My Twin Sister and Me is about Rafaela and Julieta, twelve-year-old Venezuelan twins who fight most of the time, but they still love each other. Julieta hates her freckles with a passion and would do most anything to get rid of them as they make her the butt of jokes and the object of a lot of teasing at school. But she learns to stand up to bullies when she stands up to someone who is bullying a classmate of hers.
The sisters are Scouts and have been taught to always be honest and truthful. Like all humans though, they don’t always live up to those standards, not even with each other. When a trick is played on Julieta, she is convinced that her twin is behind it, and without investigating to find out whether or not she is right, she takes her revenge.
Julieta and Rafaela’s uncle comes for a visit. Even though he has stage 4 cancer, he is financially better off than their parents. Besides paying for braces for the twins, he has brought something of great value to them: toilet paper.
The plight of those in Venezuela is brought to light in several different ways, but it isn’t dwelt on nor are political statements made. I just want to say that I cannot imagine having to go to many stores and being able just to find two rolls of toilet paper to purchase. In another part of the book, one of the prizes is a roll of toilet paper. Those situations broke my heart.
Parts of the book made me laugh. The names of the girls’ Scout leaders—Baloo, Bagheera, and Raksha—amused me. I love Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book, so much so that one of my cats has been blessed with the name Bagheera.
When their Scout troop visited Russia, Julieta and a couple of the other scouts sneaked off the bus because they had to go to the bathroom. When they arrived back to where they left the bus, it was gone. How much trouble will they get in? Julieta being lost in a foreign country brought to mind the time I became separated from my classmates while on a school trip touring the Smithsonian Institution.
Not only are those who read My Twin Sister and Me introduced to Scouting, they also see how the sisters learn to handle bullying, manage their anger, and face their fears.Being able to relate to certain situations in this book made it even more enjoyable for me. I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. If you would like to purchase your own copy of My Twin Sister and Me, I’ve provided an Amazon link for you below.
Amazon Link: My Twin Sister and Me
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Favorite Sentences:
Occasionally, I try to conceal them with my mother’s foundation cream and powder, but they remain fully visible and still stand out, much to the amusement of my classmates.
His pitiful look crawled like a spider into my soul.
Thus, in a hurry, we were born into this messy world full of chaos and poverty.
In my horrific dreams, a clown always emerged from the bedroom’s closet and stood by my bed staring at me.
New Words Learned:
arch wire – a wire engaged in orthodontic attachments, affixed to the crowns of two or more teeth and capable of causing or guiding tooth movement.
kotlet – a Polish variety of pork breaded cutlet coated with breadcrumbs similar to Viennese schnitzel but made of pork tenderloin (with the bone or without), or with pork chop. … The meat is dipped in flour, then in egg, and then covered in breadcrumbs.
matryoshka dolls – brightly painted hollow wooden dolls of varying sizes, designed to nest inside one another
scout sixer – a cub scout who leads a group of six
About the Author:
Emiliya Ahmadova was born in the city of Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan.
When she was just nine years old, she developed a passion for reading, literature, poetry, and foreign languages. In high school, she participated in and won many poetry competitions. Starting at the age of ten, she began writing poems and short stories in Russian.
Emiliya has diplomas in business management as well as a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in human resources management. She also has international diplomas in the advanced study of the theory and practice of management, administration, business management, communication, hotel operations management, office management and administration, and professional English from the Cambridge International College, in addition to a certificate in novel writing. Emiliya speaks four languages (Azeri, Russian, English, and some Turkish), but her native language is Azeri. Because of her love for humanity and children, she has started volunteering in a local school and in 2011 became a Cub Scout leader and won a trophy as the first female parent leader. Emiliya likes being around people, adores travel, enjoys playing soccer, and relishes in helping other people.
