Boston Globe–Horn Book Award–winning author Brandy Colbert gives The Parent Trap a fresh, funny, and delightfully unexpected update in this story of two girls—one raised by her single father, the other in the foster care system—who meet by chance…only to discover they’re identical twins.

Kenya Norwood likes things just the way they are. She's lived all her life in Pasadena with her dad and grandmother, she's attended the same school with the same friends since pre-K, and she's always the center of attention. Even as she's about to start middle school, she knows one thing for sure: none of that is going to change.

For Liberty Perry, change is all she's ever known. Her mother disappeared when she was a toddler, and ever since, she's never stayed in one place for very long. But things seem different with her new foster mother, Joey. Maybe in this home, in this school, change won't come so quickly.

Except everything changes the day Liberty and Kenya meet—and discover they are identical.

Neither of them is ready to find out she has a twin sister (in fact, they're unsure if they even want one), and when the girls learn the truth of how they were separated, it's clear that no one else in their lives was ready for this, either. But the connection they share might be even stronger than the things that kept them apart—and teaming up might be the only way to set everything right.

BIO

Brandy Colbert is the award-winning author of several books for children and teens, including Black Birds in the Sky: The Story and Legacy of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, which was the winner of the 2022 Boston Globe–Horn Book Award for Nonfiction and a finalist for the American Library Association's Excellence in Young Adult Nonfiction Award. Her other acclaimed books include Pointe, The Only Black Girls in Town, and Stonewall Book Award winner Little & Lion. Her writing has been published in the New York Times, and her short stories and essays have appeared in several critically acclaimed anthologies for young people. She is on faculty at Hamline University's MFA program in writing for children, and lives in Los Angeles.

REVIEWS

"A compassionate, emotionally intelligent story about family and belonging that will resonate widely." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"In this nimble, winning reimagining of The Parent Trap, Colbert examines the social and emotional effects of navigating the foster care system alongside nuanced depictions of substance reliance and children managing complex relationships with parents and caregivers." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"An excellent story of sisterhood that tween readers will enjoy and that is perfect for realistic fiction collections." -- Booklist

[H]  Clarion Books  /  September 09, 2025

1.1" H x 8.4" L x 5.7" W (0.75 lbs) 304 pages

For ages 8 to 12