Doppelgangers are monsters, hardwired for murder. They are not supposed to have doubts, but this one does. He wishes he could be different. More human, maybe. But even that can't stop him from killing people so he can take their places and live their lives. He has to do it; it's who he is. But when the doppelganger murders a small-town teenager, assumes his shape, and takes over his life, he's shocked by the world he steps into. Engulfed in a whirlwind of peer pressure, messy family dynamics, and a provocative relationship with a beautiful girl, he quickly learns that there's more than one way to be human, and many ways to be a monster. Told in the tortured voice of a most extraordinary teen, this contemporary gothic romance brews a captivating combination of violence, desire, and atonement. Here is the story of a monster yearning for a human life. “Stahler has written a powerful novel....Teens stuggling to create their own paths...will identify strongly with the protagonist and his onerous choices.” - The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books “Who hasn’t wished he could wake up as the high school football hero, dating the prom queen? An interesting read that deals with growing pains, peer pressure and making decisions that might be unpopular.” - Kirkus Reviews “Combines romance, horror, and angst to create a distinctive story of redemption....An enjoyable read that should greatly appeal to fans of the supernatural.” - Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA) Doppelgangers are monsters, hardwired for murder. They are not supposed to have doubts, but this one does. He wishes he could be different. More human, maybe. But even that can't stop him from killing people so he can take their places and live their lives. He has to do it; it's who he is. But when the doppelganger murders a small-town teenager, assumes his shape, and takes over his life, he's shocked by the world he steps into. Engulfed in a whirlwind of peer pressure, messy family dynamics, and a provocative relationship with a beautiful girl, he quickly learns that there's more than one way to be human, and many ways to be a monster. Told in the tortured voice of a most extraordinary teen, this contemporary gothic romance brews a captivating combination of violence, desire, and atonement. Here is the story of a monster yearning for a human life. David Stahler Jr. received his bachelor's degree in English from Middlebury College in 1994 and later earned a graduate degree from the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies program at Dartmouth College. His other provocative works for young adults include Truesight , The Seer , and Otherspace . He teaches in Vermont, where he lives with his wife and two children. Doppelganger By David Stahler Jr. HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. Copyright © 2008 David Stahler Jr. All right reserved. ISBN: 9780060872342 Chapter One I met Amber two days after I throttled her boyfriend, Chris Parker. A week later we were in love. Or rather, I was in love with her. It took a while on her part. After all, she thought I was him. Let me explain -- I am a doppelganger. Not many people have heard of us before. We're a pretty secretive race. So secretive, in fact, that I don't even know that much about us myself. Most of what I know about my kind I learned from my mother, and she wasn't all that informative. I can't even tell people my name. I don't have one. Not one I was born with, anyway. My mother always said names are worthless to a doppelganger. So the whole time I was growing up, she was she, and I was me, and that's as far as it ever got. The problem is that doppelgangers are loners. We don't keep in touch. We don't call each other or send postcards. We would never e-mail. There's no annual doppelganger convention or home base or family reunion. When you're a doppelganger, you're on your own. Maybe there just isn't much to know about us. We're pretty simple, actually -- primitive, one might say -- which is how we've managed to survive for so long. But there are a few things to know. The most important is that we're shape-shifters. We can change the way we look, the sound of our voice; we can even change our sex, though we usually prefer not to. We're like chameleons, but taken to a higher level. And it's a good thing we are shape-shifters, because in our natural state we're ugly as sin. Really hideous, to the point where we can barely stand to look at ourselves, let alone others of our kind. A doppelganger mother will even turn from her own child in disgust. I'm sure it's hard to imagine such a thing -- after all, a human mother will love even her ugliest child -- but with us it's true. It must be an evolutionary thing or something. If so, it works pretty well -- a doppelganger can rarely be found in its natural form. I can count on one hand the number of times I saw my mother in her own skin. Who knows, maybe I've just blocked the other times out of my head. Between the mottled, almost transparent flesh