The Phantom Twin

February 10, 2020
Raised in a sideshow since age three, 16-year-old conjoined twins Isabel and Jane, who share an arm and a leg, have made a life in a traveling carnival and a family of the other performers. When Jane, the dominant and more outgoing twin, agrees to an experimental separation surgery in hope of marriage and family, things go badly: Jane dies but abides as an angry spirit, still attached to her sibling as a “phantom twin.” Artist Isabel lives on, learning to use prosthetic limbs, struggling with the loss of her livelihood and her changing position within her found family, and developing an interest in a local tattoo artist. As a muckraking journalist descends on the carnival, Brown deftly explores the insular
community’s relationships, capturing internal tensions while exploring the fragile protection the group offers its members against a world that shuns “freaks.” Though many characters remain two-dimensional—especially the sadly underutilized titular twin—the atmospheric story’s strengths lie in its relational nuance, in a beautifully evoked setting aided by Brown’s uncomplicated drawings, and in Isabel’s journey into autonomy. Ages 12–16. Agent: Charlotte Sheedy, Charlotte Sheedy Literary.

February 28, 2020

Gr 6 Up-Isabel and Jane Peabody are conjoined twins, bilaterally bound since birth and sold to a "freak show" at age three. Fed up with mounting abuse and craving autonomy, Jane convinces a hesitant Isabel to undergo a risky separation. Jane dies during surgery but lives on as a literal phantom limb; meanwhile, a bereft Isabel must return to the midway short two limbs and her lifelong companion. Guided by her supernatural sister and her sideshow family (from Harold, a thoughtful young Black man playing the "Wildboy," to Nora, a tattooed snake charmer who doubles as surrogate mother and street-smart older sister), Isabel must discover her place, now that she's no longer a "freak" but not quite able to fit in among the rest of the world. With spare text and simple illustrations, Brown's debut packs a wallop. Tight India ink linework brings to life flashes of Nora's tattoos; digital washes suffuse tidy panels in muted hues. As Isabel copes with eviscerating loss, she grows from a naive adolescent to a more self-aware young woman, along the way learning hard-won lessons, self-reliance, and exploitation. Though romance does surface, it shares the stage with a death-defying sisterly bond, found familial love among midway performers, the honesty and empathy of healthy relationships, and the self-love Isabel cultivates as she comes into her own as an artist and adult. VERDICT Brown delivers a sensitive, nuanced meditation on ability, agency, belonging, family, and otherness.-Steven Thompson, Bound Brook Memorial Public Library, NJ

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2020
In this dark graphic novel with an unconventional cast and setting--an ode to outsiders, "freaks," and misfits everywhere--Jane and Isabel are conjoined twins who work at a carnival sideshow. A doctor promises Jane that he can surgically separate the two, giving them a real shot at independence from each other, but Isabel, who doesn't control their shared limbs, isn't nearly as excited by the prospect as Jane is. Unfortunately, the operation proves fatal for Jane, and Isabel must now cope with her new reality. She gains a prosthetic arm and leg, returns to her beloved carnival community (where she invents a new act), and deals with the constant intrusions of the ghostly presence of Jane, the titular phantom twin. Isabel has two suitors--a smooth-talking newspaper journalist and a kind tattoo artist--and her eventual choice not only dramatically affects the carnival but changes the direction of her life. Brown's expressive line illustrations (digitally colored) effectively serve the story, conveying the particulars of the sideshow, delineating the various characters and their nuanced relationships (particularly between Isabel and the phantom Jane), and driving the plot toward its satisfying conclusion. An author's note places the exploitative nature of carnival sideshows in historical context; a brief bibliography and a glossary of "carnival lingo" are also appended.

(Copyright 2020 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

Starred review from May 1, 2020
In this dark graphic novel with an unconventional cast and setting-an ode to outsiders, "freaks," and misfits everywhere-Jane and Isabel are conjoined twins who work at a carnival sideshow. A doctor promises Jane that he can surgically separate the two, giving them a real shot at independence from each other, but Isabel, who doesn't control their shared limbs, isn't nearly as excited by the prospect as Jane is. Unfortunately, the operation proves fatal for Jane, and Isabel must now cope with her new reality. She gains a prosthetic arm and leg, returns to her beloved carnival community (where she invents a new act), and deals with the constant intrusions of the ghostly presence of Jane, the titular phantom twin. Isabel has two suitors-a smooth-talking newspaper journalist and a kind tattoo artist-and her eventual choice not only dramatically affects the carnival but changes the direction of her life. Brown's expressive line illustrations (digitally colored) effectively serve the story, conveying the particulars of the sideshow, delineating the various characters and their nuanced relationships (particularly between Isabel and the phantom Jane), and driving the plot toward its satisfying conclusion. An author's note places the exploitative nature of carnival sideshows in historical context; a brief bibliography and a glossary of "carnival lingo" are also appended. Jonathan Hunt

(Copyright 2020 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

March 1, 2020
Conjoined twins Jane and Isabel "Jan-Iss" Peabody are performers in an early-20th-century carnival sideshow. Sold by their parents to the sideshow manager at the age of 3, the twins are exploited to perform for gawking audiences. The other performers (or "freaks," an insult they have reclaimed) become their family. Now 16, Jane is ambitious and outgoing while Isabel is more appreciative of their carnival support system. When a doctor who aspires to medical fame offers to surgically separate the sisters, Jane jumps at the opportunity to lead a "normal" life. Isabel is less convinced but agrees for her sister's sake. Tragically, Jane dies as a result of the surgery, and Isabel, who loses their shared arm and leg, is fitted with prosthetic limbs. Haunted by her twin's ghost, Isabel struggles to come to terms with her new identity. Brown's clean, cartoonlike images in subdued hues enhance the story. The novel touches on the ways that marginalized people were exploited by sideshows but also, at times, gained the ability to avoid institutionalization and support themselves. However, the story fails to deeply explore the nature of exploitation of difference both historically and today. Strong pacing will keep readers engaged, but the characters are not well developed enough for the story to resonate on a deep emotional level. Jane and Isabel are white; secondary characters are black, Japanese American, and have various disabilities. A tale of longing and belonging. (author's note, bibliography, glossary) (Graphic fiction. 13-16)

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Starred review from March 15, 2020
Grades 6-9 *Starred Review* Brown ushers readers behind the curtain of the ten-in-one in her nuanced tale of a sideshow freak. Isabel and Jane are conjoined twins, sold to a showman when they were very young?much like history's Daisy and Violet Hilton. Though performing as oddities has drawbacks, it also provides the girls with a supportive family in the other performers, such as fat lady Baby Alice and Nora, the tattooed snake charmer. One evening after their act, the sisters are approached by a doctor who believes he can separate them. Despite Isabel's misgivings, Jane, always the more dominant of the two, pushes her to agree to the surgery. Tragically, only Isabel survives, left with a cumbersome prosthetic arm and leg and the still-attached ghost of her sister. Now freakish in an entirely new way, Isabel returns to the sideshow to figure out what to do. Brown's simply lined artwork favors shades of blue, green, and red and draws upon vintage sideshow banner art as well as Sailor Jerry-style tattoos, injecting the tale with just the right aesthetic. She also incorporates commentary on the mixed experiences of freak performers, always treating this subject with respect. What emerges is a marvelous story marked by tragedy, courage, personal growth, and first love that is as singular as Isabel herself.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)