Danni Mae

If I had to describe this book in one word, it would be ""ohmaigawd."" Not because I personally loved it, but because that was the mood of the entire thing. There was a lot of danger throughout the course of Doppelganger- although it only felt dangerous towards the end of the book- but somehow the main character, Citrus, managed to keep this ranty high-school-preppy attitude almost the entire time. Let me explain what I mean with an excerpt. This is at the beginning of the book, so it's not much of a spoiler; it's right after she discovers she has a Doppelganger and runs away with a boy who also has one.

""He switched off the car and turned to face me. I kept my head leaned back against the seat, and my head was starting to pound. I knew I was totally going to get a monster of a pimple now, because of all the stress. Probably on my nose, and especially since I couldn't get to my facewash. Still, I tried to breathe normally and concentrate on Aedan as he spoke. I just hoped the pimple didn't show up until after Aedan and I stopped hanging out. Please oh please oh please I told myself. That would be just the thing to push me over the edge right now- dying of embarrassment. I didn't need any more stress.""

In case you're wondering, almost the entire book is like this. Just previously we were talking about our doubles taking over our lives and kidnapping people- are we really going to worry about pimples right now? And about a million times during the course of this book she went off on a complete tangent that ended in ""why is my brain over-thinking like this?"" Why indeed.

The progression of the bond between the two main characters was as jittery as the writing. For a half of the book, they're complete strangers running from danger together with nothing other than their current situation in common, then all of a sudden he begins to show major concern and affection for her. I understand that danger can bring to people together, but there was no path between point A- strangers- and point B- in love.

70% of this book was 'meh,' but interesting enough (and kind of fun in a ""I love to hate this person"" type way with the narration) but the ending really picked it up. This seems to be a common theme in the books I've read lately. The ending revealed secrets, surprises, and interesting plot points that- despite my dislike for the main character and a lot of the narration- actually makes me want to read the second to see what happens.

And while we're on the narration, to be fair, it got better. Actually, Citrus had a lot of good development throughout the course of this book. She started off as a nervous wreck afraid of her own shadow, and ended up as a fairly independent woman willing to lead others to safety at her own expense and throw herself into danger for answers. In the end, I have to say I was proud of her for the steps she'd taken, and whereas she started off this book barely passing for teenage mentality, she grew into a fairly wise young adult by the end, and it was a refreshing thing to notice. I think this will also make the second more interesting, and I plan to pick it up if I ever have a chance. Overall, Doppelganger was a quick, fun read and a good way to pass the time between long books.