The Voice in My Head — Teen Review

Dana L. Davis’s The Voice in My Head tells the story of Indigo Phillips, a girl who’s always been known as “Violet’s twin sister”. Violet is everything she’s not: popular, pretty, and sweet-tempered. But when Violet suddenly becomes terminally ill and plans to exercise her right to die, Indigo begins to despair and even has harmful thoughts. That’s when a strange voice begins to speak inside her head, claiming to be God. The voice informs her that if she takes Violet to a rock formation in the Arizona desert, Violet will live. Somehow, Violet agrees to go- but only if their big, crazy family comes too. Throughout the whole unforgettable trip, Indigo must learn to deal with her family, her sister’s condition, and the voice in her head.

Wholesome, funny, and tragic, this book contains such memorable quotes as “You forked his tires?!” and heartwarming moments right when the whole Phillips family needs them. Each of the nine members of the family have their own moment to shine. They’re also all very developed characters, each with their own unique personalities and backstories that we discover throughout the road trip. To top it all off, Indigo’s head voice provides just the right amount of sarcastic input.

I especially enjoyed the fact that the author portrayed Violet in a “strong, independent woman” light, despite the fact that she still has to be wheeled around in her wheelchair because of her condition. It is Violet’s own decision to prepare to exercise her right to die, thus showing the reader how Violet can be just as independent as her perfectly healthy family members. Violet is also somewhat rebellious, and thus shows similarities to Indigo’s personality traits. That added a nice touch to really tie the whole “identical twins” thing together.

Though each of the individual characters’ backstories added needed depth to the characters, I felt that a few of the transitions between some of the backstories were a bit too abrupt. For me, it was a bit too sudden that one of the backstories happened almost immediately after the other. The author could have let some other events happen before letting the backstories ensue, but otherwise, it was a lovely comfort read.

I’d rate this book at 4 stars.