Dreaming of Antigone

February 1, 2016
Andria grapples to reconstruct her life following the death of her twin sister, Iris, due to a lethal heroin overdose. Set in upper-middle-class Athens, Georgia, Andria's story initially appears to involve the grieving, confusion, and feelings of abandonment to be expected six months after a sibling's death. Though well-socialized and a straight-A student like Iris, even after her death, Andria considers herself the lesser twin, knowing she'll never be the beautiful, superstar athlete Iris was but "a cold, dark satellite orbiting a star that went supernova" instead. Iris had always been the one in the spotlight: their mother had raised the girls believing Iris' presence in the womb had caused Andria's epilepsy and even contributed to their father's suicide when the twins were 2. Now, in the wake of Iris' overdose, Andria's survivor guilt mounts as she finds herself falling for the boyfriend under whose influence her sister got involved with drugs. Throughout the novel, Bridges fuels the budding romance with snatches of famous poems that lend emotional depth to the forbidden love, while she ratchets up the narrative intrigue as Andria and her mother become embroiled in ever greater turmoil that brings them closer to understanding why the seemingly perfect Iris turned to heroin for release. Though largely plot-driven, Bridges' narrative effectively shows there are no easy remedies to some of society's most troubling ills. (Fiction. 14-18)

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March 1, 2016

Gr 9 Up-Life has been unfair to 16-year-old Andria: she was born with epilepsy, her father committed suicide when she was two, and five months ago, her twin sister, Iris, died of an apparent heroin overdose. As Andria tries to adjust to life without Iris, she focuses her energy on staying seizure-free for six months so she can obtain her much-wanted driver's license. During this time, she becomes reluctantly involved with former bad boy Alex, Iris's ex-boyfriend who Andria's family believed was a bad influence on Iris and responsible for her death. On top of feeling guilty for her relationship with Alex, Andria regrets so many other things, like her unawareness that Iris had developed a drug habit and her own actions on the night Iris died. Obvious similarities to Antigone abound, which Andria notes throughout the narrative, even referring to her own life as a Greek tragedy. There is confusion about who is good or bad in Andria and Iris's world, much like in Antigone and her sister Ismene's world. This novel is reminiscent of Celeste Ng's Everything I Never Told You (Penguin, 2014), though not as sophisticated and aimed squarely at young adult readers. VERDICT A well-done story with believable characters, a nicely paced plot (including some twists), and a satisfying ending.-Melissa Kazan, Horace Mann School, New York City

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