Andy Squared: Secrets Are Hard to Keep

Gr 9 Up—Seventeen-year-old Andrea and Andrew have the ideal twin lives-they play identical positions in soccer, attend the same classes, share friends, and even have the same nickname. Andrea has their futures planned through college-until Ryder Coltrane transfers to their rural New York school and turns Andrew's world upside down. Recognizing a mutual attraction, Andrew and Ryder begin spending most of their time together; and when Ryder reveals that he's gay, they soon start a secret romance. In a constant search for time together, they go horseback riding, watch movies, and plan overnights, and as a consequence, Andrea and their friends are neglected. At a New Year's Eve party, Andrea bumps into Andrew and Ryder stealing a kiss, and she flies into a rage, outing them to her parents and friends at school. The boys support each other, however, and soon various friends and relatives accept their relationship. The readable yet predictable narrative-driven romance suffers from a jarring sex scene, a disturbing plot device involving the twins' sleeping arrangement, and an over-the-top reaction from Andrea. For a better read on a similar topic, try M. E. Kerr's Deliver Me from Evie (HarperCollins, 1994).—Betty S. Evans, Missouri State University, Springfield