Teodora’s Book Reviews: “Totally Twins Collection – The Fabulous Diary of Persephone Pinchgut” by Aleesah Darlison (Sweet Cherry Publishing, Leicester, 2016)

I’ve always wondered what it’s like to have a twin brother or sister. Is it unusual to live with someone who looks just like you? Do you get along with your twin or do you end up having a lot of fights? Is it the same as having a younger or an older sibling? All these questions have remained unanswered until I read the Totally Twins Collection and entered the exciting world of Persephone Pinchgut, a 10-year-old girl who knows exactly what it’s like to share the same adventures with another version of herself.

The reason why Persephone starts to write a secret diary is because she needs to hide her personal thoughts from Portia, her twin sister. Persephone and Portia are two interesting characters. They’re named after the Goddess of the Underworld (Persephone) and the heroine of The Merchant of Venice, one of Shakespeare’s plays (Portia). They have the same sunshine-and-honey hair with soft curls at the back, the same crystal-green cat’s eyes and the same pointy elbows and skinny fingers. They basically look the same, except that Persephone has a teardrop-shaped mole on her left cheek and wears her hair in a ponytail most of the time. When it comes to their personalities, they’re completely different. Persephone is kind, understanding, tidy and very shy, unlike Portia who is bossy, messy and always confident. They also have different interests. Persephone likes to read awesome books, to swim, to hang out with her best friends, Caitlin and Jolie, and to find out interesting facts about Egyptian archaeology, while Portia is interested in ballet, fashion and singing.

The twin sisters live with their mother, Skye, who teaches yoga and laughter therapy in her living room. She is vegetarian and she always makes sure that her daughters eat only organic food. Since their father, Pickford, split up with Skye and moved to England with his new wife (Eleanor Elizabeth Krankston or EEK, for short), life in the Pinchgut family has been duller. Skye is working hard every day so she can earn more money. Unfortunately the twins barely get to see their mother and have a proper talk with her. If they have any problems, they must solve them on their own. Another interesting fact about Skye is that she is an abstract painter and spends time in her art studio after a long, tiring day. Even though Persephone doesn’t understand the meaning of the paintings, she can tell what her mother’s mood is, so the girl is always pleased when Skye uses bright, happy colors.

The first diary, Musical Mayhem, features a constantly worried Persephone. After presenting her family, the girl talks about her new fear: an end-of-term musical, organized by her school, Heartfield Heights Primary School. She can’t sing as beautifully as her sister, therefore she doesn’t want to go to the auditions. On the other hand Portia is feeling positive and she knows for sure that she will be playing the princess. She keeps making fun of Persephone’s voice and humiliates her in front of their friends. It’s quite tough for Persephone to listen to Portia’s rude remarks. In the end, though, there is an amusing twist of events: Persephone gets to be the narrator (who doesn’t have to sing) and Portia ends up as a beggar girl. Despite all this, the twins still have fun together:

“ ‘But, really, I am sorry I gave you a hard time about your singing. I should have said sorry before.’
‘Forget it. That was so long ago it’s Egyptian history,’ I said, not making a big deal of it – and feeling very mature in the process. Besides, seeing Portia in a brown – not caramel – dress was payment enough for her bad behaviour.
Then we jabbed each other with our matching pointy elbows and giggled like totally together twins.” (pages 144-145)

In the second diary, Model Mania, Portia dreams of becoming the next top model, so she joins the Heavenly Models Agency and spends hours trying on new, stylish clothes for endless photo shootings. The fashion world is more like a nightmare for Persephone. It’s getting even worse when Portia loses interest in her friends and misses Caitlin’s birthday party. When she is asked to star in a new television eco-ad with Taylor North (the heroine of the twins’ favorite TV show, River’s Town), Portia gets really excited. But after she meets the rude Taylor and faces some unpleasant situations, she finally realizes that it’s much better hanging out with your friends than being part of the stressful fashion industry:

“ ‘Modeling isn’t what I thought it would be,’ she said sadly. ‘It was fun for a while, but I’m totally over it now because it’s too hard and I miss doing things with my friends and I’m tired all the time and Perse beats me in tests, and I simply can’t bear that.’
So, I guess Portia’s modeling career is officially over.” (page 144)

The third diary, Tropical Trouble, is about the twins’ holiday in Fiji with their grandmother, a cool travel writer who does exciting things like bungee jumping and swimming in the ocean, even in the middle of winter. This holiday is not supposed to be just for fun. The two girls learn how to spend their time efficiently and how to make friends from foreign countries. They join the Kids’ Club, sign up for a lot of activities and meet new people. As always, Portia handles everything smoothly, while Persephone struggles to get somebody’s attention and be as interesting as her sister. But it’s quite hard for her to maintain a conversation when no one is interested in Egyptian archaeology or other “boring and weird stuff”, like Portia would say. Fortunately the holiday turns out to be the best one ever. Persephone finally overcomes her fear of sharks, goes for snorkeling in the ocean and forms new friendships. She even encourages her new friends to write down their best memories, just like her:

“At the resort we said some tearful goodbyes to Rushani and Gigi, who aren’t leaving until tomorrow. Of course, Ash isn’t going anywhere because he lives at the resort. We all promised to write to each other. As a parting gift, I gave Rushani, Gigi and Ash a diary each, which Gran brought from the resort boutique for me.
They all promised to start their diaries straight away. I hope they keep it up.” (page 153)

The last diary, Birthday Bonanza, is probably my favorite one. Persephone and Portia are about to turn 11 and they want to organize a birthday party. As usual, the girls start a new conflict, as they want different themed parties. In the end, Persephone’s idea wins and the twins have a princess party. They both expect nice presents from their family and friends and throughout the story there are a lot of surprises…

Skye gets engaged with Mr. Divine, her arts teacher. Portia doesn’t want a stepfather and always complains that they can have a better life without Mr. Divine. However Persephone understands the situation and desperately wants to see her mother happy. Luckily, as soon as they meet Mr. Divine’s awfully nice parents, Portia changes her mind about him. Another big surprise is that Pickford and his wife, Eleanor, show up unexpectedly at the twins’ house. They ashamedly admit that they’re broke and need a place to stay until Eleanor gives birth to her baby and Pickford finds a new, decent job. Persephone and Portia definitely feel great with so many beloved people around them. The best part in this book is when Eleanor gives birth to triplets on the twins’ birthday! The three babies are the best presents the girls could have ever asked for:

“I’ve never seen so many grown adults cry as I did tonight when everyone saw those babies. Luckily, they were tears of joy, not tears of sadness. Portia and I shared a few tears too, plus a few Secret Signals of ‘Isn’t this awesome!’ and ‘What the heck will we do with so many brothers?’ ” (page 178)

Persephone’s entries are always intriguing. She mentions even the slightest details about her adventures and emotions. Her diaries are the perfect getaway when she has a fight with Portia. But, at the end of the day, the girls realize that their differences actually make them special. They’re not just sisters. They’re best friends who would never leave each other on their own. I think that’s what makes them totally twins.