The Lost Girl by Anne Ursu has a terrific beginning: “The two sisters were alike in every way except for all the ways that they were different.”

Iris and Lark, we learn, are identical twins. They look alike, but they complement each other in personality. Iris is rational and organized. Lark is creative and intuitive. Iris speaks for Lark when she feels anxious, and Lark calms Iris down when she gets angry.

Since birth, they’ve been told that they have better outcomes together. Until this year. For the first time in fifth grade, they’ve been assigned to different classrooms. Their parents have even enrolled them in different after school programs. How are two girls who are better together meant to navigate life apart?

Meanwhile, a new antiques store has opened in Minneapolis. And things going missing all over town–from Iris’s favorite pin to Lark’s beloved stuffed animal to a famous modern art sculpture.

Are these events connected? And who is the mysterious first person narrator who sees so much?

As the narrator tells us in the very first chapter:

“This is a story of a sign and a store. Of a key. Of crows and shiny things. Of magic. Of bad decisions made from good intentions. Of bad guys with bad intentions. Of collective nouns, fairy tales, and backstories.

But most of all this is a story of the two sisters, and what they did when the monsters really came.”

And it’s a really good story. I highly recommend it.