One by Sarah Crossan should come with a DO NOT DISTURB sign.
The first book of 2017 that I have read is One by Sarah Crossan. I have been meaning to read it since it won the Carnegie Medal, but I have a confession to make. A story about conjoined twins written in verse didn't sound that appealing to me. It sounded like it might be a worthy but tough read, and at heart I'm a lazy escapist.
But of course, I was wrong, and an idiot.
This book deserves all the medals and prizes it has won. It is wonderfully easy to read. I read it in a day and I am a slow reader. After page one you become less and less aware of the form, but it has the emotional impact of a sledgehammer. It is an epic love poem of self discovery and I was hooked within pages.
This is the first of Sarah Crossan's book that I have read, but I will be reading them all. Fierce writer, economic with words, generous with emotion, fearless about staring life in the face. Can't really get better than that, can you?
You should definitely read it.