Twin Sisters and Authors

Local teens, Malia and Jade Haakonsen, both seniors at Oaks Christian High School, recently had their first books published on Amazon. The Agoura-native twin sisters, inspired by their special interests that arose from their studies—including history, psychology, and anthropology courses taken over the past two years at Oaks Christian and in the dual-enrollment program with Moorpark College—found a creative way to share their passions through writing.

Jade’s book, Blending Together, addresses psychological and anthropologic aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic, touching on behavioral patterns that have emerged as a result. Malia’s book, Exploration of Modernist Society, takes readers on an innovative journey through the progressive decades of the 1920–1940 era.

Malia is fascinated by the 1920–1940s era and enjoys sharing a myriad of facts and her interpretations of key events and underlying social trends in this important segment of American history. Topics range from 1920s flapper dancers, the rise of jazz music, and the Golden Age of Hollywood to more fundamental social trends in immigration, women’s roles in society, consumer culture, and changes in treatment of minorities in the United States. In 85 pages, Malia shares interesting perspectives about an era that has had a far-reaching impact on our modern lives, with the ultimate goal of making her readers actively examine the world of the past while considering how it relates to the present. She urges readers to continue learning new things about past eras. She has plans to major in quantitative social science in college.

Jade has a strong interest and significant knowledge in anthropology, linguistics, humanities, and psychology. Blending Together focuses on how the coronavirus pandemic has had major impacts on society, beyond the medical issues. With insights regarding working from home, schools conducting online classes, lack of meaningful social interaction, and fear-related anxiety, she dives into the human emotions and behaviors many have experienced since March 2020. In one of the most intriguing chapters, Jade shares the idea that people’s perception of time has changed as they deal with repetition and routine in a more subdued lifestyle. She contends that people may feel lost in time with fewer events and activities to differentiate one day from the next. Her timely, thought-provoking concepts are something readers immediately appreciate—especially as they experience similar repercussions from the pandemic in real time in their own lives.

To order or find out more about the books, visit Amazon.com.