 | This article consists almost entirely of a plot summary .(July 2011) |
 First edition | |
| Author | Margaret Peterson Haddix |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Science fiction, Mystery, Suspense |
| Set in | Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing |
Publication date | August 2003 |
| Publication place | Canada |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover, Paperback) |
| Pages | 218 (Paperback and hard cover) |
| ISBN | 978-1-4177-7265-0 |
Double Identity is a 2005 young adult novel by Margaret Peterson Haddix.
Mom cries all the time. Dad acts strangely and nervous. Suddenly, 12-year-old Bethany Cole finds herself in the car with them, frantically driving across several states in the dead of night. With no explanation, they leave her at a house in Illinois with a woman Dad calls Aunt Myrlie. Myrlie is visibly shaken to see Dad, and she's even more stunned when she sees Bethany. "She looks just like . . ." she begins. Mom and Dad, upset and weeping, drive off into the night, leaving Bethany with a stranger and a hundred unanswered questions.
Later, Bethany hears Myrlie talking to Dad on the porch of Myrlie's house. Myrlie says he has to tell Bethany about Elizabeth. Bethany begins asking questions, and Dad, who vaguely indicates by phone that he's in danger, allows Myrlie to tell Bethany about the past. Bethany learns that Elizabeth was her parents' first daughter, a sister she never knew existed. Myrlie is her mom's sister, and the two families lived near one another when Elizabeth and Myrlie's daughter, Joss, was young. Elizabeth and Joss were cousins, best friends, and Olympic gymnastic hopefuls. But around the girls' 13th birthdays, the two families made a road trip in which an accident took the lives of Elizabeth and Myrlie's husband. Bethany's mom, who was driving, always blamed herself for the crash. After that, Bethany's parents left town. Myrlie hadn't seen or heard from them in years until the night they left Bethany with her. Bethany is also shocked to learn that her father, whom she always believed to be some kind of money manager, used to be a doctor.
Joss comes from St. Louis to stay with Myrlie and Bethany. They watch old videos, and Joss is struck by how much she looks like Elizabeth. They don't just resemble one another; it's as though they were twins. During her time with her aunt and cousin, she discovers many ways in which she is similar to her dead sister. She also becomes increasingly aware the life she's been living is a lie. Her father sends a package containing several birth certificates for Bethany, all with different last names and cities of birth. He also sends wads of $100 bills. Myrlie, Joss, and Bethany can only speculate what Bethany's dad might have done for that cash or what kind of trouble he's in. Mom calls during one of her delusional episodes, creating more questions. She calls Bethany "Elizabeth" and says Dad believes if they save enough of her cells, they can clone her. Now Bethany wonders if her mother's ravings could contain any truth.
Around the same time, a man in a car with out-of-town plates starts following Bethany. Another incoherent letter from Dad indicates someone who just got out of prison is chasing him and hunting him down, so he can't come back. Joss and Bethany read a news article about a man named Van Dyne who was imprisoned for stealing money. His company was involved in cloning. Bethany recognizes the name of one of the fictitious employees through whom he supposedly filtered funds as an alias Dad had used.
Bethany's parents secretly return to town, but Van Dyne discovers them. The truth is revealed, that Van Dyne had paid Bethany's father to clone him. Now that Van Dyne is out of prison, he is searching for the version of him Dad had supposedly made. In fact, Dad had never made a Van Dyne clone but had taken the money to clone Elizabeth instead. The epilogue reveals that Bethany's parents are able to stay with her. Dad returns all of Van Dyne's money. Van Dyne has long talks with Joss; she says he is such a lonely man, he thought no one but his own clone could ever love him. He changes his ways and becomes a philanthropist. Bethany continues to learn who she is, apart from Elizabeth, and discover she is valued as an individual by her family.
The book received 4.02 out of 5 stars on Goodreads out of 1,500 reviews, [1] and 4.5 out of 5 stars on Everand. [2] Kirkus Reviews wrote "A surprisingly comforting resolution concludes this safe but compelling thriller. Bethany’s discovery of her own identity makes for a mystery well worth solving." [3] Publishers Weekly described the novel as "timely" and noted "raises provocative issues about what makes an individual unique, with both compassion and clarity." [4] Deborah Stevenson of The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books wrote "readers will empathize with Bethany's determination to discover her family's secrets and to define herself even as they're glad they're not in her position." [5]
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