books:

	Lost and Found Andrew Clements Atheneum, 2008 - 176 pages average customer review:based on 25 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Although it's a drag to be constantly mistaken for each other, in truth, during those first days at a new school, there's nothing better than having a twin brother there with you. But on day one of sixth grade, Ray stays home sick, and Jay is on his own. No big deal. It's a pretty nice school, good kids, too. But Jay quickly discovers a major mistake: No one seems to know a thing about his brother. Ray's not on the attendance lists, doesn't have a locker, doesn't even have a student folder. Jay almost tells the school -- almost -- but then decides that this lost information could be very...useful. And fun.

As Ray and Jay exploit a clerical oversight, they each find new views on friendship, honesty, what it means to be a twin -- and what it means to be yourself. Entertaining, thought-provoking, and true-to-life, this clever novel is classic Andrew Clements times two: twins!

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All I want is just a few days....

Just maybe, being a twin is not what the rep says it is. No privacy. No chance to experiment a little. Always that other voice yammering in the background. Always the necessity to seek agreement from the other.

Until Jay Grayson goes alone on their first day to sixth grade at the new school in their new town. His identical twin Ray stays home sick. Since Jay has never done anything alone, he enjoys the solitude, the separateness. Ahhhh. The strange thing is that all day not one teacher calls his brother's name. In the afternoon he has a chance to take a quick peek at the student folders. There's not one for his brother! Then he discovers the mistake. The two folders are stuck one inside the other. No one knows there's a twin. There's only Jay Grayson.

Therein is hatched the plot to pass the twins as one. They take turns going to school. After all, their own mother has to look for the one identifying birthmark to know absolutely which twin is which. No one ever chooses to be friends with just one twin. How does a kid decide, when they look alike? It has always been a threesome. Then there's the name thing. Their parents named them Jay Ray and Ray Jay. Yes, they did. That really enhances their identical identities. Yet, they are very different. Where one excels, the other declines. Even their tastes in girls differ as they find out during their week as one boy.

Andrew Clements has written another winner to join Frindle, The School Story, and A Week in the Woods. His inimitable laid-back style of writing draws in the reluctant reader and just sucks in the one who loves reading. See, the boys know early on that they will get caught eventually and decide to pass as one for just a week then accept their punishment. They want to do this to savor the freedom of just being one person, and not part of a pair. They know they are different, but they know they are treated like, well, twins.

What they discover, maybe not right away, but later when they think about it, after the story is over, is that people DO KNOW the difference between them, or at least people who matter to them. Therein lies half the story--to make this discovery. Clement treats the issues of rebellion, individuality, and initiative provocatively yet responsibly.

Oh yes, where did Clement get his source material on twins? His own twin sons, now grown. And that title--Lost and Found--very thematic!

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Yay for the school story!

And we're back to genuine Andrew Clements style writing! What a relief! I didn't feel like Ray and Jay got all that much characterization in, this may have been avoided by having only one main character, but *shrugs*, can't complain. I liked the resolution, I was under the impression that both boys would be in much bigger trouble, and their parents' threatening was pretty funny. Again, it's not my favorite Clements book, those are his earlier ones. It does, however, go back to the school story that "Room One" horrendously avoided. It just seemed a little preachier than his older books, imo. Looking forward to reading "No Talking" later this week!

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OK, but not Andrew Clements' best.

I guess my daughter has grown too old for this book, now that she is twelve. She much prefers Clements' "Things Not Seen" and "Things Hoped For," her most recent of many of his books - and I liked them too! But for a younger child, especially a twin, this book is worth a try.


Lesser Clements Offering

This is one of Andrew Clements 'cuter' school stories, but because it doesn't deal with an issue that can be universally related to by students all across the country its simply not as engaging as his terrific trilogy of "The Report Card," "Frindle," and "Lunch Money." Overall, this was an entertaining book with some humorous twists.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

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