Double Take

Madison learned forward and stared at her image. She was someone else. While that was oddly appealing, she still felt uneasy. What is this was a mistake?

Anna could not believe she had agreed to this strange idea. In fact, as Madison did something with her hair, making it look fluffy like an Englisher girl, Anna reassured herself that this was only a game. A way to pass the time. They would play this odd game for a few hours, then exchange clothes again and go their separate ways.

Book: Double Take by Melody Carlson, Revell Publishers, 2011

 

Genre: Realistic/Amish fiction

Target Audience: Girls 13-19

Subjects: Amish lifestyle, Friendships, Dating relationships

Summary: Two girls, both unhappy with their life, both seeking something more, both starting to wonder about God a little more than before, both at a decision point in their lives. They accidentally meet at a coffee shop and next thing you know they’ve swapped lives. Yep. Just like Parent Trap, except, the key to success is neither girl was going to be with her parents that week. One was visiting distant relatives, the other spending spring break at home alone with only the maid around. They aren’t really twins, but they look enough alike to pull it off quite well. Madison becomes Anna and goes to spend a week with Anna’s Amish relatives and help care for her young cousins while her aunt struggles with her pregnancy. Anna becomes Madison and goes off to the penthouse in the city to see if she can find a boyfriend that abandoned the Amish ways in search of something more. Both girls experience major culture shock, develop a good friendship with someone, and realize a few things about themselves and their relationship with God.

Notes: This story does work. It seems like a story that’s been done many times before, but Melody Carlson did a good job with it. The spiritual “lesson” wasn’t really there though. It was more about each girl seeking God, reaching out for something and finding peace in their surroundings. For example, one girl went out to look at the stars one night and just started talking to God and concluded He was there and she could talk to Him more often. So maybe the lesson was being content with what you have, although both concluded they needed to see the other side to learn to be content with their side.

Recommendation Scale: 2/5

Reviewer: J:-)mi

1 Timothy 6:6 – But godliness with contentment is great gain.