Books by
Andrew Clements

LOST AND FOUND

NO TALKING

ROOM ONE:
A Mystery or Two

LUNCH MONEY

THE LAST HOLIDAY CONCERT

THE REPORT CARD

JAKE DRAKE, TEACHER'S PET: Jake Drake #3

THE SCHOOL STORY

JAKE DRAKE, BULLY BUSTER

FRINDLE

LOST AND FOUND
by Andrew Clements
Atheneum/Simon & Schuster
ISBN: 9781416909859
Ages 8-12
176 pages

• Author Talk –– August 2008

The Grayson brothers have a hard time proving they're two separate people. Their parents named one Ray Jay and the other Jay Ray. And to complicate matters, they're identical twins!

It's not that Ray and Jay (who only go by their first names to avoid confusion) mind it, exactly. They get along just fine. But they have always secretly wondered what it would be like to be a single person rather than always "one of the Grayson twins." When they move to a new town just in time to start sixth grade, they get that chance.

Ray stays at home sick on the first day of school, so Jay gets to go alone. Jay adjusts well and makes some new friends right away. But there's something weird going on. No one wonders where his brother is, and Ray isn't on any attendance lists. It's as if he doesn't exist.

Before Jay tells his teachers, he comes up with a plan. Now he and his brother can both see what it's like not to be known as a twin. They'll take turns going to school, each pretending to be Jay. They look exactly alike, so no one will know the difference. That is, until they start making friends and finding girls they like, and each has to memorize everything that the other did that day at school. They also need to figure out who's responsible for all the homework!

What follows is a sometimes funny, sometimes heartfelt story about mistaken identities, making friends and understanding family ties. As it becomes tougher and tougher to keep their stories straight, Jay and Ray begin to get more annoyed with each other. As if that's not enough, their parents don't understand why the boys refuse to go out at the same time (obviously, they don't want to run into anyone from their school), and one of them keeps getting into trouble for not doing his homework.

It's clear that Andrew Clements hasn't lost his touch. LOST AND FOUND is every bit as good a book as his first novel, FRINDLE. This is an excellent kid-centered adventure that follows a fantasy I'm sure many kids, twins or not, have had. The ending remains true to the plot, and Jay and Ray have just as much say over their destinies as the adults do when all is said and done.

LOST AND FOUND would be the perfect book for a family to read together or for a child to read on his or her own. Every aspect of the story, from the dialogue to the funny characters, is spot on.

     --- Reviewed by Sarah Hannah Gomez (hannahgomez@gmail.com)

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