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ltoddlibrarian8's review against another edition
5.0
Love this book. Sarah Pekkanen is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. She makes you think about the characters, their motivations, and lives.
nicolebrisk's review against another edition
4.0
I went into this book not know what it was about at all, and I really enjoyed it. I would have loved an epilogue to see where the characters were at a year later!
rsnuggs21's review against another edition
2.0
There were things I liked, but it didn’t outweigh what I didn’t like. I wasn’t a huge fan of the main character, Lindsey, to be completely honest. Also, when did 29 become considered an old age? If this had just been a book about two sisters and their dynamic, I might have actually enjoyed it more. It feels like Sarah Pekkanen felt like she had to include some random romance that came out of nowhere. Halfway through the book, Lindsey realizes that she is in love with her childhood friend. A childhood friend who she doesn’t even mention once until she realizes he might have feelings for her sister. When that doesn’t work out, three pages before the book ends, she realizes she is in love with her old co worker. A co worker who, once again, she seemed to have no feelings for. Instead of that, you could have included more about Jane, her kids, and hopefully her new relationship.
brendaclay's review against another edition
4.0
I connected deeply with this book, and I can't really define why. Mostly I related to the main character, Lindsey, who goes home to start over after her fast-paced life in NYC gets derailed. For the first time in years, she has to spend time with her twin sister, Alex, who's everything Lindsay is not. Then some unexpected turns in Alex's life force them both to confront who they really are. I'd like to give it 4.5 stars!
ablotial's review against another edition
4.0
This was a book chosen by my online book club. I wasn't expecting to like it -- based on the description on the back, I expected it to be one of those cliche "good sister, bad sister, bad sister gets sick, good sister has to give up everything to save her and no one cares" kind of books. But it's not like that at all. Well, not really.
Lindsay and Alex are twins by birth, but couldn't have more different personalities and priorities. While Lindsay focuses on good grades and success, most of Alex's accomplishments stem from her stunningly good looks. As the story unfolds, both girls end up needing to re-think their definitions of success and happiness.
I enjoyed watching Lindsay's transformation with her clothing and makeup. Having done something similar at one point, it really is amazing how much just changing your style can affect your self confidence. In a way, I really hate that people are so shallow and that looks can make so much of a difference -- why should I be treated differently for wearing a cute outfit and a little makeup than jeans and a baggy t-shirt while looking like I just rolled out of bed? -- But there it is. And not only do people treat you differently, but you feel different about yourself somehow, too. Stupid, but true.
And I loved the twist at the end about the test scores. It is so true how people end up in these categories. I kind of love the parents for not telling the girls about the scores. Or at least for not telling Lindsay. I do wonder if they had said something to Alex - maybe not the extent of the disparity between her and her sister or even that she was "gifted", but just that she is capable of doing better than she was and holding her to a little higher standard than they seemed to have held her through school. But maybe Alex really did enjoy modeling...
Anyway, it was a good story and really made me think. The writing style was a little simplistic at times, which annoyed me. But overall, enjoyable. I'll be keeping this around.
Lindsay and Alex are twins by birth, but couldn't have more different personalities and priorities. While Lindsay focuses on good grades and success, most of Alex's accomplishments stem from her stunningly good looks. As the story unfolds, both girls end up needing to re-think their definitions of success and happiness.
Spoiler
This book really hit a nerve for me. Or maybe a few nerves. For years I prided myself on being "the smart one" and my friendships and social life suffered greatly as a result. When I ended up living at home with my mother and working at McDonald's at 20, I was horrified and thought my life as I knew it was over. So Lindsay's predicament with getting fired and moving home was something I fully understood. I don't know that I could ever be truly happy running a dating service, and I'm glad I picked myself up and started over and have done things with my life that I am proud of -- but it did involve me re-evaluating what is really important in life.I enjoyed watching Lindsay's transformation with her clothing and makeup. Having done something similar at one point, it really is amazing how much just changing your style can affect your self confidence. In a way, I really hate that people are so shallow and that looks can make so much of a difference -- why should I be treated differently for wearing a cute outfit and a little makeup than jeans and a baggy t-shirt while looking like I just rolled out of bed? -- But there it is. And not only do people treat you differently, but you feel different about yourself somehow, too. Stupid, but true.
And I loved the twist at the end about the test scores. It is so true how people end up in these categories. I kind of love the parents for not telling the girls about the scores. Or at least for not telling Lindsay. I do wonder if they had said something to Alex - maybe not the extent of the disparity between her and her sister or even that she was "gifted", but just that she is capable of doing better than she was and holding her to a little higher standard than they seemed to have held her through school. But maybe Alex really did enjoy modeling...
Anyway, it was a good story and really made me think. The writing style was a little simplistic at times, which annoyed me. But overall, enjoyable. I'll be keeping this around.
dukefn99's review against another edition
4.0
Read my review at http://romancing-the-book.com/2010/04/review-opposite-of-me-by-sarah-pekkanen.html
jsingh's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I really liked this book! I was kept in suspense until the end. The characters were interesting and exhibited lots of emotional development. I could appreciate all of that.
One particular relationship felt a little unbelievable - Bradley and Alex - because they had only known each other a few days - and now they're "in love" lmao. Omg, I was damn happy about Lindsey and Matt though. So cute!!
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual content
readingwithsierra's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
anjumstar's review against another edition
5.0
Wow, my old review for this book is so wrong. I just reread it, and it's a really good book. Yes, it's predictable at times, but at others, it's really not. By biggest critique would be that the guys in this story are 'Mary-Sues' (I don't remember the guy name for it right now) but that means that they're perfect characters. They're basically flawless. The reason for an author using this is two-fold, I guess. One, it keeps the focus on the girls and two, it makes them easy to fall in love with. Unfortunately, it also makes them really boring. Bradley got boring and a little annoying really quickly. Matt didn't as much just because he was only tossed into the middle of the book occasionally so that you didn't forget about him between the first few chapters and the last one.
Other than that, the book was really good. Usually, you just see the sisters (or friends or whatever) start apart and then grow together. Here, though, the path is a little more winding, just because they completely switch places. It's a pretty unique idea, especially when it's done in a realistic fiction kind of way, rather than a Freaky Friday kind of way. As sad as it makes us, a tumor is much more likely then a magic fortune-cookie.
Also, I hate Freaky Friday.
One thing this author did really well was giving a lot of foreshadowing. Especially both about Alex's tumor and about her being a genius, because there's little sprinkles of that all through the book. And Lindsey and Matt's eventual relationship, but I think that would have been obvious even without all of the foreshadowing at the beginning.
I completely recommend this book.
Other than that, the book was really good. Usually, you just see the sisters (or friends or whatever) start apart and then grow together. Here, though, the path is a little more winding, just because they completely switch places. It's a pretty unique idea, especially when it's done in a realistic fiction kind of way, rather than a Freaky Friday kind of way. As sad as it makes us, a tumor is much more likely then a magic fortune-cookie.
Also, I hate Freaky Friday.
One thing this author did really well was giving a lot of foreshadowing. Especially both about Alex's tumor and about her being a genius, because there's little sprinkles of that all through the book. And Lindsey and Matt's eventual relationship, but I think that would have been obvious even without all of the foreshadowing at the beginning.
I completely recommend this book.