approaching, will Chap meet the same fate as Cass? Readers who like the quick pace of Gail Giles' mysteries and the dark, finely crafted suspense of Kevin Brooks will find the perfect combination here. (Thriller. 12 & up)

Kirkus Reviews