What if you lived in a small town where nothing interesting ever happened, and then one day a building burst into flames and you saw a person covered in fire walking around like it was normal? Even better, what if your run-in with the burning being gave you special powers?

Olivia Abtahi

Twin Flames, the New Visions Award winner by Denver author Olivia Abtahi, starts with a burst of flame in the form of birthday candles and carries that image through the entire book. Twins Bianca and Leila are normal, everyday high school students, other than their mixed Argentinian and Iranian heritage, which does make them stand out a bit in their rural Virginia school. Christmas is creeping up, but first they have other cultural celebrations and their 18th birthdays to get through. The sisters are polar opposites with very different plans for their lives. They don’t always get along so well anymore, nor do they really understand each other these days.

When their neighbor’s barn burns down in the middle of their small birthday party, their lives go off the rails, and they must rely on each other to get them through the events that follow. The flames shooting out of the empty barn are an odd color, but they’re not the only thing out of the ordinary. There’s the feeling of being watched, a blue flame dancing on a forgotten piece of birthday cake, and the eyes above a grinning mouth that peer out of the fire where the barn used to stand.

Then there’s the possession by a djinn, a magical creature from Iranian folklore that it turns out is all too real. The question becomes: why are djinn here in the middle of America?

This question leads to dark revelations and a bit of family history the girls haven’t been made aware of. Now they must cope with the fact that their family is responsible for what appears to be a massive djinn exodus from another world and a threat to their entire town. Their experiences with the djinn end up giving the twins powers that they must learn to navigate even as they try to figure out how to save their town … and their own souls.

In the process, they each learn a few things about their parents, their friends, and especially themselves. Realizations are made that will change their lives forever.

Twin Flames is slightly long for a Young Adult novel at 352 pages, but it’s paced well so the story doesn’t drag. The action breaks in the first chapter and sends the reader on a mission of discovery right along with the characters. Leila and Bianca are well fleshed out, especially in their differences, but I sometimes lost track of which twin was which as the chapters bounced between their narratives; their voices aren’t as distinct as the characters themselves. The side characters are interesting and allow for both heavier and lighter scenes, as well as a better understanding of the main characters.

The most interesting relationships are between the girls and their parents, each twin resembling one parent over the other. Leila is more like her Iranian father, leaning toward tradition and skills in the home, though she is also the one who’s embarrassed about her mixed heritage and suppresses the traits that show it. Bianca aspires to higher education and a professional life like her Argentinian mother, but she’s also happy to embrace both cultures and languages. Leila seems to have the most character growth of the two sisters, but they are both strong in their own way from the beginning and both are changed by the story’s events.

Author Abtahi shares the same mixed heritage as her main characters, and she presents this with a warmth that shows in the family scenes. We get to share in holiday celebrations and the prep and enjoyment of foods from each of the parents’ birth places. Persian culture dominates, due to the djinn being the villains of the story, as well as other characters also being part of that culture, but I can imagine a sequel delving into Argentinian folklore as well.

The family scenes are some of the best parts of the story, along with a light-handed addressing of what it means to be an immigrant in America along with some Iranian history. The Spanish language in the book might have been more carefully edited; minor errors, mostly missing accents, remain on the page though it’s clear what the character was trying to say. I would have liked to see more of the different types of djinn that were mentioned, mostly in passing, but that might have bloated the story. Again, maybe in a sequel involving the sisters.

While aspects of Twin Flames read more like a Middle Grades book, the issues addressed are those experienced by new adults trying to figure out their futures, which place it squarely in the YA category. Romantic elements don’t overshadow the rest of the story, and an LGBTQIA2+ story line enriches the tale. The story doesn’t involve sexual elements and is appropriate for a wide range of ages, from middle school to adult. The fantasy elements involving magic are introduced naturally and blend into the story well.

Overall, Twin Flames is an enjoyable read with wonderful characters and a solid pace provided by a ticking clock element. The cultural aspects provide a lovely bonus.