But it seems this is a problem that can't be fixed. The powers that be have decided these identical twins need some time apart. To make matters worse, their parents have decided the girls to join different after school clubs, too! Lark will indulge her artistic talent in the art club, but Iris isn't sure what to do. She always just goes along with Lark to protect her sister. Besides she's not really interested in any particular club. Being a twin is kind of her defining feature, so she ends up joining a girls club at the library.
It's clear to Iris from the beginning, this is not going to work out. Lark's new teacher is too overbearing for her gentle sister, and Iris has no interest in developing friendships outside of her twin.
Then things go missing all over town, big things and small things. Lark loses things, too, and at first everything things it's just flighty Lark forgetting where she put her keys, but the lost items in their home seem to connect to the larger lost items in town.
A new shop opens in town selling antiques, and Iris feels strangely drawn to the odd place as well as its odd proprietor. Something is happening in their town, and it may be connected to this shop.
Eventually, Iris realizes she is the only one who can stop what's happening in her town and save her twin, but she may also have to reach out for help and make connections beyond Lark if she is going to do it.
This new novel by Anne Ursu is an interesting fantasy story about figuring out who you are and breaking out of your comfortable mold. Iris and Lark thought they only needed each other, but they realized they were stronger when they invited others in. This might be a good pick for kids dealing with social anxiety. They are in 5th grade, and that does often make it a harder sell for middle school readers.
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