The Girls - Lori Lansens

Rose is dying, and she's taking her sister with her. Not because she thinks her twin doesn't deserve to live on without her, but because she has no choice. As the oldest surviving craniopagus twins in history, Rose and Ruby are both a single being and two separate people at the same time. Where one goes, the other is right behind, and when one ceases to live, the other begins to die. Joined at the head, abandoned by their birth mother, and the subject of constant fascination, the two have managed to live a remarkably normal life despite the soap opera that surrounds them. Now approaching their 30th birthdays, and with a death sentence hanging over their conjoined heads, ...  Read the complete review

It's hard to fit this book into a particular genre but if I had to choose I would say it's a character driven drama. I hesitate to use the word drama, as it can for some people create a somewhat dull image, and the book is by no means this but I struggle to think of any other genre that this book would really fit well into. It's a fake autobiography and if you didn't know prior to reading it that this was fiction, it would fit well into the autobiography category. The book is about conjoined twin girls, joined at the head but with separate brains, bodies and personalities. Rose, who always wanted to be a writer, decides to write an autobiography of her life, ...  Read the complete review

I enjoy discovering new authors and I always liked taking part in book awards at school. I was quite excited when I saw that The Book People had all 8 of the Richard and Judy Book Club books for just £9.99 so I did not hesitate to buy them. This is the first one I have read and I really enjoyed it. I was going to buy this book anyway but discovered it was in the book club so it came as part of the set. ~ The Author ~ Lori Lansens was born and raised in Ontario and lives with her husband and child in Toronto. She is a screenwriter and her first novel Rush Home Road has been sold in 11 countries. ~ The Book ~ "I have never ...  Read the complete review

Rose and Ruby Darlen make their dramatic entrance to the world during the famous storm in 1974 which also took the life of a young boy called Larry Merkel. Abandoned by their teenage birth mother the twins are adopted by Aunt Lovey, the nurse who helped to bring them into the world and her husband Stash. The sisters are close, even more so than normal twins as they are joined by a complex maze of blood vessels in their head and can never be separated. The book opens when Rose and Ruby are 29 years old and have made the record books as the oldest surviving craniopagus twins in history. After learning that the headaches that Rose has been suffering are ...  Read the complete review

I first heard about "The Girls" when I was watching Richard and Judy's Summer Book Club, and I made sure I watched when this book was on after hearing a bit about it on the previous shows. The presenters and guests raved about it, and I then decided to buy it. I don't normally buy new books as I can't afford them but I made an exception for this one. The story is about Rose and Ruby Darlen. What isn't made clear by the cover of the book is that Rose and Ruby are conjoined twins. I think that fact is quite misleading, as when you read the book, you realise it is impossible that the picture on the cover was representative of the novel, a bad decision ...  Read the complete review