Faking It
Friends, I tried with this one. I TRIED. I tried so hard that my husband started referring to Faking It as ‘that book’. I read other reviews that were glowing and I could not figure out what was wrong with me, because this one is just a big fat fecking NOPE from this reviewer.
The premise was, admittedly, always skirting the edge of the kind of books I like to read. Two twins – one is a mess (Ella) and one is perfect (Emma) and the messy one pretends to be the perfect one for a bit. ‘Okay,’ I thought, ‘this could be a really great way for the twins to know each other better. The fallout will be messy, but reconciliation can come from messy and that could be good!’
Except that about halfway through the book, I realized that the author hadn’t paced the story at all to include any level of ‘big reveal’. I skipped to the end to verify my feeling and then groaned so loudly you may have been able to hear me wherever you are. Ella gets a love interest (who helps her perpetuate the con on everyone else), and it appears we get some of the reconciliation between the sisters I was hoping for but… guys, I was just SO NERVOUS the whole time!
Other reviewers talk about how warm the book is, but my nervousness around the possible reveal meant that I couldn’t settle into the warmth at all. If you want me to believe that the fraud is totally okay for everyone else in Emma’s life because they’re all vapid and terrible, I guess that’s just not a story I want to read anyway? I alternated between being bored and nervous the whole time, never really rooted for either sister, and basically didn’t care.
HOWEVER, because I am clearly a dissenting voice in this, you may love Faking It! It sounds like many, many people have. But it was a swing and a miss for me.
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Recent Comments
So you couldn’t fake it, is what you’re saying here.
I agree with Kristen that the book contains a fraud which could have life-long repercussions for Ella and Emma. Not an appealing trope for me.
In the spirit of “fight a bad interpretation of a trope by suggesting a better one,” I recommend Rachel van Dyken’s lovely, melancholy duet, STEALING HER and FINDING HIM. The heroes of the two books are identical twin brothers and there’s angsty emotion to spare!
oo, thank you deb! will do!
A few months ago, there was a Rec League post at Smart Bitches asking for “Wrong Twin, Right Twin” recommendations—and it was amazing how many books feature takes on that trope in a variety of different ways. I think it’s the sign of a good writer if they can take a rather implausible premise (adult twins switching places) and make it believable and engaging.