Jake and Lily are twins. They share that special twin bond--a power they've named Goombia, which helps them know what the other is feeling, even when they are not with each other. Despite this special bond, Jake and Lily are very different. Lily gets into trouble, Jake doesn't. They like different things. They even learn differently. The summer they turn eleven, Lily fears they are drifting apart when Jake finds a new group of friends. While Jake is spreading his wings, Lily worries that things will never be the same with her twin, and that perhaps their closeness is lost forever.

Jake and Lily is a well-written book by the award-winning author Jerry Spinelli, who writes about adolescence so well. Although told in alternating chapters, this book is really about Lily's struggle to reconcile the inevitable process of growing up, and sometimes that means growing apart from the ones we love. Jake, on the other hand, has found a group of not so nice boys to run around with, and succumbs to peer pressure and conformity. Lily is annoyed by Jake's new independence from her. She holds the feeling that so many tweens share, wondering "why can't we stay how we were?" With her wise and wonderful grandpa's help, she comes to terms with the fact that twins have a special and spiritual connection, but it is okay for them to grow and have their own individual identities, too.

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