Yes, Identical Is Banned!

Identical follows twin sisters Kaeleigh and Raeanne, daughters of a judge and a congresswoman whose polished public image conceals horrific private dysfunction. Kaeleigh is being sexually abused by her father; Raeanne copes through drugs, alcohol, and reckless sexual encounters. Hopkins tells their stories in alternating verse sequences that mirror each other on the page, building toward a twist that reframes everything the reader thought they knew. The novel is a harrowing examination of how abuse fractures identity and how survivors cope with the unthinkable.

With 74 bans in the 2023-24 school year, Identical is among the most frequently challenged of Hopkins’ novels. Like her other work, it’s targeted for its unflinching depictions of sexual abuse, substance use, and self-harm. Districts in Florida, Texas, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee have pulled it from shelves, often as part of broader removal efforts that swept multiple Hopkins titles at once. Defenders argue the book gives voice to experiences that many teens endure in silence, and that removing it sends the message that their pain is too uncomfortable to acknowledge.