Jake and Lily

By: Jerry Spinelli

Narrated by: Cassandra Morris, Jesse Bernstein

Beloved Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli, author of Maniac Magee and Wringer, addresses issues of identity, belonging, family, and bullying in this humorous and heartfelt novel about twins.

Jake and Lily are twins. Despite their slightly different interests and temperaments, they feel exactly the same—like two halves of one person. But the year they turn eleven, everything changes. Their parents announce it’s time for separate bedrooms. Jake starts hanging out with a pack of boys on the block. And Lily is devastated, not to mention angry. Who is she without Jake? And as her brother falls under the influence of the neighborhood bully, he also must ask himself—who is the real Jake?

This is an often funny, poignant, and profound story of growing up, growing apart, and the difficult process of figuring out who you really are.

thoughtful portrayal of growing up

Any additional comments?

I am a mother of three boys (13 and a pair of 11-year old twins) and they allow me to read books to them (still!). This is one of our "family book club" picks and it was a good one. Jake and Lily are fraternal twins and the book is about how close they are (think "goombla!") and how difficult it is for Lily to find herself in the wake of her brother, Jake, separating to forge his own path with some boys in the neighborhood. The portrayal of her relationship with her grandfather, Poppy, and Jake's relationship with the neighborhood "goober," Earnest (AKA "Soop") were both special. The kids enjoyed the book for the suspense about Ernie's clubhouse. I enjoyed the book for the path Lily was journeying. I think this was a light-hearted but thoughtful treatment of the transition from childhood to adolescence.

It was fantastic!

I loved the narration of Lily because it actually sounded like a little girl. Jake on the other hand sounded a little bit too much like a man. Other than that the book and narration was fantastic!

I really liked...

There's a Girl in my Hammerlock. it's a straightforward story with no straining toward "isn't childhood a wondrous mystery?" At least the Stargirl stories were decently developed, but this one just becomes boring. Psychic twins. Yes, we get it. Childhood is a wondrous imaginative time. Yeah we get it. What Hammerlock gets right is that childhood actually rarely is that at all

Best book ever

I Loved the book most like Lily and Jake so like both of them Awsome.

Our son hates reading

He likes listening to this book as he followed along in the book. He understood and passed his AR test!