Scarlet and Ivy: The Lost Twin

This is a tale of twins and what happens when one apparently dies mysteriously at her boarding school, Rookwood. Scarlet had passed the entrance exam and gone away to school, whilst the shyer Ivy was left behind to live with her poor and ailing grandmother. Then Scarlet dies and Ivy is offered the chance to literally ‘take her place‘, by pretending to be Scarlet. Rookwood is decidedly creepy and added to this, Ivy finds secret diary entries on pieces of paper spread around the school, written by her sister, which hint at strange goings on. Ivy finds herself on a quest to solve the mystery.

This is the first novel by Sophie Cleverly, yet another graduate from Bath Spa’s writing for young people course. It is an exceptionally accomplished work that really keeps the audience on the edge of their seats. There is plenty of action as well as the need to try and interpret the messages that Scarlet has left. We see Ivy develop and come out from her sister’s shadow as she learns to stand up for herself whilst trying to understand what is going on in the school. There are the expected bullies and their followers, but they are far from stereotypical and really want to know what has happened to their friend, who has also disappeared. The story is told in the first person, not my favourite form, but in this case it works very well, and the author has balanced the narrative between the personal reflections and the descriptions of other people and the events that are going on. This is the first of a series and it is bound to be a success with such sympathetic heroines and intricate and fascinating stories. A truly excellent start to a writing career.