One (verse novel)

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Eins (Original title: One ) is a youth novel by the Irish writer Sarah Crossan . The story is told by the Siamese twins Tippi and Grace, who are connected at the hips. Both want to lead a normal life, but have health, family and social problems to contend with.

One was published on August 27, 2015 by the British publisher Bloomsbury Publishing in English and comprises 448 pages. The German translation was published by Mixtvision Verlag on January 29, 2016 and comprises 424 pages. Cordula Setsman is the translator. The book has been published in Denmark and America , among others . It is the fifth book by Crossan. A formal peculiarity of Eins is that it was written in free verse. One won the Carnegie Medal in 2016 and was described by the press as "honest, unapologetic realism from a diverse perspective not often seen in fiction for teens." ( Kirkus Review of June 10, 2015).

content

Grace and Tippi are Siamese twins and are joined at the hips. You are 16 years old and have to go to a public school for the first time. They are afraid of the looks and comments of their classmates, but to their surprise they find two good friends at school. Tippi's and Grace's family has various problems: their fourteen-year-old sister Dragon is anorexic, their father is unemployed and an alcoholic. When her mother also loses her job and the family faces serious financial problems, the family decides to allow a film team to make a documentary about them in order to earn money. During the filming, Grace and Tippi's health deteriorates enormously until Tippi finally collapses. At the hospital, they find out that Grace needs a donor heart, but that she can only be operated on if Tippi and Grace are separated from each other beforehand. The twins decide to split up. After the operation, Grace wakes up to find out that Tippi is very badly. She can talk to her twin sister one more time before Tippi dies.

August

Tippi and Grace learn that they will soon have to go to a real school because their parents can no longer afford to teach them at home. They are very afraid of being bullied by their classmates because they are Siamese twins and are often referred to as "freaks" or "monsters" by people. Her sister Dragon tries to explain to the twins that not everyone will treat them badly. Before their first day of school, Grace and Tippi go to another medical examination and therapy. Grace, however, cannot really open up in her therapy session and talk about her fears; Tippi, on the other hand, doesn't seem to have that difficult. Shortly after the medical examination, Tippi and Grace suddenly get the flu. Grace has been sick for much longer and reproaches herself that Tippi has to be in bed because of her. Her mother is worried about the twins, but the doctor tells her on the phone that everything is fine.

September

Grace and Tippi's father give them new cell phones. He brings Dragon with him new ballet shoes, but they are the wrong size. When Dragon comments on the mistake, he gets angry. Tippi and Grace have to go to the new school for the first time. There they get to know Yasmeen, with whom they make friends straight away. However, the other students and teachers just stare at them and treat them like outsiders. Yasmeen stands up for Tippi and Grace and protects them from the others. Through Yasmeen, the twins get to know Jon, whom they also make friends with and whom Grace particularly likes. The four of them skip an hour together and Tippi smokes a cigarette with Yasmeen and Jon, which makes Grace very angry because it also affects her body and Tippi hasn't discussed it with her beforehand. Grammie arrives after school to pick up the twins, and Grace and Tippi's father is drunk in the passenger seat. Everyone in the family knows their father has a drinking problem, but it won't talk about it much.

One day, when Tippi and Grace are getting ready in the bathroom, Grace passes out briefly. Dragon comes running into the bathroom, but Grace and Tippi pretend Grace just slipped.

At school, Grace and Tippi continue to be treated badly by many of their classmates. Yasmeen always stands up for her and the twins learn that Yasmeen is HIV-positive and is therefore treated as an outsider by the other students. Grace falls more and more in love with Jon. But one day Grace and Tippi hear Jon saying something stupid about them. You are very hurt and cut off contact with Jon and Yasmeen.

At home, the twins learn that Dragon has to work to support the family because their father is unemployed and their mother can no longer work. Grace also notices that Dragon has become very thin.

Grace is breathless again and pretends it was just a joke to her family. But she and Tippi know that their health is deteriorating.

October

Tippi and Grace get on well with Jon and Yasmeen again and Jon and Grace get on better and better. Dragon is getting thinner and thinner and doesn't seem to be eating much at home. Her ballet school organizes a trip to Russia, but Dragon cannot go because the family does not have the money. Grace and Tippi feel responsible for this because their physical condition means that so much money has to be invested in them. Grace mentions that they could make a lot of money if they would allow a film crew to make a documentary about her and Tippi, but Tippi is strictly against it.

Tippi is also getting thinner and thinner. Her mother is worried and wants to send Tippi and Grace to the doctor. Grace claims it isn't necessary because they'd be fine, but Tippi admits it isn't always that way.

Grace and Tippi visit Jon and notice that he lives in very poor conditions and that his mother has left the family.

Grace continues to suffer from shortness of breath and Tippi becomes more and more aware that something is wrong. She urges Grace to be honest at the next doctor's appointment.

Early November

It's Yasmeen's birthday and Jon gives her a heart card. Grace isn't sure if Jon is in love with Yasmeen. The twins tell their mother that Yasmeen is throwing a pajama party for her birthday, but they secretly drink alcohol with Yasmeen and Jon on the school grounds.

Tippis and Grace's mother is laid off at work and is desperate. Then everyone in the family has to limit themselves very much. At first they can no longer go out that often, then they can no longer buy expensive food and in the end Grammie has to sell her jewelry to support the family financially. One day their mother tells the twins that they have to move because they can no longer afford the house and that the girls then have to go to another school. Grace again asks Tippi about the possibility of making a lot of money through the documentation and this time Tippi agrees.

Mid November

The family meets Caroline Henley, the reporter who will direct the documentary about Grace and Tippi. She explains that the whole family can be seen in the film and has all contracts signed. As soon as the money has been transferred to the twins, however, they pay for Dragon's trip to Russia and thus manage to keep their sister out of the matter. After a short time, Caroline realizes that Tippis and Grace's father is an alcoholic. The family decides that he should move out of the house while the documentary is being made and Caroline realizes that it is better that way.

end of November

The twins are walking across the school yard when Tippi suddenly collapses. They drive to the hospital and Grace learns that she has a damaged heart. The doctor explains that this means that Tippi's heart has to work harder and that if they are not separated by an operation and Grace gets a new donor heart, they will both die. Grace is afraid that Tippi will die if she does not have an operation and therefore votes in favor of the operation. However, having read a lot on the subject, she also knows that the likelihood that a twin will die in the operation is very high. Grace feels like a parasite sucking the life of Tippi and trying to persuade her sister to agree to the operation.

December

Grace and Tippi allow Caroline to continue filming them because Caroline has proven that she is not a sensational reporter, but that they really care about the twins. In her therapy, Grace tries to explain that she and Tippi are not two people and not part of each other, but that they are like one person and that if Tippi should die, she would be nothing more than a black hole. At home, Grace and Tippi watch a video clip from an interview with their parents on the subject of surgery and separation and notice that the decision is not just about them. You meet your doctor at the hospital and tell him that you have decided to have the operation. Grace and Tippi meet with Yasmeen and Jon and make lists of things they want to do before they die. Tippi writes that she doesn't want to be bitchy anymore and Grace that she wants a boy to kiss her.

Before the operation, the twins go on a road trip with Yasmeen and Jon for a few days and stay at Yasmeen's uncle's house. They go swimming naked, watch the sunrise, and Grace and Jon kiss for the first time. The twins soberly discuss with Yasmeen what they would like for their funeral if they should die during the operation. One evening on the beach, Tippi and Grace promise each other that they will go on living even if the other dies.

January

Tippi and Grace are in the hospital to prepare for the operation. The press gathers in front of the hospital. Grace's therapist arrives at the hospital and Grace admits that she is terrified and that she doesn't know how to continue to exist if Tippi dies. The doctor explains the operation to Tippi and Grace and Grace wonders how it should be possible that she and Tippi can have two separate, separate bodies, and what it is like to die. Jon comes to the hospital to visit. He kisses Grace goodbye. Grace dreams that Tippi has disappeared and that she is connected to Jon instead, realizing that he can never be enough.

Her parents are throwing a party for Grace and Tippi. After the party, Grace realizes that she hasn't checked off the last item on her spoon list, climbing a tree, so Dragon helps the twins sneak out of the hospital and climb a tree. Dragon says goodbye to her sisters and Grace and Tippi are prepared for the operation.

21th January

It is the day of separation. Before the operation, Grace and Tippi promise that they will see each other later.

January 29th

Grace wakes up from her coma and realizes that Tippi is not there. She realizes that she is alone and that she and Tippi have been separated. Her family tells Grace that Tippi is seriously ill. Grace is brought into Tippi's room and placed next to her. The next morning, Tippi wakes up briefly and Grace realizes that her sister is dying. She whispers to her that she can go now. Tippi dies a little later. Grace cannot realize that her sister is no longer there and suffers enormously from the loss. She would like her Tippi's old heart to be inserted, but the doctors explain to her that this is not possible.

February

Grace is slowly making progress in health. Dragon comes to see Grace in the hospital, and Grace asks Dragon if she is anorexic. Dragon says yes. Both miss Tippi. Tippi is buried while Grace is in the hospital. The film crew is recording the funeral so Grace can watch it if she wants. Grace is waiting for a donor heart.

March

Caroline comes to see Grace at the hospital because Grace wants to talk about what happened on camera. She turns to the left to let Tippi begin, only to realize again that Tippi is no longer there. Grace realizes that she has to tell her story because she is the only one left.

characters

main characters

Grace

Grace is 16 years old and Tippi's twin sister. She was named by her parents after the Hitchcock star Grace Kelly. Grace is more reserved than her sister Tippi. She is very emphatic and gives a lot of thought to her family and other people. In doing so, she often forgets to think about herself. Sometimes Grace is jealous of Tippi because Tippi just takes what she wants and Grace is too cautious for that. In many situations, Grace doesn't dare to say what she thinks or what she wants. She also rarely opens up to her therapist. Grace loves reading and baking. She talks a lot with Jon about books and philosophy. When Grace developed cardiomyopathy and noticed that Tippi was getting weaker and weaker as a result, she felt responsible and like a parasite towards Tippi.

Tippi

Tippi is Grace's twin sister and was named by her parents after the Hitchcock star Tippi Hedren. In contrast to Grace, Tippi is a very direct person. She always says what she thinks and what she wants. Unlike Grace, she is also more realistic and honest with herself and others. If Tippi wants something, then "she takes it with both hands" (p. 88). She is very confident and bitchy at times. In Grace's opinion, Tippi has the tendency to quickly become "addicted" to something. She drinks a lot of black coffee and doesn't hesitate long before trying cigarettes and alcohol. When Grace urges them to agree to the documentary in order to agree to money for the family, Tippi is only against it because she is afraid of losing all dignity.

Minor characters

Friends

Yasmeen

Yasmeen is instructed at school to show Grace and Tippi around and befriends them straight away. She has pink hair and lots of piercings. She tells the twins that she has been HIV positive since birth and is therefore treated as an outsider at school. Yasmeen is very confident. She is not very squeamish or sensitive and says openly what she thinks. She has the need to protect the twins from the other students and is always committed to Grace and Tippi. Besides the twins, she only seems to be friends with Jon.

Jon

Jon is friends with Yasmeen and gets to know Grace and Tippi at school. He, too, is an outsider because he can only go to a private school on the basis of a scholarship. His mother has left the family and so Jon lives with his stepfather Cal in poor conditions. Jon has hazel eyes and stars tattooed on his hands. He reads a lot and exchanges books with Grace. He may be in love with Yasmeen because he is giving her a heart card on her birthday. However, he is also becoming more and more interested in Grace.

family

mother

The mother of Grace and Tippi tries to keep the whole family together. Since her husband became unemployed, she has had to work a lot to finance the family. She used to like to get dressed up, but due to the difficult situation, she no longer treats herself to anything. She tries to do everything for the twins and at the same time to support her husband. When she is fired from work and Grace and Tippi decide to have the documentary filmed to make money, she feels terrible because she feels like she is selling her children.

father

Grace and Tippi's father is unemployed and has a drinking problem. He occasionally goes to job interviews but cannot find a new job. Occasionally he tries to be there for his daughters and to show care, which is mostly unsuccessful due to his alcohol addiction. When Caroline starts filming the documentary, the family decides that he should move out until the film team is gone so that no one finds out about his addiction. As Grace and Tippi's condition worsen, it seems like he will manage to stay sober.

Dragon (Nicola)

At 14, Dragon is the younger sister of Grace and Tippi. Her real name is Nicola, but when she was two she was christened “Dragon” by her sisters because she was so wild and untamable. Dragon dances ballet in her spare time and works at the dance school and babysitting to pay for her own dance lessons. She is very direct, doesn't talk nicely and basically gives her sisters her opinion. Sometimes she feels neglected by her parents and dwarfed by her sisters. It seems to her that she is only perceived as the sister of Tippi and Grace, and not as an independent person. Getting thinner and thinner, Dragon admits to Grace at the hospital that she is anorexic.

Grammy

Grammie lives with Grace and Tippi and the rest of the family. She is the mother of Grace and Tippi's father. She is very direct and does not mince words. She looks very young, has her fingernails done, loves bowling and has dates every now and then.

Other

Caroline Henley

Caroline Henley is the reporter who wants to make a long-term documentary about Grace and Tippi. She has asked the twins several times and is excited when they finally agree. Caroline is a very polite woman with a British accent. She comes with her two cameramen Paul and Shane to film the documentary. She is very ambitious at first, but it quickly turns out that she is not a sensational reporter. She cares about Grace and Tippi, takes care of the twins in the hospital, and suspends filming until they both feel better.

Literary criticism

One received an overall positive response from the press. The Neue Zürcher Zeitung praises the “very own language” that Crossan developed (Stephanie Jaeckel, April 6, 2016). Kirkus Review characterized the book as "honest, unapologetic realism from a diverse perspective not often seen in fiction for teens." ( Kirkus Review , June 10, 2015). Publishers Weekly writes the verse form “deftly conveys the twins' heightened emotions through repetition, creative spacing, and lyrical similes” and adds: “In asking important questions about how bodies shape identity, Crossan's novel achieves a striking balance between sentimentality and sisterly devotion "( Publishers Weekly , July 13, 2015).

Nominations and Awards

One received various awards. It was chosen by Deutschlandfunk as one of the seven best books for young readers in March 2016 and is on the shortlist for the Carnegie Medal (2016).

March 2016 The best 7 books for young readers in March
2016 Shortlist Carnegie Medal

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Bloomsbury Highlights. Retrieved June 20, 2017 .
  2. ↑ Curiosity begins with stories. Retrieved June 20, 2017 .
  3. ^ Format and editions of One. Retrieved June 20, 2017 .
  4. ↑ a b c The CILIP Carnegie Medal Shortlist for 2017. Retrieved June 20, 2017 .
  5. ↑ a b ONE by Sarah Crossan. Retrieved June 20, 2017 .
  6. ↑ Sarah Crossan's youth novel "Eins": How do you live as a couple in one body? Retrieved June 20, 2017 .
  7. ^ Children's Book Review: One by Sarah Crossan. Publishers Weekly, accessed June 20, 2017 ( ISBN 978-0-06-211875-2 ).
  8. ↑ a b The 7 Best Books for Young Readers in March. Retrieved June 20, 2017 .