To the outside world, “sisters” Lizzie, Ella and Betsey Best in Cat Patrick’s, The Originals, are the same person.

The three are enrolled in school as one girl: Elizabeth, and they live their lives in thirds.  

Lizzie attends the first half of the school day, Ella the second, and Betsey goes to their preemptive college night classes.

Copies of a girl who died incredibly young, the Best sisters work hard to maintain their single identity and strive for greatness in all aspects of their life.

Starting out the year at a new school, Lizzie meets Sean Kelly–who just may be the only person who has noticed her, not “Elizabeth.”  

However, possibility for a relationship is perceived doomed from the start, as Lizzie lives not as herself, but as three people. Determined to hide her secret, Lizzie struggles to juggle her classes, her mother, and her double life.

Entirely relatable and fantastically thrilling, Patrick’s novel quickly comes to life in the reader’s mind, leaving them eager to devour each page

Lizzie’s struggles, though based in science fiction, are recognizable for any high school student who feels pulled in hundreds of directions, and struggles with their identity.

Comedic, mysterious, and never-endingly interesting, The Originals is recommended to anyone looking to either get into reading, or to read an altogether great book.

The book can be found at the Fullerton Public Library for check out, or at bookshop near you.