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Never Said, by Carol Lynch Williams, is uniquely written. The twin sister’s chapters are opposing in structure style and font, making it easy to follow their individual points of view. The fifteen-year-old sisters present their stories in first person—Annie in poetic free verse, and Sarah in present tense prose.

I agree with my sister. Fat and thin. Night and day. Angry and silent. Let’s drop the show we put on for everyone. None of us are who we say we are. ~ Annie

The book is written is brief chapters and short, somewhat choppy sentences. Initially I found this distracting, but the distinctive style soon became endearing and relatable.

It’s interesting how the twins present themselves so differently, internally and externally. Sarah is an anxious, thin tomboy who buries herself in books, is riddled with anxiety, and feels somewhat invisible. Annie, her outspoken, more beautiful sister, has gained 45 pounds in the past year feels exposed and rebellious.

This teen fiction story spans a period of seven days, partitioned into full-page sections titled the days of the week. Filled with emotion, angst, and underlying strength, Never Said is a quick read. It covers deep, serious topics and provides a satisfying end.

4 stars

Cover: Like
Title: Love
Publisher: Blink
Pages: 256
Pace: Fast
First line: If they knew.

I received a Review Copy from BookLook. I was not required to write a positive review and the options I have expressed are my own. ( )

I agree with other readers that the subject matter featured in this book is a serious topic that affects not just women but guys as well. People need to be able to have a voice and know it is ok to speak out and ask for help. Luckily, I have not encountered this situation that Annie dealt with. However as I have said before when it comes to these types of books, empathy goes a long way. I did not really feel this for any of the characters except for a tiny bit for Annie. Otherwise for the most part the rest of the characters in this story got on my nerves. Sarah for her "poor me attitude", Sarah and Annie's parents for being "clueless or uncaring", Garrett for trying to be the "knight in shiny armour", all of Sarah and Annie's class mates for being "snobbies".

Although the alternating voices and view points was nice. I like the way that the author scripted Annie's voice. It was written in poem format or just a few words on a page. So you might wonder how I was able to read this book so fast if I did not like most of the characters. It is because the chapters were short...only a few pages long. I do want to say however that everyone pulled together in the last few chapters of this book. However for me I still did not feel the family connection. Plus, the ending was alright. ( )

Never Said by Carol Lynch Williams is a story that revolves around secrets, shame, fear, anger and words left unsaid. The story itself is told from the perspective of two twin sisters, Annie and Sarah. Each has their own story to tell and the chapters alternate with their individual perspectives until the story is told.

At first, I thought it would be too confusing to follow the story line as the chapters alternate between Annie and Sarah but when I started reading the story, I quickly realized that was not the case. The story flows well and I found I didn't have any trouble keeping up with the story line.

Ms. Lynch Williams did a great job of capturing and writing about teenage life. She addressed several very painful issues within this book and my heart ached for these girls and their family.

This is a very well written story that will capture your heart and won't let it go even after you've finished reading it!

Rating: Four Stars.

I received a free copy of this book from Booklook Bloggers in exchange for an honest review. ( )