A fun read about Alex, who is still suffering from the effects of severe bullying at high school ten years later, and dealing with the death of his mother. He finds out he has a twin brother, finds him, and together they find their father. A bit implausible; a bit light on character development, but a great story nonetheless. Quirky and funny at times and the message that bullying can have lasting impacts, especially in this social media age is very relevant. ( )

Admitted bias:Terry Fallis always entertains me. Even if there are implausible plot developments, plot weaknesses, or the tech-science stuff doesn't seem accurate, I love reading Fallis. So yeah, the story has suffered a little bit from some dubious scenarios. How likely would tourists visiting Moscow go undetected surfing the internet from a Moscow hotel room using Russian WiFi? And looking for a 'disappeared' Russian? Who turns out to have been a KGB recruit.

Then there was the completely overdone subject of a YouTube video to account for Alex having a severe emotional disability. Certainly bullying can have horrendous effects on the victim. However, this episode was so exaggerated, it injected a sense of unreality and takes the reader out of the story. Despite these impressions, I enjoyed descriptions of Alex's family life, his workplace, his software engineering successes and I adored (Alert! potentially another spoiler) the description of the boss from hell and her demise as an employee. That the Russian connection seemed pretty lame and a needless twist didn't mar the over all theme. I recommend this book to any Fallis fan, to anyone enjoying how it might be as a twin, to see Tech start ups winning at funding, and just an overall relaxing brain candy read. ( )

Engaging, humorous. ( )

Twin brothers are separated at birth and reunited 25 years later after the death of their mother. The narrator is Alex McCaskill, living and working in Ottawa as a software developer. His brother is Matt Paterson, the CEO of a software company in London, UK.
Alex discovers he has a twin brother while cleaning up his mother's personal effects. Using his knowledge of the Internet, he is able to track down his brother and connect with him in London. Alex is shy, withdrawn and struggling to overcome a bullying incident from his high school years. Matt is outgoing, successful and entrepreneurial. Together they find their father and life goes on happily ever after.
I liked the story and the characters, the book is well written but the story is predictable and it ties up a little too nicely at the end. ( )

This book is the 2018 SD&G Reads selection and I read it in preparation for the Meet the Author Event on October 18.

Alex MacAskill is an intelligent but extremely socially awkward software engineer in Ottawa. When his mother dies leaving him a cryptic clue, he discovers he has an identical twin brother somewhere in the world. He sets out to find him. His journey takes him to London and Moscow but also becomes a journey of self-discovery so he ends up finding himself as much as a family.

Alex is a very likeable character. He is devoted to his ailing mother and excels at his job. He has a wicked sense of humour, though it tends not to be expressed because he is very shy and finds social interaction painful. He experienced a very traumatic event a decade earlier and this caused him to retreat from life “physically, emotionally, socially, and psychologically.” He is a damaged soul but certainly a good guy for whom the reader will cheer.

Fallis is known for his humourous writings, having won two Stephen Leacock Medals for Humour. This book is not hilariously funny but I enjoyed Alex’s wicked wit which is demonstrated in his internal monologues. The difference between what he is thinking and what he actually says provides a humourous contrast and has the reader wishing that Alex had the courage to speak without censoring himself. The novel does examine the long-term impact of cyber bullying so it is understandable that the tone is more serious in sections.

I appreciated that the book is unabashedly Canadian. Since I lived in Ottawa for four years and still reside in the area, I’m familiar with the locations he mentions. And there is no shortage of Canadiana, including the famous 1972 Summit Series.

There are some issues I have with the book. There is no real conflict; Alex faces few obstacles in his search and everything goes just so smoothly. Occasionally, there is too much explaining: the repeated discussions of social license, for example, are unnecessary. The ending is predictable and certainly a feel-good ending with all plot lines nicely tied up and the good being rewarded and the bad being punished. This seems just too tidy. Some of the characters are just too far on one end or the other of the good-evil spectrum. The characterization of Simone, a super-diva like the boss in The Devil Wears Prada, is just over-the-top. And then there are the so many super nice people.

There are some things that are just not credible. Alex never asked his mother about his father? He dropped drama in Grade 10 but is able to use “the acting side of [his] experience” to coach Matt “on his energy, inflection, gesturing, pacing, body language, movement, and eye contact” – this latter element from someone who cannot maintain eye contact with a stranger? He suffers from debilitating shyness yet is offered a leadership position which requires interaction with many people? Alex never wanted those responsible for his humiliation to be punished or to suffer in the least? I understand the power of forgiveness but Alex forgives someone who is utterly unrepentant. He is so obsessed with a girl in a red dress that the reader expects something dramatic to occur; what happens, or doesn’t happen, just feels like a let-down.

Despite these flaws, the book is amusing. It is brisk, undemanding, and entertaining – perfect for a summer read.

Note: Please check out my reader's blog (https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/) and follow me on Twitter (@DCYakabuski). ( )