Varian Johnson – Middle Grade Contemporary Graphic Novel
Twins by Varian Johnson is the story of Maureen and Francine, a pair of identical twins who’ve just entered the sixth grade. They’re different in personality – in their fathers’ words, Francine is “the talker” and Maureen “the thinker” – but, until now, have worked comfortably as a unit. With the move to a new school, Francine has begun seeking to distinguish herself as an individual with a life and identity separate from Maureen’s, something Maureen isn’t ready for. Tension and conflict between the two escalate until they’re running for class president against each other.
It’s said that a fictional argument is well-written if you find yourself switching sides in the middle of it, and the arguments in this book are very well-written; Francine, Maureen, and increasingly their exasperated parents and friends clash throughout the book, but nobody ever comes off as just being a jerk for no reason, or pointlessly obstructive or any of the other hallmarks of bad conflict. Everyone is sympathetic and doing their best, they’re just dealing with a lot of stuff, not always perfectly. The relationship between the twins feels very authentic, and it was no surprise to read that the author is an identical twin himself.
This is another great entry in the growing library of middle school contemporary drama graphic novels, a genre which didn’t really exist in the US when I was a kid. School hi-jinx, yes (Archie and his ilk) but actual serious human dramas? Not so much a thing until Raina Telgemeier hit the scene. It’s been so gratifying the last decade or so to see the explosion of variety in this and other genres in American comics (meanwhile, the UK, Japan, and others have been doing this all along.)
My favorite thing about this one is that I learned something new! Maureen is in Cadet Corps, a sort of ROTC for middle-schoolers. I’d never heard of this before but based on their web site, it’s very widespread on the points of the Texas triangle, where the book is set. I always like when a book makes my brain slightly wrinklier.
Find Twins in your library’s graphic novels section or grab it at Bookshop, Barnes and Noble, or Amazon!
Steph Cherrywell 