Twin Character Analysis

Twin is Xiomara’s twin brother. His real name is Xavier after a saint, but Xiomara only ever calls him Twin and sees the nickname as proof that they’ll always be a pair. Twin is the exact opposite of Xiomara. He’s short, scrawny, doesn’t care about fashion, and wears glasses. Twin is, according to Xiomara, a genius, so he skipped a grade and regularly earns scholarships to space camp. He currently attends a “genius school” and spends his time watching anime and doing online science tutorials. He’s also extremely devoted to Catholicism and was confirmed last year, and Xiomara notes that he’s better at leading Bible study than Father Sean is. Though Xiomara loves Twin, he often hurts her feelings. She doesn’t believe that he has “twin intuition,” so he never knows when she’s hurting or has had a bad day, and he’s never stood up for her—Xiomara was always the one who stood up for Twin against bullies. Being male, he’s also Mami’s favorite and is able to get away with slacking or breaking the rules in a way that Xiomara can’t. However, Twin is secretly gay, something that Xiomara has long suspected but confirms when she goes to Twin’s school and sees him with Cody, who’s obviously in love with Twin. Mami and Papi are not accepting of homosexuality, so both Xiomara and Twin understand that they must keep this a secret, and Twin is still not out by the end of the novel. Xiomara is shocked when she learns that, like her, Twin is counting down the days until they can escape the house for college. Twin tries to stand up for Xiomara for the first time when Mami burns Xiomara’s poetry notebook and Twin tries to snatch it away. He also holds Mami back so that Xiomara can escape. In the weeks after, he occasionally attends the family counseling sessions. Throughout the novel, Twin is supportive of Xiomara’s writing and he gave her the poetry notebook for their birthday years ago. He believes that her thoughts are valid, and hearing the poetry of Xiomara and others makes Twin feel seen.