Doppelganger (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Doppelganger April Spisak Stahler, David, Jr. Doppelganger. Eos/HarperCollins, 2006258 p Library ed. ISBN 0-06-087233-0$17.89 Trade ed. ISBN 0-06-087232-2$16.99 R Gr. 7-12 In Stahler's otherwise ordinary world, doppelgangers murder humans and then adopt their forms and lives; it is therefore fortunate that their own existences are not complicated with names, societal rules, or consciences. One sixteen-year-old doppelganger cannot seem to settle into his fate—perhaps because he is part human, or perhaps he developed sympathy for the human plight from watching television in his isolated cabin while his absentee, indifferent mother came back only to feed him. After his mother kicks him out, he is forced to make his first kill to disguise himself, and he selects a sick, elderly man whom he can pretend was ready to die; he next kills Chris, a violent teen who had tried to murder the doppelganger, and he discovers that there may be lives crueler than his own when he becomes enmeshed with Chris' sad, violent family. The book raises interesting moral questions about the nature of monsters: the murderous doppelganger haunted by his seemingly unavoidable destiny is contrasted with Chris and his father, both angry and abusive men who cannot change their actions. The doppelganger's painful and realistically agonized first-person narration heightens sympathy, as do the sacrifices he makes to avoid fulfilling his murderous destiny. Stahler has written a powerful novel about crushing violence, fragile idealism, and the sometimes insurmountable difficulty of outrunning one's upbringing. Teens struggling to create their own paths, especially those raised in difficult homes, will identify strongly with the protagonist and his onerous choices. Copyright © 2006 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois