I remember reading this book when I was 14 and I adored it! This is a great book for any pre-teen to early teen (11-15) girl who feels like she doesn't belong and no one appreciates her. (I know, I know, that's all of them at that age).

The title refers to the biblical passage where God said "Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated." Louise (the main character and narrator) identifies with Esau. She is the older twin, but her younger sister is the golden one.

This is the story of Louise's coming of age, coming to grips with her jelousy of her sister, and finding her place in the world.

A really poignant coming-of-age novel set on Maryland's eastern shore. Will appeal to a good pre-teen or teenage reader, especially one who feels "outside" the popular, beautiful crowd.

modern classic !

Jacob Have I loved is not about Esau and Jacob. It is about a pair of twins who live in Rass with their family. This story is told through Sara Bradshaw who, she considers, is the lesser of the pair. Her twin Caroline always seems to be in the spotlight and get what she wants. This story is Sara's journey to find out who she is and make a place for her outside her sister's big, dark shadow.

A very moving tale of an islander girl coming of age and finding her true self.

Jacob Have I Loved is a beautiful story of a young girl finding her place in the world apart from her twin. It was one of my favorite books as a teenager, and I love to share it with anyone I can.

A review from Amazon.com:
The title makes perfect sense after reading the book (a biblical reference to the brother Jacob, who was favored over Isau), but I orignally thought this book would be about a lost love or something.

Anyway, the story deals with the resentment one twin sister, Louise, feels towards the other, Caroline. Yet both are portrayed sympathetically - one can't help but like Caroline at least a little, even though you feel how justifiably Louise is jealous and resentful of her. But through the relationships Caroline has with others, you see how fundamentally decent she is, even as Louise is never able to respond to that.

Caroline is a gifted musician/singer, and grows up to be supremely successful and even marries Louise's childhood friend. The real beauty of this book is that Louise ultimately finds her unique and satisfying place in the world. It is vastly different from where her sister ends up, but then, she was always vastly different from her sister.

The story is also quite interesting for its portrayal of a life on a small Maryland island.

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Written by one of our finest American author's - Katherine Paterson, who writes books which end up in children's genre but are really for everybody. A fine, thoughtful novel which will keep you reading and leave you thinking.

Read All Book Reviews of "Jacob Have I Loved"