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Kendra Chronicles #3
Mirrored
Mirror, mirror in my hand…
Beauty is the key to everything. At least, that’s how it seems to Violet—ugly, bullied, and lonely. To be beautiful, in her eyes, is to have power and love. And when Kendra, the witch, teaches Violet how to use magic, she may finally get what she wants.
For Celine, beautiful since birth, her looks have been a hindrance. She discovers that beauty is also a threat—especially to her stepmother, Violet, who doesn’t want anyone sharing the attention she worked so hard to get and who will do anything to be the fairest of them all.
But beauty isn’t only skin deep and love isn’t based on looks alone. And though Violet and Celine may seem to be completely opposite, their lives are almost… mirrored.
Beauty is the key to everything. At least, that’s how it seems to Violet—ugly, bullied, and lonely. To be beautiful, in her eyes, is to have power and love. And when Kendra, the witch, teaches Violet how to use magic, she may finally get what she wants.
For Celine, beautiful since birth, her looks have been a hindrance. She discovers that beauty is also a threat—especially to her stepmother, Violet, who doesn’t want anyone sharing the attention she worked so hard to get and who will do anything to be the fairest of them all.
But beauty isn’t only skin deep and love isn’t based on looks alone. And though Violet and Celine may seem to be completely opposite, their lives are almost… mirrored.
384 pages, Hardcover
First published September 15, 2015
75 people are currently reading
8384 people want to read
About the author
Alex Flinn
29 books5,647 followersLove Jacaranda is out in the world! Hope you'll check out this fun wish-fulfillment romance!
Now, bio:
I grew up on a street called Salem Court. This probably influenced my interest in witches. When I was five, my mom said I should be an author. And when I was eight, I got my first rejection letter from Highlights Magazine.
I learned to read early. But I compensated for this early proficiency by absolutely refusing to read the programmed readers required by the school system -- workbooks where you read the story, then answered the questions. When the other kids were on Book 20, I was on Book 1! My teacher, Mrs. Zeiser, told my mother, "Alexandra marches to her own drummer." I don't think that was supposed to be a compliment.
My family moved to Miami when I was in middle school. I had a really hard time making friends, so I spent a lot of time reading and writing then. By high school, I'd made some friends and gotten involved in various "gifted and talented" performing arts programs. I studied opera in college (I'm a coloratura -- the really loud, high-pitched sopranos.) and then went to law school.
It was law school that probably helped with my first novel. Breathing Underwater deals with the serious and all-too-common problem of dating violence. I based the book on my experiences interning with the State Attorney's Office and volunteering with battered women. I thought this was a really important topic, as 27 percent of teenage girls surveyed have been hit by a boyfriend. I'm happy that the book is so popular, and if you are reading this bio because the book was assigned for school, I'm happy about that too.
I think I write for young-adults because I never quite got over being one. In my mind, I am still 13-years-old, running laps on the athletic field, wearing this really baggy white gymsuit. I’m continually amazed at the idea that I have a checking account and a mortgage. So I try to write books that gymsuit girl might enjoy. It’s a way of going back to being thirteen . . . knowing what I know now.
Right now, I live half a mile away from my old middle school, in Palmetto Bay, a suburb of Miami, with my husband, daughters, dogs, and cats.
Now, bio:
I grew up on a street called Salem Court. This probably influenced my interest in witches. When I was five, my mom said I should be an author. And when I was eight, I got my first rejection letter from Highlights Magazine.
I learned to read early. But I compensated for this early proficiency by absolutely refusing to read the programmed readers required by the school system -- workbooks where you read the story, then answered the questions. When the other kids were on Book 20, I was on Book 1! My teacher, Mrs. Zeiser, told my mother, "Alexandra marches to her own drummer." I don't think that was supposed to be a compliment.
My family moved to Miami when I was in middle school. I had a really hard time making friends, so I spent a lot of time reading and writing then. By high school, I'd made some friends and gotten involved in various "gifted and talented" performing arts programs. I studied opera in college (I'm a coloratura -- the really loud, high-pitched sopranos.) and then went to law school.
It was law school that probably helped with my first novel. Breathing Underwater deals with the serious and all-too-common problem of dating violence. I based the book on my experiences interning with the State Attorney's Office and volunteering with battered women. I thought this was a really important topic, as 27 percent of teenage girls surveyed have been hit by a boyfriend. I'm happy that the book is so popular, and if you are reading this bio because the book was assigned for school, I'm happy about that too.
I think I write for young-adults because I never quite got over being one. In my mind, I am still 13-years-old, running laps on the athletic field, wearing this really baggy white gymsuit. I’m continually amazed at the idea that I have a checking account and a mortgage. So I try to write books that gymsuit girl might enjoy. It’s a way of going back to being thirteen . . . knowing what I know now.
Right now, I live half a mile away from my old middle school, in Palmetto Bay, a suburb of Miami, with my husband, daughters, dogs, and cats.
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dnf
August 10, 2015DNF - 20%
I don't think I can do this. I haven't read any of Flinn's other books, but I do love a good retelling so I thought I'd check this one out. I can already tell the obsession with looks would really annoy me if I continued, as well as Violet's obsession with Greg-the-asshole, and the fact that her arch nemesis is an evil but beautiful high school mean girl.
"I realized what I had known, probably all along, what ugly girls since the beginning of time had been trying to deny: Beauty was all that mattered. I might tell myself that if people really knew me, they’d look past my weak chin and non-eyelashes, would see into my soul and like me despite it all. But, watching Greg giggle with Jennifer and Gennifer, I knew that was not the case. Greg Columbo had looked into my soul—but he still couldn’t see past my nose."
"My mother, of course, was beautiful. Not beautiful the way every kid thinks her mother is beautiful, but actually beautiful. I’d barely known my father. He died when I was little, leaving Mom with enough money that she never had to work, never had to remarry “another old, rich guy,” as she said. Mom had no photos of him she’d admit to, but he must’ve been really ugly because, for sure, I didn’t get my looks from her side. She was tall, with the build of a dancer, blond hair the color of starlight, and eyes the exact shade of the Mediterranean Sea in photos of Greece. Her brows arched high, making her appear wide-eyed and innocent. Her lips were dark and pouty, the type I imagined boys wanted to kiss."
I don't think I can do this. I haven't read any of Flinn's other books, but I do love a good retelling so I thought I'd check this one out. I can already tell the obsession with looks would really annoy me if I continued, as well as Violet's obsession with Greg-the-asshole, and the fact that her arch nemesis is an evil but beautiful high school mean girl.
"I realized what I had known, probably all along, what ugly girls since the beginning of time had been trying to deny: Beauty was all that mattered. I might tell myself that if people really knew me, they’d look past my weak chin and non-eyelashes, would see into my soul and like me despite it all. But, watching Greg giggle with Jennifer and Gennifer, I knew that was not the case. Greg Columbo had looked into my soul—but he still couldn’t see past my nose."
"My mother, of course, was beautiful. Not beautiful the way every kid thinks her mother is beautiful, but actually beautiful. I’d barely known my father. He died when I was little, leaving Mom with enough money that she never had to work, never had to remarry “another old, rich guy,” as she said. Mom had no photos of him she’d admit to, but he must’ve been really ugly because, for sure, I didn’t get my looks from her side. She was tall, with the build of a dancer, blond hair the color of starlight, and eyes the exact shade of the Mediterranean Sea in photos of Greece. Her brows arched high, making her appear wide-eyed and innocent. Her lips were dark and pouty, the type I imagined boys wanted to kiss."
September 24, 2015
DNF @51%
This is the first paragraph of Amazon's blurb for Mirrored:
Modern and mysterious retelling of Snow White
Catchy title
Fantastic cover
Sucker that I am, I jumped on the wagon real fast and got it, but alas, Mirrored failed to deliver on all facets. In a word, it's terrible.
Mirrored is a two part novel narrated by two main characters, Violet and Celine. Part 1 is told by teen aged Violet, who later becomes the evil step mom (this is part of the blurb so this isn't a spoiler), and part 2 is told by Celine, our Snow White. We all know the rest of the story.
Part 1 - Violet
She is also strange in more ways than her looks. Shortly after her tenth birthday, she discovers that she can do magic, she revives an apparently dead crow and meets the love of her life, Gregory Columbo. Yes, on the same day and, yes, she they're both ten years old. Being strange and all, Violet is the target of bullying. Her classmates call her ugly and a freak, adults openly dislike her. Her homelife is no better, her self-absorbed mother barely tolerates her existence or blatantly expresses her disappointement in Violet.
Violet had two comforts from all the hate, her friendship with Greg and her love for animals.
At thirteen, she meets Kendra, an immortal witch who takes her under wing for magical training and she discovers that she can alter her appearance. At the same time, Violet's romantic feelings towards Greg intensifies, but Greg got too hot to hang out with Violet. Yes, Greg is a douchenozzle, but Violet refuses to see this and vows to become the hottest girl in school to get Greg. By the time Violet is seventeen, she's altered most of her appearance and is fairly powerful. She's the hottest girl in school, but will that be enough to get Greg?
I'll end it right there because, really, that's the whole of Violet Appel's teenage life and shallow ambitions. I understand that Alex Flinn is setting the stage for Violet to be a villain of fairy tale proportions, but she fails spectacularly at this.
Instead of a budding evil witch, we get a whiney, petty and vindictive fool who only wants to get the boy, and it doesn't get better as she gets older.
Stories told through the POV of villains in-the-making are fascinating, Marie Lu did it with Adelina in The Young Elites, Eliza Crewe with Meda in Crushed (which I read prior to Mirrored) and Vladimir Nabokov with Humbert Humbert in Lolita, just to name a few. Their denial of their darker nature and the struggle to cope with, or at least pretend to, morality and social conventions, more or less make the novel. When I find myself agreeing to, or at the very least trying to rationalize, their diabolical thoughts and questionable means, then I know that the author has effectively developed his/her characters.
With Violet though, I just wanted to kick her teeth in with her every thought and their unrelated tangents, which happens a lot in the book.
There is no struggle to fight the darkness and maintain her humanity, her head is a constant loop of I love Greg, Why doesn't Greg love me yet?, I hate Jennifer, Look at me Mom, everyone hates me because I'm better than they are, am I the hottest girl in school? .
Absolutely, zero depth of character.
Violet has enormous reserves of power, and she wastes it on tormenting her rivals with paltry revenge schemes, all for the boy. All for the boy who is as interesting as a piece of cardboard. Seriously, girl you need goals, you are a shame to all evil queens out there.
Part 2 - Celine
Celine is perfect. With her raven-black hair, snow white skin and cherry red lips, she is the most beautiful girl in town, but don't call her that because she hates being called BEAUTIFUL.Must resist eyeroll.
On top of that, she is kind, brave and can make people teary with her rendition of Where is Love?. She is despicably perfect, but Celine's home life is hell. At home, she gets attacked by cats, birds and random beauty apparatus. Seriously. She suspects that her stepmother behind all the seemingly random attacks.
That's as far as I got to Celine's part because Alex Flinn spent an inordinate number of pages detailing Celine's Oliver! audition and practice. I do not like Celine any more than Violet. That's because their narration is nigh indistinguishable from each other, just replace the whining about being "ugly" to getting all the attention because of being too beautiful and the condescension of being the misunderstood genius to annoying forced humility of wanting to be treated like a regular looking person.
There you go, Mirrored aka the most tragic retelling of Snow White, butchered by shoddy writing, and the copious girl-on-girl hate, for both parts of this novel is just off putting.
Perhaps it got better after I stopped, but I've ran out fucks to give, so as much I detest giving out one star ratings, Mirrored deserves no more than that.
This is the first paragraph of Amazon's blurb for Mirrored:
"In #1 New York Times bestselling author Alex Flinn's modern and mysterious retelling of Snow White, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and true love doesn't necessarily mean Prince Charming."
Modern and mysterious retelling of Snow White
Catchy title
Fantastic cover
Sucker that I am, I jumped on the wagon real fast and got it, but alas, Mirrored failed to deliver on all facets. In a word, it's terrible.
Mirrored is a two part novel narrated by two main characters, Violet and Celine. Part 1 is told by teen aged Violet, who later becomes the evil step mom (this is part of the blurb so this isn't a spoiler), and part 2 is told by Celine, our Snow White. We all know the rest of the story.
Part 1 - Violet
" I was a strange child. Strange looking, for certain, with buck teeth, red hair (and matching invisible lashes), a hooked nose, and barely the hint of a chin."
She is also strange in more ways than her looks. Shortly after her tenth birthday, she discovers that she can do magic, she revives an apparently dead crow and meets the love of her life, Gregory Columbo. Yes, on the same day and, yes, she they're both ten years old. Being strange and all, Violet is the target of bullying. Her classmates call her ugly and a freak, adults openly dislike her. Her homelife is no better, her self-absorbed mother barely tolerates her existence or blatantly expresses her disappointement in Violet.
Violet had two comforts from all the hate, her friendship with Greg and her love for animals.
At thirteen, she meets Kendra, an immortal witch who takes her under wing for magical training and she discovers that she can alter her appearance. At the same time, Violet's romantic feelings towards Greg intensifies, but Greg got too hot to hang out with Violet. Yes, Greg is a douchenozzle, but Violet refuses to see this and vows to become the hottest girl in school to get Greg. By the time Violet is seventeen, she's altered most of her appearance and is fairly powerful. She's the hottest girl in school, but will that be enough to get Greg?
I'll end it right there because, really, that's the whole of Violet Appel's teenage life and shallow ambitions. I understand that Alex Flinn is setting the stage for Violet to be a villain of fairy tale proportions, but she fails spectacularly at this.
"It's so unfair. I have magic powers. I should be able to have anything. But this is the only thing I want."
Instead of a budding evil witch, we get a whiney, petty and vindictive fool who only wants to get the boy, and it doesn't get better as she gets older.
Stories told through the POV of villains in-the-making are fascinating, Marie Lu did it with Adelina in The Young Elites, Eliza Crewe with Meda in Crushed (which I read prior to Mirrored) and Vladimir Nabokov with Humbert Humbert in Lolita, just to name a few. Their denial of their darker nature and the struggle to cope with, or at least pretend to, morality and social conventions, more or less make the novel. When I find myself agreeing to, or at the very least trying to rationalize, their diabolical thoughts and questionable means, then I know that the author has effectively developed his/her characters.
With Violet though, I just wanted to kick her teeth in with her every thought and their unrelated tangents, which happens a lot in the book.
"I liked spiders. I never killed them. Unlike most people. I knew they weren't harmful, not usually. In fact, they killed mosquitoes and flies, bugs that spread disease"
There is no struggle to fight the darkness and maintain her humanity, her head is a constant loop of I love Greg, Why doesn't Greg love me yet?, I hate Jennifer, Look at me Mom, everyone hates me because I'm better than they are, am I the hottest girl in school? .
Absolutely, zero depth of character.
Violet has enormous reserves of power, and she wastes it on tormenting her rivals with paltry revenge schemes, all for the boy. All for the boy who is as interesting as a piece of cardboard. Seriously, girl you need goals, you are a shame to all evil queens out there.
Part 2 - Celine
Celine is perfect. With her raven-black hair, snow white skin and cherry red lips, she is the most beautiful girl in town, but don't call her that because she hates being called BEAUTIFUL.Must resist eyeroll.
On top of that, she is kind, brave and can make people teary with her rendition of Where is Love?. She is despicably perfect, but Celine's home life is hell. At home, she gets attacked by cats, birds and random beauty apparatus. Seriously. She suspects that her stepmother behind all the seemingly random attacks.
That's as far as I got to Celine's part because Alex Flinn spent an inordinate number of pages detailing Celine's Oliver! audition and practice. I do not like Celine any more than Violet. That's because their narration is nigh indistinguishable from each other, just replace the whining about being "ugly" to getting all the attention because of being too beautiful and the condescension of being the misunderstood genius to annoying forced humility of wanting to be treated like a regular looking person.
There you go, Mirrored aka the most tragic retelling of Snow White, butchered by shoddy writing, and the copious girl-on-girl hate, for both parts of this novel is just off putting.
Perhaps it got better after I stopped, but I've ran out fucks to give, so as much I detest giving out one star ratings, Mirrored deserves no more than that.
September 15, 2015
(Source: I received a digital copy of this book for free on a read-to-review basis. Thanks to HarperCollins and Edelweiss.)
“Mirror, mirror, in my hand, who is the fairest in the land?”
This was an okay Snow White retelling, but I did have some issues with it.
The first part of this story is told from the point of view of Violet, who is bullied because she is ugly, to the point where she is attacked, her best friend deserts her, and her life is generally unbearable. I have to say that I felt really sorry for Violet, and I appreciated the way she went out of her way to help injured animals, even if she didn’t really understand what she was doing.
The second part of the story is then told from the point of view of Celine, who is more beautiful than her step-mother Violet (yes, the same Violet from part 1). Things then get pretty bad for Celine, because Violet has turned a bit violent, and hates that her step-daughter is more beautiful than she.
The problem I had with this though, is that while Violet is quite obviously a little deranged, and has become the stereotypical wicked step-mother, I still felt sorry for her! The whole reason she was that way was because of her mother’s belief that beauty was important, and the fact that she was bullied so much as a child! It wasn’t exactly her fault that she turned out the way she did! A lot of people had a hand in making her the way she was, and she was originally the victim.
“Another mom would have said something about looks not being important or that I’d get pretty one day when I was older. That she said neither proved that she didn’t believe those things.”
Anyway, the second problem I had with this book was the slow pace, and probably a little bit of wrong-author for me, as I found this author’s other books to be similarly dull and slow. I also didn’t really buy the romance, and found the ending to be a little obvious, and yes, I know it’s supposed to be a retelling, but the author tried to throw in a twist that didn’t fool me for an instant.
6 out of 10
“Mirror, mirror, in my hand, who is the fairest in the land?”
This was an okay Snow White retelling, but I did have some issues with it.
The first part of this story is told from the point of view of Violet, who is bullied because she is ugly, to the point where she is attacked, her best friend deserts her, and her life is generally unbearable. I have to say that I felt really sorry for Violet, and I appreciated the way she went out of her way to help injured animals, even if she didn’t really understand what she was doing.
The second part of the story is then told from the point of view of Celine, who is more beautiful than her step-mother Violet (yes, the same Violet from part 1). Things then get pretty bad for Celine, because Violet has turned a bit violent, and hates that her step-daughter is more beautiful than she.
The problem I had with this though, is that while Violet is quite obviously a little deranged, and has become the stereotypical wicked step-mother, I still felt sorry for her! The whole reason she was that way was because of her mother’s belief that beauty was important, and the fact that she was bullied so much as a child! It wasn’t exactly her fault that she turned out the way she did! A lot of people had a hand in making her the way she was, and she was originally the victim.
“Another mom would have said something about looks not being important or that I’d get pretty one day when I was older. That she said neither proved that she didn’t believe those things.”
Anyway, the second problem I had with this book was the slow pace, and probably a little bit of wrong-author for me, as I found this author’s other books to be similarly dull and slow. I also didn’t really buy the romance, and found the ending to be a little obvious, and yes, I know it’s supposed to be a retelling, but the author tried to throw in a twist that didn’t fool me for an instant.
6 out of 10
Read
September 23, 2015I have to say up front that I would not have finished this book if I hadn't felt obliged to because the publisher sent me a beautiful hardcover copy.
And in a way I am glad I pushed on, and in a way I'm not.
I think the audience it was aimed for--middle grade and maybe early high school--will buy into the entire story. The way that makes me sorry--in fact, to put it stronger, the point at which I nearly tossed the book--was an astounding moral trespass And it's pretty much glossed over.
I suspect that Flinn was counting on a fairy tale feel to slide the reader quickly past that bit, and it will probably work for younger readers used to slick TV moral relativism. Another thing that will work for younger readers with no experience of life is how Violet, whose ugliness and loneliness in the early chapters is compellingly drawn, stays focused on her ex-friend Greg until she's an adult. Greg has no personality whatsoever. He's a lust object. Even more unbelievable is how he and Mean Girl Jennifer stay a couple all the way from middle school until marriage. Greg and Jennifer never develop personalities (Jennifer has to stay a one note mean girl forever and Greg an utter cipher), and Violet even as an adult juuuuuust waaaaaaaaants Greggggg. *cue thirteen year old whining.*
That's part one. So the next part concerns Celine, who now has Violet as a step-mother. Violet has now become as boring and one note as Jennifer was in the previous part, but when she's not around, Celine and especially her short friend Goose make the book come alive. And here is where I'm glad I kept reading. This part of the book is terrific.
If Celine and Goose could have had their own book, completely shorn of Violet, Greg, and Jennifer, this would have made an outstanding read for any age--and the point about how Beauty Isn't Everything would have still been made. In spades. We really don't need the constant hammer of Violet's obsession with her own beauty (and Greg) torquing the story into predictable and dull directions.
But alas for this reader there is in the last third of the book all the melodrama with Violet, which caused me to skim great swathes of predictable hammer pounding. I expect a thirteen year old with no experience of life but TV is going to be entranced, but I set the book aside thinking: Violet got powers, could do anything she wanted, go anywhere she wanted, but all she desired (besides her own beauty) was dull, empty-shell Greg. And so she became an empty shell herself.
But Celine, and especially Goose, were cool beans.
And in a way I am glad I pushed on, and in a way I'm not.
I think the audience it was aimed for--middle grade and maybe early high school--will buy into the entire story. The way that makes me sorry--in fact, to put it stronger, the point at which I nearly tossed the book--was an astounding moral trespass And it's pretty much glossed over.
I suspect that Flinn was counting on a fairy tale feel to slide the reader quickly past that bit, and it will probably work for younger readers used to slick TV moral relativism. Another thing that will work for younger readers with no experience of life is how Violet, whose ugliness and loneliness in the early chapters is compellingly drawn, stays focused on her ex-friend Greg until she's an adult. Greg has no personality whatsoever. He's a lust object. Even more unbelievable is how he and Mean Girl Jennifer stay a couple all the way from middle school until marriage. Greg and Jennifer never develop personalities (Jennifer has to stay a one note mean girl forever and Greg an utter cipher), and Violet even as an adult juuuuuust waaaaaaaaants Greggggg. *cue thirteen year old whining.*
That's part one. So the next part concerns Celine, who now has Violet as a step-mother. Violet has now become as boring and one note as Jennifer was in the previous part, but when she's not around, Celine and especially her short friend Goose make the book come alive. And here is where I'm glad I kept reading. This part of the book is terrific.
If Celine and Goose could have had their own book, completely shorn of Violet, Greg, and Jennifer, this would have made an outstanding read for any age--and the point about how Beauty Isn't Everything would have still been made. In spades. We really don't need the constant hammer of Violet's obsession with her own beauty (and Greg) torquing the story into predictable and dull directions.
But alas for this reader there is in the last third of the book all the melodrama with Violet, which caused me to skim great swathes of predictable hammer pounding. I expect a thirteen year old with no experience of life but TV is going to be entranced, but I set the book aside thinking: Violet got powers, could do anything she wanted, go anywhere she wanted, but all she desired (besides her own beauty) was dull, empty-shell Greg. And so she became an empty shell herself.
But Celine, and especially Goose, were cool beans.
October 10, 2015
Thank you Andye from readingteen.net for letting me review this book!!
Mirror mirror on the wall, who's the most boring book of all?
Okay, that might be a little harsh, but honestly, not much happened.....at all. The backstory about Violet, who ends up being the "evil queen" TOOK FOREVER. So, I read 67 pages and ended up skimming the rest of the story.
Violet was, from the reactions of all the other characters and the repetitive description on every page, dreadfully ugly. I'm very much okay with characters looking however they look (though sometimes, when boys have long ponytails I tend to take liberties and cut it short). But looks were what the entire book was centered on and it got so repetitive and cliche. Violet was ugly. Violet loved Greg. Greg became beautiful over the summer. Greg loved beautiful Jennifer. Violet was still ugly. Violet wanted to be beautiful. Rinse and repeat on every page.
Violet ends up having powers that allow her to make herself beautiful. The we jump ahead a number of years and Celine (the new main character), the daughter of Greg and Jennifer, meets Violet who becomes her stepmother and of course Celine grows up to be obscenely gorgeous and Violet gets jealous. So quite honestly, the plot was centered on appearances. Not the most interesting concept. At least the movie Snow White had seven little men. This book only had one.
The dialogue always seemed awkward and stunted. The characters lacked depth beyond their appearances. The only semi-redeeming part of this novel was Goose, but even then, not enough to make me like it.
Mirror mirror on the wall, who's the most boring book of all?
Okay, that might be a little harsh, but honestly, not much happened.....at all. The backstory about Violet, who ends up being the "evil queen" TOOK FOREVER. So, I read 67 pages and ended up skimming the rest of the story.
Violet was, from the reactions of all the other characters and the repetitive description on every page, dreadfully ugly. I'm very much okay with characters looking however they look (though sometimes, when boys have long ponytails I tend to take liberties and cut it short). But looks were what the entire book was centered on and it got so repetitive and cliche. Violet was ugly. Violet loved Greg. Greg became beautiful over the summer. Greg loved beautiful Jennifer. Violet was still ugly. Violet wanted to be beautiful. Rinse and repeat on every page.
Violet ends up having powers that allow her to make herself beautiful. The we jump ahead a number of years and Celine (the new main character), the daughter of Greg and Jennifer, meets Violet who becomes her stepmother and of course Celine grows up to be obscenely gorgeous and Violet gets jealous. So quite honestly, the plot was centered on appearances. Not the most interesting concept. At least the movie Snow White had seven little men. This book only had one.
The dialogue always seemed awkward and stunted. The characters lacked depth beyond their appearances. The only semi-redeeming part of this novel was Goose, but even then, not enough to make me like it.
January 3, 2018
Here are some of my thoughts in no particular order:
• It was difficult to read Part I with Violet’s perspective. So vain, so superficial. However, when I realized that I wasn’t supposed to love her afterall , it made the book bearable.
• Part II: I like Celine. She is Snow White, in this case. I have never been a big fan of Snow White, but she is more likable fortunately. However, there’s not too much depth. While she is nice and I pity the events this character goes through, her character doesn’t wow me.
• Even though Emma from the previous book is obsessive and foolish like Violet, I can at least understand her need to have her boyfriend back because her evil step-sister, Cinderella, has told lies to him and misled him. I hated her pining and it was super annoying, but at least I understand it better than Violet’s case, where Greg was just a douche. Also, Emma’s character development has truly made the book. I crave her story more than Violet’s or Celine’s because I truly feel for her, and when she has grown up and realized her worth, I was proud to see it. Violet is too evil and vain, and Celine lacks depth. Thus, this book is disappointing, compared to the previous book.
• I love Kendra. She is so badass.
• Goose is a sweetie. I love that we get to see his perspective in Part III. Good guy. And I like that he’s a different love interest than most books. I appreciate the short height representation for a guy. It’s unbelievable how rare to see this in a male love interest for any book.
• Goose’s family is so supportive, love it.
• I would have liked to see more to the ending. It is a good ending, but what happened to Laurel and school?
• I love the Pretty in Pink references and comparisons. I personally hate the movie, and I have similar opinions as the characters in this book do.
Overall, I’m giving this 2 stars. Some good components, but not a particularly enjoyable book.
Things that you might want to know (WARNING: Spoilers below)
Happy/satisfying ending?
Love triangle? Cheating? Angst level? Other things to note?
Tears-worthy?
Humor?
What age level would be appropriate?
-------
I love a good book with magic 💫 💫 💫
• It was difficult to read Part I with Violet’s perspective. So vain, so superficial. However, when I realized that I wasn’t supposed to love her afterall , it made the book bearable.
• Part II: I like Celine. She is Snow White, in this case. I have never been a big fan of Snow White, but she is more likable fortunately. However, there’s not too much depth. While she is nice and I pity the events this character goes through, her character doesn’t wow me.
• Even though Emma from the previous book is obsessive and foolish like Violet, I can at least understand her need to have her boyfriend back because her evil step-sister, Cinderella, has told lies to him and misled him. I hated her pining and it was super annoying, but at least I understand it better than Violet’s case, where Greg was just a douche. Also, Emma’s character development has truly made the book. I crave her story more than Violet’s or Celine’s because I truly feel for her, and when she has grown up and realized her worth, I was proud to see it. Violet is too evil and vain, and Celine lacks depth. Thus, this book is disappointing, compared to the previous book.
• I love Kendra. She is so badass.
• Goose is a sweetie. I love that we get to see his perspective in Part III. Good guy. And I like that he’s a different love interest than most books. I appreciate the short height representation for a guy. It’s unbelievable how rare to see this in a male love interest for any book.
• Goose’s family is so supportive, love it.
• I would have liked to see more to the ending. It is a good ending, but what happened to Laurel and school?
• I love the Pretty in Pink references and comparisons. I personally hate the movie, and I have similar opinions as the characters in this book do.
Overall, I’m giving this 2 stars. Some good components, but not a particularly enjoyable book.
Things that you might want to know (WARNING: Spoilers below)
Happy/satisfying ending?
Love triangle? Cheating? Angst level? Other things to note?
Tears-worthy?
Humor?
What age level would be appropriate?
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I love a good book with magic 💫 💫 💫
December 19, 2015
I fell for it. Again. I just need to stay away from Flinn's fairytales. They sound great and I'm always attracted to retellings like a moth to a flame, but they simply don't work for me. There is something about her choices for the story that clashes with what I expect and want.
It started good and I had hope that I might like this one. I felt sorry for Violet, who gets bullied and teased for her looks. People shut her out and use her desperation for friends for their own good. I know what it feels like to be treated like shit, so I could understand her need for beauty, because she believed that would fix anything. Turns out, it doesn't. When she meets Kendra, all her dreams seem to come true and with her magic she turns into a beauty. Her biggest bully, Jennifer, seems to hate her no matter what. Violet turns into someone who has no love in her heart.
I also must add that Greg is a complete asshole and Violet's obsession with him made me pity her. This guy dropped her to hang out with the cool guys. That is not okay.
POV switches to Jennifer and Greg's daughter, Celine. Jennifer dies in a freaky accident and Violet finally gets her chance with Greg. She hates Celine, who is the image of her mother, and she punishes the girl. Celine bored me to death. She is gorgeous, but that's the only interesting thing about her. I like what the author tried to do (don't judge people by their looks), but this girl.. only complaining about the fact that she is beautiful.
There is a ridiculous twist towards the ending, which involves getting a Superstar to kiss Celine out of her magical coma. Violet suddenly sees the light - sure, and decides to change her life. I didn't buy it.
Shame, but this is my last book by the author. I need to get my fairytale kick somewhere else.
It started good and I had hope that I might like this one. I felt sorry for Violet, who gets bullied and teased for her looks. People shut her out and use her desperation for friends for their own good. I know what it feels like to be treated like shit, so I could understand her need for beauty, because she believed that would fix anything. Turns out, it doesn't. When she meets Kendra, all her dreams seem to come true and with her magic she turns into a beauty. Her biggest bully, Jennifer, seems to hate her no matter what. Violet turns into someone who has no love in her heart.
I also must add that Greg is a complete asshole and Violet's obsession with him made me pity her. This guy dropped her to hang out with the cool guys. That is not okay.
POV switches to Jennifer and Greg's daughter, Celine. Jennifer dies in a freaky accident and Violet finally gets her chance with Greg. She hates Celine, who is the image of her mother, and she punishes the girl. Celine bored me to death. She is gorgeous, but that's the only interesting thing about her. I like what the author tried to do (don't judge people by their looks), but this girl.. only complaining about the fact that she is beautiful.
There is a ridiculous twist towards the ending, which involves getting a Superstar to kiss Celine out of her magical coma. Violet suddenly sees the light - sure, and decides to change her life. I didn't buy it.
Shame, but this is my last book by the author. I need to get my fairytale kick somewhere else.
January 28, 2015
I am so excited for this book!
SPECULATIONS:
*Clearly a Snow White retelling
*Kendra Chronicles?
*About the Magic Mirror?
*Evil queens tale?
More to come!
EDIT:
September 15th!!! This is so exciting! Please tell me I'm not the only one looking forward to this! Alex Flinn, write faster!
SPECULATIONS:
*Clearly a Snow White retelling
*Kendra Chronicles?
*About the Magic Mirror?
*Evil queens tale?
More to come!
EDIT:
September 15th!!! This is so exciting! Please tell me I'm not the only one looking forward to this! Alex Flinn, write faster!
May 30, 2015
Okay first I have to say that I absolutely love retelling of fairy tales. Snow White is one of them and I have to say that from page one I was hooked and could not stop reading. I was at the water park with the kids and they were splashing and having fun as I laid on my towel and read away. A few hours later my back was so hot I could not figure out why until my daughter said mom we have to go home you have sun poisoning on your back. I said oh crap I never reapplied my medicine so you know that this book is one fantastic read because I got sun poisoning from reading the book.
Can you imagine the original Snow White story in your head. Poor Snow White losing her mother only to get an evil step mother that will do anything to remove her from the picture. Well this one has so many twists and turns and so many EVIL things going on that you will not be able to put this book down. I mean I read the whole book at the park because I could not put it down. I loved Celine's character and Violet that evil witch will soon find out who to mess with and who not to mess with.
Can you imagine the original Snow White story in your head. Poor Snow White losing her mother only to get an evil step mother that will do anything to remove her from the picture. Well this one has so many twists and turns and so many EVIL things going on that you will not be able to put this book down. I mean I read the whole book at the park because I could not put it down. I loved Celine's character and Violet that evil witch will soon find out who to mess with and who not to mess with.
January 31, 2016
A good twist of the Snow White fairy tale. My only problem: why oh why must the 'bad boys' never get the girl?!!!
Want to read
April 25, 2014MIRROR MIRROR ON THE WALL-- WHEN WILL THE PUBLISH DATE APPEAR TO ALL???
Cant wait to read another masterpiece by flinn!!!
Cant wait to read another masterpiece by flinn!!!
August 19, 2015
This book was such an unexpected and wonderful surprise. I have loved some of Alex Flinn's previous fairytale retellings, but this one stands out for so many reasons. There is so much going on here than just a mere retelling. Flinn took the fairytale of Snow White, retold it in modern times, but took it to an entirely new level.
From the very beginning, I knew it was going to be different because the story is told in three parts, and from three different perspectives. The first part is told by Violet, who is the evil stepmother in this story. The second part is told by Celine, who would be the Snow White equivalent and the third is told by Goose, the "little person" who befriended her and helped take care of her. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
Getting to see Violet's point of view gave the reader something that other Snow White retellings never gave us. We were able to see inside the mind of the person who became the evil stepmother. Ugly, labeled a freak, ignored, and bullied, Violet is a character to be sympathized with and pitied. And I did pity her. I felt so badly for her. She loves a boy from the time she's a child, and this person is her only friend, the only person who cares for her. As he grows more beautiful, he begins to pull away from her. This girl felt that if only she could be beautiful, she would be accepted, noticed, loved. But obviously things aren't going to work out that way exactly. Her journey toward what she eventually becomes was fascinating and heartbreaking.
Then you have Celine, who is so beautiful that her beauty is all that people see. She hates her beauty because she wants to be noticed and loved for who she is. She was an amazing character because although she had some spunk to her, and she wasn't angelic to the point of being a doormat to her stepmother's evil, there was such a goodness in her that she still could forgive and care.
Then there was Goose, whose small size contains a huge heart, a beautiful, funny and quirky personality that you just love from the moment you meet him. He sticks by Celine through everything. I'll stop there so I don't reveal too much.
I loved how carefully interwoven with the story was the message and theme that beauty means nothing. All three main characters in this story look at beauty a different way, and I felt that the author was challenging us to look beyond the surface, to see what is loveable about individuals around us and not place such emphasis on a person's exterior. It was a beautiful message, and so very well told in this story.
I loved the way Alex Flinn interpreted the Snow White story, I loved the characters, even the villain, and I loved the themes and how the author wrote them so beautifully into the story. This was a fast-paced, gorgeously written story that left me wanting more. It had emotional depth that I wasn't expecting, and it had me wanting to go re-read all my Alex Flinn books. Just beautiful.
From the very beginning, I knew it was going to be different because the story is told in three parts, and from three different perspectives. The first part is told by Violet, who is the evil stepmother in this story. The second part is told by Celine, who would be the Snow White equivalent and the third is told by Goose, the "little person" who befriended her and helped take care of her. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
Getting to see Violet's point of view gave the reader something that other Snow White retellings never gave us. We were able to see inside the mind of the person who became the evil stepmother. Ugly, labeled a freak, ignored, and bullied, Violet is a character to be sympathized with and pitied. And I did pity her. I felt so badly for her. She loves a boy from the time she's a child, and this person is her only friend, the only person who cares for her. As he grows more beautiful, he begins to pull away from her. This girl felt that if only she could be beautiful, she would be accepted, noticed, loved. But obviously things aren't going to work out that way exactly. Her journey toward what she eventually becomes was fascinating and heartbreaking.
Then you have Celine, who is so beautiful that her beauty is all that people see. She hates her beauty because she wants to be noticed and loved for who she is. She was an amazing character because although she had some spunk to her, and she wasn't angelic to the point of being a doormat to her stepmother's evil, there was such a goodness in her that she still could forgive and care.
Then there was Goose, whose small size contains a huge heart, a beautiful, funny and quirky personality that you just love from the moment you meet him. He sticks by Celine through everything. I'll stop there so I don't reveal too much.
I loved how carefully interwoven with the story was the message and theme that beauty means nothing. All three main characters in this story look at beauty a different way, and I felt that the author was challenging us to look beyond the surface, to see what is loveable about individuals around us and not place such emphasis on a person's exterior. It was a beautiful message, and so very well told in this story.
I loved the way Alex Flinn interpreted the Snow White story, I loved the characters, even the villain, and I loved the themes and how the author wrote them so beautifully into the story. This was a fast-paced, gorgeously written story that left me wanting more. It had emotional depth that I wasn't expecting, and it had me wanting to go re-read all my Alex Flinn books. Just beautiful.
dnf
September 16, 2015Pages read: 87
I've never read an Alex Flinn novel before, so that could be a factor here. Still, I liked the cover well enough and I'm all about fairy tales (which has been betraying me today).
Thus far, Mirrored feels like being whacked over the head with the messages that changing your looks won't change your looks won't change your personality and that magic can't fix everything.
Violet has been bullied all her life because she's ugly. As a child, she saves a bird from a psychopathic boy. She makes a friend, Greg, who she falls "in love" with. Then he goes off to camp one summer, hits his growth spurt and becomes popular, after which he will no longer talk to Violet. He starts dating the hot bitchy girl, Jennifer.
Violet, even more of an outcast, is approached by Kendra (who I know from book knowledge is in the other Flinn books) and told that she has magical powers. This did nothing for me but might be better if you've read the others, which is why I generally don't read companions out of order.
The writing has some weaknesses, like the fact that the bitchy mean girl says "Anything she does is total poop.” That's TOTALLY realistic teen mean girl dialog, right? Isn't that how the cool kids at your high school talk(ed)?
Violet uses her magic solely in pursuit of Greg. She can't magic him into having feelings for her, so she makes herself into an impossible ideal, but that's not enough. Even though this guy dumped her friendship proving he's an asshole, she's still determined to win him from her evil rival.
I'm quitting because Violet is a fucking monster and I hate her so much she probably can't be redeemed in my eyes. Why?
Well, after mean girl puts ants all over Violet's clothes during dance practice, Violet decides to retaliate. By magicking a dog into attacking Jennifer. There is just no fucking way I can ever like anyone who does this to a dog. I wouldn't be surprised if the dog gets away scot free in the book, but irl it would definitely get put down for sinking its teeth into this girl's cheek when there's no way the dog would have done this without Violet's interaction.
Violet's clearly meant to be flawed, but I still suspect I'm supposed to feel sympathy for her and dear Gansey do I not.
Since I own at least one more Flinn book, I'll probably give her another chance but no to this.
I've never read an Alex Flinn novel before, so that could be a factor here. Still, I liked the cover well enough and I'm all about fairy tales (which has been betraying me today).
Thus far, Mirrored feels like being whacked over the head with the messages that changing your looks won't change your looks won't change your personality and that magic can't fix everything.
Violet has been bullied all her life because she's ugly. As a child, she saves a bird from a psychopathic boy. She makes a friend, Greg, who she falls "in love" with. Then he goes off to camp one summer, hits his growth spurt and becomes popular, after which he will no longer talk to Violet. He starts dating the hot bitchy girl, Jennifer.
Violet, even more of an outcast, is approached by Kendra (who I know from book knowledge is in the other Flinn books) and told that she has magical powers. This did nothing for me but might be better if you've read the others, which is why I generally don't read companions out of order.
The writing has some weaknesses, like the fact that the bitchy mean girl says "Anything she does is total poop.” That's TOTALLY realistic teen mean girl dialog, right? Isn't that how the cool kids at your high school talk(ed)?
Violet uses her magic solely in pursuit of Greg. She can't magic him into having feelings for her, so she makes herself into an impossible ideal, but that's not enough. Even though this guy dumped her friendship proving he's an asshole, she's still determined to win him from her evil rival.
I'm quitting because Violet is a fucking monster and I hate her so much she probably can't be redeemed in my eyes. Why?
Well, after mean girl puts ants all over Violet's clothes during dance practice, Violet decides to retaliate. By magicking a dog into attacking Jennifer. There is just no fucking way I can ever like anyone who does this to a dog. I wouldn't be surprised if the dog gets away scot free in the book, but irl it would definitely get put down for sinking its teeth into this girl's cheek when there's no way the dog would have done this without Violet's interaction.
Violet's clearly meant to be flawed, but I still suspect I'm supposed to feel sympathy for her and dear Gansey do I not.
Since I own at least one more Flinn book, I'll probably give her another chance but no to this.
September 18, 2015
Why you should read it: I’ve been on a fairy-tale kick lately, and this one is all about Snow White! We get to see the evil stepmother before she was evil and had her own problems. On top of that, it’s told in three parts, which is really interesting for readers who like the “full” story rather than just a snapshot from parts of the characters’ lives. Goose is by far my favorite. I adore unconventional heroes and heroines, and Goose is definitely unconventional.
INTERVIEW WITH ALEX FLINN
What has been your favorite fairy tale to twist?
Alex: This one, which was Snow White, was a lot of fun, actually. I wasn’t that interested in doing Snow White because Snow White mostly cleans and sleeps in the traditional story. But then, I started thinking of her relationship with the dwarves. Specifically, I started thinking that the dwarves were rightly the heroes of the story, and that was where it took off for me.
Any future movies from your books in the works?
Alex: I think my book Cloaked would make a really fun kids/tween movie. It’s a picaresque story with a Eurotrash princess, a poor-but-kind shoemaker hero, giants, talking swans, a magical cloak and a great road trip from South Beach through the Florida Keys. But so far, I’m the only one who thinks that. That said, if Beastly is it, I’m content to have realized that dream.
I love that you weave different eras into this book. What was it like to write the different characters and their connections?
To read more of the interview with Alex and hear a clip from the Mirrored Audiobook head over to the HEA blog!
http://happyeverafter.usatoday.com/20...
INTERVIEW WITH ALEX FLINN
What has been your favorite fairy tale to twist?
Alex: This one, which was Snow White, was a lot of fun, actually. I wasn’t that interested in doing Snow White because Snow White mostly cleans and sleeps in the traditional story. But then, I started thinking of her relationship with the dwarves. Specifically, I started thinking that the dwarves were rightly the heroes of the story, and that was where it took off for me.
Any future movies from your books in the works?
Alex: I think my book Cloaked would make a really fun kids/tween movie. It’s a picaresque story with a Eurotrash princess, a poor-but-kind shoemaker hero, giants, talking swans, a magical cloak and a great road trip from South Beach through the Florida Keys. But so far, I’m the only one who thinks that. That said, if Beastly is it, I’m content to have realized that dream.
I love that you weave different eras into this book. What was it like to write the different characters and their connections?
To read more of the interview with Alex and hear a clip from the Mirrored Audiobook head over to the HEA blog!
http://happyeverafter.usatoday.com/20...
September 23, 2015
This review will also be posted on both of my blogs:
https://fafasbookcorner.wordpress.com/
http://fafasbookcorner.blogspot.ca/
DNF
About a month back I decided to add this book to my shelf. For the following reasons: a) it was a fairy tale retelling and b) it sounded fairly promising. I took this off from my shelf upon hearing bad things about this book. Specifically about Violet. Today I decided to download the sample from iBooks and see what exactly was so bad about Violet. I finally understand why there are a lot of complaints about her.
The sample was 34 pages long. Not enough to give you a real idea of the plot but enough to determine whether the writing style agrees with you, whether you like the characters, and what the overall plot for the book is.
The book starts off with Violets chapters. We discover that she has a hard time fitting in and this is because she is unattractive. Her teachers hate her, the students hate her, but both teachers and students prefer Jennifer who is far prettier than Violet. The popular people in her school make it a point to make Violet miserable.
During recess in her school she comes across a crow who has died. She picks up the crow and blows on it. The crow is magically better and she assumes this is because the crow wasn't dead just in shock. Her classmate and crush Greg witnesses this and the two become friends.
Before Violet and Greg enter grade 8, Greg goes off to summer for camp. The two promise each other to write notes. At some point Greg stops replying to her notes, and when he returns to school he ignores her. She eventually gets the courage and asks him why he is treating her this way. He explains that his friends, the popular people do not like her and he just wants to fit in.
Throughout the course of the sample Violet attracts the attention of all sorts of animals. And she has no idea why this is. Sometime in the sample she rats out her group partners to the teacher saying that she did all the work while they did nothing. In revenge of getting ratted out they stalk her home and try to throw stones at her. Somehow crows come to defend her and she meets a woman whose name is Kendra. Kendra explains that the sudden attraction of animals is and saving the crow is because she is a witch. And that's where the sample ended.
Violet was annoying! I was surprised that she honestly thought that beauty mattered more than anything in the world. She was intelligent but she thought that her smarts were useless. It's like she didn't realize that physical beauty fades with age. I was also surprised that she was still interested in Greg. He ditched her for the popular people and she was still obsessed with him. Had the sample been better I might have actually read the book but as you can tell that wasn't the case.
I personally would not recommend this book. But if you have been looking forward to reading this then go for it. Hopefully you'll enjoy it better than I did.
https://fafasbookcorner.wordpress.com/
http://fafasbookcorner.blogspot.ca/
DNF
About a month back I decided to add this book to my shelf. For the following reasons: a) it was a fairy tale retelling and b) it sounded fairly promising. I took this off from my shelf upon hearing bad things about this book. Specifically about Violet. Today I decided to download the sample from iBooks and see what exactly was so bad about Violet. I finally understand why there are a lot of complaints about her.
The sample was 34 pages long. Not enough to give you a real idea of the plot but enough to determine whether the writing style agrees with you, whether you like the characters, and what the overall plot for the book is.
The book starts off with Violets chapters. We discover that she has a hard time fitting in and this is because she is unattractive. Her teachers hate her, the students hate her, but both teachers and students prefer Jennifer who is far prettier than Violet. The popular people in her school make it a point to make Violet miserable.
During recess in her school she comes across a crow who has died. She picks up the crow and blows on it. The crow is magically better and she assumes this is because the crow wasn't dead just in shock. Her classmate and crush Greg witnesses this and the two become friends.
Before Violet and Greg enter grade 8, Greg goes off to summer for camp. The two promise each other to write notes. At some point Greg stops replying to her notes, and when he returns to school he ignores her. She eventually gets the courage and asks him why he is treating her this way. He explains that his friends, the popular people do not like her and he just wants to fit in.
Throughout the course of the sample Violet attracts the attention of all sorts of animals. And she has no idea why this is. Sometime in the sample she rats out her group partners to the teacher saying that she did all the work while they did nothing. In revenge of getting ratted out they stalk her home and try to throw stones at her. Somehow crows come to defend her and she meets a woman whose name is Kendra. Kendra explains that the sudden attraction of animals is and saving the crow is because she is a witch. And that's where the sample ended.
Violet was annoying! I was surprised that she honestly thought that beauty mattered more than anything in the world. She was intelligent but she thought that her smarts were useless. It's like she didn't realize that physical beauty fades with age. I was also surprised that she was still interested in Greg. He ditched her for the popular people and she was still obsessed with him. Had the sample been better I might have actually read the book but as you can tell that wasn't the case.
I personally would not recommend this book. But if you have been looking forward to reading this then go for it. Hopefully you'll enjoy it better than I did.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 2, 2016
Rating: 3.75/5
Review coming soon!
Review coming soon!
December 1, 2015
Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales
Quick & Dirty: A predictable and underwhelming novel that was enjoyable, but didn’t stand out among all of the retellings.
Opening Sentence: I was a strange child.
The Review:
Violet has never been beautiful. Her eyelashes seem non-existent, her nose is misshapen, and her chin is weak. Her mother is too beautiful and glamorous to appreciate her ugly daughter. To top it off, Violet isn’t well-liked at school – she is bullied constantly. The only friend she ever really had is named Greg, and she’s falling in love with him, until he ditches her for the popular crowd and leaves her all alone. When Violet discovers Kendra, a witch, and learns that she too has magic powers, it changes her world. Suddenly she has the power to make herself beautiful. Although she thinks her new supermodel appearance could change everything, she is still hated around the campus, and Greg is still dating her nemesis Jennifer.
Flash-forward many years, when Greg and Jennifer have married and have had a daughter, the gorgeous Celine. Her beauty is almost ethereal, and its completely natural. When Celine’s mother dies in a freak accident at the zoo, Violet and Greg reconnect and soon marry, giving Celine a stepmother. She doesn’t understand the strange things that keep happening to her with Violet around: the scowls, the jealous and spiteful words, her cats attacking her and her hair appliances burning her. It seems almost . . . like magic. When Celine is almost killed, she takes refuge with the goofy, short boy from her drama class, Goose. But is that enough to save her from Violet’s vengeance?
When I saw the author’s name, I immediately recognized it from somewhere, and soon connected it to Beastly. I’d heard good things about the book, and Vanessa Hudgens starred in the movie, so I assumed that the novel must have been incredible. That being said, I expected a gorgeous, unique writing style – after all, Alex Flinn has written her fair share of books! She must be talented, right? Sadly, I found that the writing style was very simple, using language that didn’t seem experienced or mature. The novel would have fit more as a middle grade book, in my opinion, as it scooted around topics of sex, drugs, and alcohol anyway.
Luckily, there were some things about the novel that kept me reading and made it enjoyable. I actually liked Violet’s character the most; she was the most interesting. Her story was touching and sad, and watching her develop from the victim to the villain was a truly intriguing story arc. I found Celine’s part much less fun. Her character was almost too perfect: gorgeous, compassionate, empathetic. While I understand the part her perfection played in the plotline, it was not believable how little flaws she had, and that made her a hard character to relate to. The magic aspect of the story was okay, but not very original.
Altogether, I found the book alright and think it was a decent read. There was a love story as well, obviously, which was cute enough. I liked Goose’s character and found him more relatable despite the many differences between us, just because he was flawed. I enjoyed his backstory and seeing from his perspective as he developed as a character. Again, the magic and the characters weren’t anything too special, and the writing style was simpler than I had expected. I also found the plotline to be very predictable. I understand that it’s a retelling, and it will be closely related to the original, but there wasn’t anything that really stood out about this novel among a slew of Snow White retellings. However, I think that readers will enjoy it, especially younger ones (I’m still convinced it would fit in the middle grade genre!).
Notable Scene:
“I want to be beautiful. Can that happen?”
It sounded so bare, out in the open like that, out in the empty street. Yet, it was the only thing I wanted, had ever wanted. Well, that and Greg. I knew beauty was nothing. But it was also everything.
“Yes, yes, I can do that.”
FTC Advisory: HarperTeen provided me with a copy of Mirrored. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.
Quick & Dirty: A predictable and underwhelming novel that was enjoyable, but didn’t stand out among all of the retellings.
Opening Sentence: I was a strange child.
The Review:
Violet has never been beautiful. Her eyelashes seem non-existent, her nose is misshapen, and her chin is weak. Her mother is too beautiful and glamorous to appreciate her ugly daughter. To top it off, Violet isn’t well-liked at school – she is bullied constantly. The only friend she ever really had is named Greg, and she’s falling in love with him, until he ditches her for the popular crowd and leaves her all alone. When Violet discovers Kendra, a witch, and learns that she too has magic powers, it changes her world. Suddenly she has the power to make herself beautiful. Although she thinks her new supermodel appearance could change everything, she is still hated around the campus, and Greg is still dating her nemesis Jennifer.
Flash-forward many years, when Greg and Jennifer have married and have had a daughter, the gorgeous Celine. Her beauty is almost ethereal, and its completely natural. When Celine’s mother dies in a freak accident at the zoo, Violet and Greg reconnect and soon marry, giving Celine a stepmother. She doesn’t understand the strange things that keep happening to her with Violet around: the scowls, the jealous and spiteful words, her cats attacking her and her hair appliances burning her. It seems almost . . . like magic. When Celine is almost killed, she takes refuge with the goofy, short boy from her drama class, Goose. But is that enough to save her from Violet’s vengeance?
When I saw the author’s name, I immediately recognized it from somewhere, and soon connected it to Beastly. I’d heard good things about the book, and Vanessa Hudgens starred in the movie, so I assumed that the novel must have been incredible. That being said, I expected a gorgeous, unique writing style – after all, Alex Flinn has written her fair share of books! She must be talented, right? Sadly, I found that the writing style was very simple, using language that didn’t seem experienced or mature. The novel would have fit more as a middle grade book, in my opinion, as it scooted around topics of sex, drugs, and alcohol anyway.
Luckily, there were some things about the novel that kept me reading and made it enjoyable. I actually liked Violet’s character the most; she was the most interesting. Her story was touching and sad, and watching her develop from the victim to the villain was a truly intriguing story arc. I found Celine’s part much less fun. Her character was almost too perfect: gorgeous, compassionate, empathetic. While I understand the part her perfection played in the plotline, it was not believable how little flaws she had, and that made her a hard character to relate to. The magic aspect of the story was okay, but not very original.
Altogether, I found the book alright and think it was a decent read. There was a love story as well, obviously, which was cute enough. I liked Goose’s character and found him more relatable despite the many differences between us, just because he was flawed. I enjoyed his backstory and seeing from his perspective as he developed as a character. Again, the magic and the characters weren’t anything too special, and the writing style was simpler than I had expected. I also found the plotline to be very predictable. I understand that it’s a retelling, and it will be closely related to the original, but there wasn’t anything that really stood out about this novel among a slew of Snow White retellings. However, I think that readers will enjoy it, especially younger ones (I’m still convinced it would fit in the middle grade genre!).
Notable Scene:
“I want to be beautiful. Can that happen?”
It sounded so bare, out in the open like that, out in the empty street. Yet, it was the only thing I wanted, had ever wanted. Well, that and Greg. I knew beauty was nothing. But it was also everything.
“Yes, yes, I can do that.”
FTC Advisory: HarperTeen provided me with a copy of Mirrored. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.
September 7, 2015
3.5/5 stars
Mirrored is a Young Adult contemporary fairy tale retelling of Snow White with a magical element to it.
The book is divided into four sections. Elements from Snow White are woven throughout the story.
The first section takes place in the 1980s. The narrator is Violet, who is a child then teen. She is ugly and most of the school children are really mean to her. She meets Kendra, a witch who tells Violet that she is one too. Violet's goal is to make herself "the fairest one of all". She turns into a not very nice person (the Evil Step-mother in this story).
Violet's biggest rival is Jennifer. And they both want Greg.
It was interesting to see the evil character before she became evil. But Violet seemed like a sweet kid. And I didn't like that she ended up so awful.
In the second section the narrator is Celine . She is the Snow White in this story. She is lovely inside and out (she is stunningly beautiful).
I really enjoyed this section. Celine was a great person. I really liked her relationship with her best friend. And I loved everything about the school play. And I really enjoyed her friendship with Goose (he is the dwarf in this story).
The third section is narrated by Goose who is such an original amazing character. This part was a bit over the top with where he went and what he had to do. But I really liked it anyway just because of who he was and why he was doing what he was doing.
Mirrored was an enjoyable retelling of a classic fairy tale. However, it felt like some of it went a bit overboard just so that it could fit with the fairy tale. Also, I love paranormal books, but I didn't love the magical/witch elements of this story that much. Most of the book reads like a YA contemporary. But then there are over the top characters (Violet) and the magical stuff just seemed so crazy to me. But if you like fairy tale retellings then this book might interest you.
Spoiler comments:
Thanks to edelweiss and HarperTeen for allowing me to read this book.
Mirrored is a Young Adult contemporary fairy tale retelling of Snow White with a magical element to it.
The book is divided into four sections. Elements from Snow White are woven throughout the story.
The first section takes place in the 1980s. The narrator is Violet, who is a child then teen. She is ugly and most of the school children are really mean to her. She meets Kendra, a witch who tells Violet that she is one too. Violet's goal is to make herself "the fairest one of all". She turns into a not very nice person (the Evil Step-mother in this story).
Violet's biggest rival is Jennifer. And they both want Greg.
It was interesting to see the evil character before she became evil. But Violet seemed like a sweet kid. And I didn't like that she ended up so awful.
In the second section the narrator is Celine . She is the Snow White in this story. She is lovely inside and out (she is stunningly beautiful).
I really enjoyed this section. Celine was a great person. I really liked her relationship with her best friend. And I loved everything about the school play. And I really enjoyed her friendship with Goose (he is the dwarf in this story).
The third section is narrated by Goose who is such an original amazing character. This part was a bit over the top with where he went and what he had to do. But I really liked it anyway just because of who he was and why he was doing what he was doing.
Mirrored was an enjoyable retelling of a classic fairy tale. However, it felt like some of it went a bit overboard just so that it could fit with the fairy tale. Also, I love paranormal books, but I didn't love the magical/witch elements of this story that much. Most of the book reads like a YA contemporary. But then there are over the top characters (Violet) and the magical stuff just seemed so crazy to me. But if you like fairy tale retellings then this book might interest you.
Spoiler comments:
Thanks to edelweiss and HarperTeen for allowing me to read this book.
March 17, 2023
Best modern-day-retelling of Snow White that I’ve read! Has perspectives from the witch, Snow White, and her prince.
October 15, 2021
I liked this one better than book two and plan to finish the series soon by reading the fourth book.
'Mirrored' is a multi-generation retelling of the classic fairy tale Snow White. I liked the twists and turns the story took - especially after recognizing who is supposed to be the villain. Of course, there were POVs I enjoyed reading more than others, but in the end, this was just as entertaining as I expected it to be.
'Mirrored' is a multi-generation retelling of the classic fairy tale Snow White. I liked the twists and turns the story took - especially after recognizing who is supposed to be the villain. Of course, there were POVs I enjoyed reading more than others, but in the end, this was just as entertaining as I expected it to be.
November 18, 2015
I kind of felt sorry for Violet. She was bullied and she didn't know how to cope properly. Greg was an asshat.
May 30, 2024
This was a fantastic read, really enjoyed the story and I can't wait to finish out this series!
September 23, 2015
Celine’s life is the stuff fairy tales are made of. She’s beautiful, talented, and brave. Unfortunately, her tale comes complete with a wicked stepmother! When Violet steps into Celine’s life, everything changes and weird things begin to happen to her—bizarre accidents, strange illnesses, and rabid animal attacks. Celine doesn’t feel safe anywhere. It’s almost as if some hateful witch is out to get her.
And there is. Violet has been waiting all her life to have Celine’s father to herself. Getting rid of his gorgeous daughter is child’s play for a witch as powerful as she is. Happy-ever-after isn’t enough for Violet. She wants to be the fairest of them all, and Celine is in the way…but not for long.
Forced to take refuge with her friend Goose and his family, Celine gives up everything she loves and goes deep undercover. But will it be enough to fool Violet, or will Celine’s fate be decided by a reflection in a magic mirror? And where do you find Prince Charming in Miami anyway?
Mirrored is a modern adaptation of Snow White, told from the perspectives of Violet (the stepmother), Celine (Snow White) and Goose (Prince). The addition of Violet's POV serves the purpose of empathizing with her, because she wasn't evil. She was picked on as a child, bullied because she was considered ugly by people around her (even her mother), until the point she is brainwashed into the idea that beauty alone would help people love her. She is lonely and desperate for love and affection and even Kendra, who takes her under her wing as her daughter isn't enough for her. Also, she is stuck on her childhood friend Greg, who is of the same mold as the others - he goes for the mean but pretty Jennifer (who bullied Violet). Years later, she gets her revenge on Jennifer, but she doesn't stop there. Even after getting Greg, she is so warped by her hatred for Jennifer she turns into an evil witch and starts tormenting Celine because she thinks she is like her mother.
Celine, has grown into a beautiful girl, but lonely because her beauty keeps people wary of her. Then, when she participates in a play, she meets Goose, a short boy who uses humor as a defense mechanism because his height is what people see first in him. Both of them are kindred souls, and a budding friendship develops. When Celine's life is threatened, his family takes her under their wing, until the evil witch comes a-knocking with a bag of poisoned mangoes (mangoes which Celine bites into without peeling off the skin?) and it is upto Goose to find a suitable prince for her to get a kiss from. Kendra's appearance throughout the book is a highlight - she is motherly to Violet but also realizes that she didn't notice her turning dark. Kendra's loneliness is also apparent in the fact that she first adopts Violet and then Celine.
I found Violet's parts the most interesting, because the author chronicles her character development so well. Celine's parts were a bit slow, and the pace was dragging along for Goose's. The ending, is naturally what you would expect, with a small twist that wasn't really unexpected considering how the book was written.
Received a free galley from HarperTeen via Edelweiss; this does not influence my opinions or the review.
And there is. Violet has been waiting all her life to have Celine’s father to herself. Getting rid of his gorgeous daughter is child’s play for a witch as powerful as she is. Happy-ever-after isn’t enough for Violet. She wants to be the fairest of them all, and Celine is in the way…but not for long.
Forced to take refuge with her friend Goose and his family, Celine gives up everything she loves and goes deep undercover. But will it be enough to fool Violet, or will Celine’s fate be decided by a reflection in a magic mirror? And where do you find Prince Charming in Miami anyway?
Mirrored is a modern adaptation of Snow White, told from the perspectives of Violet (the stepmother), Celine (Snow White) and Goose (Prince). The addition of Violet's POV serves the purpose of empathizing with her, because she wasn't evil. She was picked on as a child, bullied because she was considered ugly by people around her (even her mother), until the point she is brainwashed into the idea that beauty alone would help people love her. She is lonely and desperate for love and affection and even Kendra, who takes her under her wing as her daughter isn't enough for her. Also, she is stuck on her childhood friend Greg, who is of the same mold as the others - he goes for the mean but pretty Jennifer (who bullied Violet). Years later, she gets her revenge on Jennifer, but she doesn't stop there. Even after getting Greg, she is so warped by her hatred for Jennifer she turns into an evil witch and starts tormenting Celine because she thinks she is like her mother.
Celine, has grown into a beautiful girl, but lonely because her beauty keeps people wary of her. Then, when she participates in a play, she meets Goose, a short boy who uses humor as a defense mechanism because his height is what people see first in him. Both of them are kindred souls, and a budding friendship develops. When Celine's life is threatened, his family takes her under their wing, until the evil witch comes a-knocking with a bag of poisoned mangoes (mangoes which Celine bites into without peeling off the skin?) and it is upto Goose to find a suitable prince for her to get a kiss from. Kendra's appearance throughout the book is a highlight - she is motherly to Violet but also realizes that she didn't notice her turning dark. Kendra's loneliness is also apparent in the fact that she first adopts Violet and then Celine.
I found Violet's parts the most interesting, because the author chronicles her character development so well. Celine's parts were a bit slow, and the pace was dragging along for Goose's. The ending, is naturally what you would expect, with a small twist that wasn't really unexpected considering how the book was written.
Received a free galley from HarperTeen via Edelweiss; this does not influence my opinions or the review.
August 23, 2015
Whoa baby! This book was brilliant! Right from the start I knew this was going to be an on edge of your seat type of book. I just couldn't put it down and just one of the best reads of the year. Alex has such talent.
Anywho...its a spin on snow white with a lot of twists. So Violet is a loner, and not by choice. She doesn't fit in with the people around her. She doesn't have good looks. Her eyelashes are so light, it's like she doesn't have any. Her nose isn't perfect. And well, she just didn't get any of her mums genes. Her mum is this lovely lady with the looks and body to match.
So ever since she was young, Violet was teased, ignored and not welcome among those kids in school. She she gets used to it, and one day, she sorta discovers a hidden secret. She saw an injured bird during school. She touched it and all of a sudden the bird was healed, talked to her and then was able to fly away. Like what?! Violet has no idea what just happened and sorta shrugged it off after. But Greg saw her, but he keeps that secret and soon they become best friends. Two ignored kids, and now they hang out all he time. Talk about the birds, doing school work, hanging out and just having fun.
But the good times wouldn't last too long. Greg goes away for the summer, and when he comes back, he's changed. He filled out and now has the looks and fits in with the popular group. Completely ignoring Violet like they were never friends. So Violet is clearly crushed and has a hard time dealing with it.
A few days later she runs into a woman. She is a witch and reveals to Violet just what she is too. Now things are about to change for Violet. The pace will pick up. You get sucked into the book even more and just simply love the book. Violet is an awesome character and I loved reading about her.
There are other characters you will read about in the book. They are all awesome. But Violet was my favorite.
If you've read Alex's other books, then you know this is just going to be awesome. If you haven't read any books by Alex, then start with this one and then work onto the others. You won't regret it!!!
Anywho...its a spin on snow white with a lot of twists. So Violet is a loner, and not by choice. She doesn't fit in with the people around her. She doesn't have good looks. Her eyelashes are so light, it's like she doesn't have any. Her nose isn't perfect. And well, she just didn't get any of her mums genes. Her mum is this lovely lady with the looks and body to match.
So ever since she was young, Violet was teased, ignored and not welcome among those kids in school. She she gets used to it, and one day, she sorta discovers a hidden secret. She saw an injured bird during school. She touched it and all of a sudden the bird was healed, talked to her and then was able to fly away. Like what?! Violet has no idea what just happened and sorta shrugged it off after. But Greg saw her, but he keeps that secret and soon they become best friends. Two ignored kids, and now they hang out all he time. Talk about the birds, doing school work, hanging out and just having fun.
But the good times wouldn't last too long. Greg goes away for the summer, and when he comes back, he's changed. He filled out and now has the looks and fits in with the popular group. Completely ignoring Violet like they were never friends. So Violet is clearly crushed and has a hard time dealing with it.
A few days later she runs into a woman. She is a witch and reveals to Violet just what she is too. Now things are about to change for Violet. The pace will pick up. You get sucked into the book even more and just simply love the book. Violet is an awesome character and I loved reading about her.
There are other characters you will read about in the book. They are all awesome. But Violet was my favorite.
If you've read Alex's other books, then you know this is just going to be awesome. If you haven't read any books by Alex, then start with this one and then work onto the others. You won't regret it!!!
November 29, 2015
This is one of the better rewriting of a fairy tale. What I particularly enjoyed was that I was not able to figure out right from the beginning which fairy tale was being used. The modern spin shows how timeless the stories are. This story involves a woman who is obsessed with a boy from high school, so much that she will do anything to get him so when she finds out that she is a witch she starts with changing her appearance. This moves on to more evil tactics to get his attention away from the girl who steals his heart. But limitations to her magic is something she has to learn to work around and boy does she. An excellent retelling!
The story is also very clean. I believe there were a few issues with language but nothing that is over the top. It definitely didn't overtake the story.
The story is also very clean. I believe there were a few issues with language but nothing that is over the top. It definitely didn't overtake the story.
March 9, 2018
3.5
I thought Mirrored was pretty cute and I liked but there were things that I really did not like...
THINGS I LIKED:
- Kendra
- Goose
- Celine
- Goose's family dynamic
- The retelling part of the plot it stuck to the fairytale really well
THINGS I DID NOT LIKE
- I HATED VIOLET!!!!! Even when she was a child I did not like her
- Jonah Prince, that part of story I really did not like
- I also did not like Celine's family dynamic
SOME RANDOM THINGS
-I really like the writing style and it agrees with my brain
- THIS IS SOOOO CHEESY
- They do Oliver! Just like in Simon!!!!
I thought Mirrored was pretty cute and I liked but there were things that I really did not like...
THINGS I LIKED:
- Kendra
- Goose
- Celine
- Goose's family dynamic
- The retelling part of the plot it stuck to the fairytale really well
THINGS I DID NOT LIKE
- I HATED VIOLET!!!!! Even when she was a child I did not like her
- Jonah Prince, that part of story I really did not like
- I also did not like Celine's family dynamic
SOME RANDOM THINGS
-I really like the writing style and it agrees with my brain
- THIS IS SOOOO CHEESY
- They do Oliver! Just like in Simon!!!!
September 21, 2015
I started out thinking "I don't like Violet, I cannot read an entire book about Violet". But every villian must be introduced... :) I did like Celine and Goose very much, and therefore enjoyed the rest of the book and can live happily ever after.
October 12, 2015
I absolutely loved reading this. It is by far the greatest Kendra Chronicles book. The plot was well paced and I was hooked into reading more. This book was impossible to put down. I definitely recommend anyone to read this.
December 19, 2024
(November 2024 update: almost ten years later and this is still my favorite Snow White retelling.
)
" If you have never wept bitter tears because a wonderful story has come to an end and you must take your leave of characters with whom you have shared so many adventures, whom you have loved and admired, for whom you have hoped and feared, and without whose company life seems empty and meaningless... You probably won't understand... " -- Michael Ende.
So the above quote pretty much expresses how I felt about this book.
Oh. My. GAWD. I loved this book so much -- and it was such a surprise! Mainly because this book has gotten a lot of bad reviews and I have read a lot of lousy Snow White retellings that disappointed me BEFORE...
But WOWIE, this one just floored me. This was in so many ways just the sort of book I'd been looking for without even QUITE knowing this was what I wanted.
I loved Celine and Goose (Snow White and the Dwarf); they were both such brilliant characters with wildly entertaining POVs, and I shipped them so hard I began to feel certain they were doomed (most times when I really start shipping something in any given fandom, it falls apart/flat out never happens in canon; my love for my OTPs seems to be the kiss of death), but then that PLOT TWIST.
It was exactly what I wanted, but was so scared I wasn't going to get.
I was so worried it was going to go for the usual crappy YA drivel cop-out where the dorky friend of the beautiful girl finds somebody else at the last minute and is just like "go with the handsome dude, it's okay," and to be honest, I was pretty peeved at the thought because HELLO Celine and Goose actually had a CONVERSATION, IN CANONBOOK!UNIVERSE, about why this trope SUCKS.
I was so afraid (unnecessarily) I was going to end up hating the book for this, I initially wouldn't read the end for eight hours until I calmed down some.
Alex Flinn's writing really shines here. I could picture the settings in Mirrored so vividly. I could just SEE Goose's house, Celine's bunk in Isabella's room, them taking Selfies at Target with Willow, the bag of mangoes, the scary train station where Goose was so scared of heights.... I just felt like I was THERE, watching it all happen, biting my nails with fear. It has been SO long since I read a book that REALLY made me feel that to this level of intensity. It's books like this that remind me why I fell in love with books/fairytales in the first place.
And I have to say, I've only enjoyed a Snow White retelling this much THREE times in my entire life. I'm not even kidding. 1) When I was, maybe, twelve, staying home from school eating an ice cream, watching Kristin Kreuk in the titular role; 2) when I was sixteen, reading Gail Carson Levine's Fairest under the table at breakfast; and 3) November 2015 when I bought myself a big ol' chocolate cake and watched Snow White: a Tale of Terror on DVD in my PJs.
Of course, no book is perfect, and there were a few issues I had with Mirrored, much as I loved it.
1) Violet.
Do I even need to elaborate here? Yeah? Okay. It's not that she's a bad villain, she actually really works well as the villain, what doesn't work is that I'm supposed to feel sorry for her?
Okay, so she was bullied as a kid (her and a million other girls out there, pal!); that don't make her some entitled special snowflake who can set animals on people and steal their husbands.
Sure, Jennifer was really mean, but she was also clearly a good wife and mother when she grew up (she went to the zoo to be with her daughter, despite her rabid fear of animals! That's love right there! And there's no indication she ever treated Greg poorly or cheated on him or anything), and Violet literally KILLS her with a monkey IN FRONT OF HER EIGHT YEAR OLD DAUGHTER. That is so messed up... So unbelievably messed up.
I think I knew from the moment Violet ripped off that ballerina from that music box to get a better look at her face in the mirror I was going to hate her, and I was right. And I don't think she deserved almost a hundred pages worth of a POV either. We didn't need to see EVERY moment she obsessed over Greg or stewed over not having friends at school, a few would have done fine. You know what would have GREAT? If she had maybe FIFTY pages of POV, and the other fifty of the 80s part of the novel was from JENNIFER'S POV. I would have loved to find out how she felt about the dog attack, if she really fell in love with Greg despite initially dating him out of spite...
My biggest problem with Violet, too, is that while other characters who don't deserve it as much (coughcough Jennifer coughcough) meet gruesome ends, she DOESN'T. Which means there is no dramatic confrontation between her and a re-awakened Celine. I know she was all happy and in love and crap and that Violet's ego/faith was struck a blow by seeing that her stepdaughter really could love a dwarf, etc... but let's think about this for a sec... VIOLET KILLED HER MOTHER. That warrants some swearing and hairpulling and punch throwing between these characters, don't you think?
I just kept imagining that scene in "Snow White: Tale of Terror" where Lilli goes all dramatically, "You have no heart," and her stepmother replies, "No, that's too simple"; I really really wanted something in the vein of that at the end of this book, instead everyone's all happy and la-de-da from the get-go. I would have even settled for a final conversation PERIOD between Celine and Violet after Celine wakes up. Even if it was just "I forgive you," or whatever.
2) This one's a bit silly, but there is a line that goes, "wearing a hat, like a Jehovah's Witness" and all I could do was laugh. I literally had to close the book and hold my sides. Does this book take place in some kind of alternate universe where hat-wearing is the defining characteristic of Jehovah's Witnesses in field service? Or is this just a touch awkward writing in an otherwise well written book? Should the line perhaps be "Someone who looked like a Jehovah's Witness, wearing a hat"? This sentence just reads funny. I can forgive not using the proper singular term for Jehovah's Witnesses (i.e. One of Jehovah's Witnesses) because most teenagers wouldn't know to say it that way, but just that line... (shakes head and laughs, I'm going to be chuckling about this till kingdom come -- possibly literally).
3) Was it just me or was there a reference to another book/movie that would appeal to teens, young adults, and/or their mothers reading this book almost every other page? Some of it worked! I loved the Princess Bride bit, and the scene where Goose and Celine watch Pretty in Pink was kind of important to the theme of the novel so I let that go (plus they danced together during Ferris Bueller, how DARN CUTE is THAT?), but after a while (by the time we got to the Game of Thrones stuff, great as it was) I was beginning to feel just a smidge emotionally manipulated by the author. It's like she was just throwing callbacks in as gimmicks to keep my attention and make me like her book more. Kinda felt how Celine did when Kendra made Goose tall in that one scene; I like the novel fine the way it was BEFORE you chucked references at my head every other page, it was a good book ALL ALONG.
4) Aside from Isabella, we don't get to know Goose's siblings too well. There are like a ton of kids running around that house and Celine is there ALL DAY, surely we should have seen more of them, no?
All that said, this book has a lot of great stuff to offer. In addition to amazing characters like Celine and Goose, we get Kendra, and the hilariously jerky Jonah Prince and his no-nonsense mum and funny bodyguards and ex-girlfriend Allegra -- oh and Goose's little sister Isabella, as well as his really likable parents.
Highly recommend this book!
)" If you have never wept bitter tears because a wonderful story has come to an end and you must take your leave of characters with whom you have shared so many adventures, whom you have loved and admired, for whom you have hoped and feared, and without whose company life seems empty and meaningless... You probably won't understand... " -- Michael Ende.
So the above quote pretty much expresses how I felt about this book.
Oh. My. GAWD. I loved this book so much -- and it was such a surprise! Mainly because this book has gotten a lot of bad reviews and I have read a lot of lousy Snow White retellings that disappointed me BEFORE...
But WOWIE, this one just floored me. This was in so many ways just the sort of book I'd been looking for without even QUITE knowing this was what I wanted.
I loved Celine and Goose (Snow White and the Dwarf); they were both such brilliant characters with wildly entertaining POVs, and I shipped them so hard I began to feel certain they were doomed (most times when I really start shipping something in any given fandom, it falls apart/flat out never happens in canon; my love for my OTPs seems to be the kiss of death), but then that PLOT TWIST.
It was exactly what I wanted, but was so scared I wasn't going to get.
I was so worried it was going to go for the usual crappy YA drivel cop-out where the dorky friend of the beautiful girl finds somebody else at the last minute and is just like "go with the handsome dude, it's okay," and to be honest, I was pretty peeved at the thought because HELLO Celine and Goose actually had a CONVERSATION, IN CANONBOOK!UNIVERSE, about why this trope SUCKS.
I was so afraid (unnecessarily) I was going to end up hating the book for this, I initially wouldn't read the end for eight hours until I calmed down some.
Alex Flinn's writing really shines here. I could picture the settings in Mirrored so vividly. I could just SEE Goose's house, Celine's bunk in Isabella's room, them taking Selfies at Target with Willow, the bag of mangoes, the scary train station where Goose was so scared of heights.... I just felt like I was THERE, watching it all happen, biting my nails with fear. It has been SO long since I read a book that REALLY made me feel that to this level of intensity. It's books like this that remind me why I fell in love with books/fairytales in the first place.
And I have to say, I've only enjoyed a Snow White retelling this much THREE times in my entire life. I'm not even kidding. 1) When I was, maybe, twelve, staying home from school eating an ice cream, watching Kristin Kreuk in the titular role; 2) when I was sixteen, reading Gail Carson Levine's Fairest under the table at breakfast; and 3) November 2015 when I bought myself a big ol' chocolate cake and watched Snow White: a Tale of Terror on DVD in my PJs.
Of course, no book is perfect, and there were a few issues I had with Mirrored, much as I loved it.
1) Violet.
Do I even need to elaborate here? Yeah? Okay. It's not that she's a bad villain, she actually really works well as the villain, what doesn't work is that I'm supposed to feel sorry for her?
Okay, so she was bullied as a kid (her and a million other girls out there, pal!); that don't make her some entitled special snowflake who can set animals on people and steal their husbands.
Sure, Jennifer was really mean, but she was also clearly a good wife and mother when she grew up (she went to the zoo to be with her daughter, despite her rabid fear of animals! That's love right there! And there's no indication she ever treated Greg poorly or cheated on him or anything), and Violet literally KILLS her with a monkey IN FRONT OF HER EIGHT YEAR OLD DAUGHTER. That is so messed up... So unbelievably messed up.
I think I knew from the moment Violet ripped off that ballerina from that music box to get a better look at her face in the mirror I was going to hate her, and I was right. And I don't think she deserved almost a hundred pages worth of a POV either. We didn't need to see EVERY moment she obsessed over Greg or stewed over not having friends at school, a few would have done fine. You know what would have GREAT? If she had maybe FIFTY pages of POV, and the other fifty of the 80s part of the novel was from JENNIFER'S POV. I would have loved to find out how she felt about the dog attack, if she really fell in love with Greg despite initially dating him out of spite...
My biggest problem with Violet, too, is that while other characters who don't deserve it as much (coughcough Jennifer coughcough) meet gruesome ends, she DOESN'T. Which means there is no dramatic confrontation between her and a re-awakened Celine. I know she was all happy and in love and crap and that Violet's ego/faith was struck a blow by seeing that her stepdaughter really could love a dwarf, etc... but let's think about this for a sec... VIOLET KILLED HER MOTHER. That warrants some swearing and hairpulling and punch throwing between these characters, don't you think?
I just kept imagining that scene in "Snow White: Tale of Terror" where Lilli goes all dramatically, "You have no heart," and her stepmother replies, "No, that's too simple"; I really really wanted something in the vein of that at the end of this book, instead everyone's all happy and la-de-da from the get-go. I would have even settled for a final conversation PERIOD between Celine and Violet after Celine wakes up. Even if it was just "I forgive you," or whatever.
2) This one's a bit silly, but there is a line that goes, "wearing a hat, like a Jehovah's Witness" and all I could do was laugh. I literally had to close the book and hold my sides. Does this book take place in some kind of alternate universe where hat-wearing is the defining characteristic of Jehovah's Witnesses in field service? Or is this just a touch awkward writing in an otherwise well written book? Should the line perhaps be "Someone who looked like a Jehovah's Witness, wearing a hat"? This sentence just reads funny. I can forgive not using the proper singular term for Jehovah's Witnesses (i.e. One of Jehovah's Witnesses) because most teenagers wouldn't know to say it that way, but just that line... (shakes head and laughs, I'm going to be chuckling about this till kingdom come -- possibly literally).
3) Was it just me or was there a reference to another book/movie that would appeal to teens, young adults, and/or their mothers reading this book almost every other page? Some of it worked! I loved the Princess Bride bit, and the scene where Goose and Celine watch Pretty in Pink was kind of important to the theme of the novel so I let that go (plus they danced together during Ferris Bueller, how DARN CUTE is THAT?), but after a while (by the time we got to the Game of Thrones stuff, great as it was) I was beginning to feel just a smidge emotionally manipulated by the author. It's like she was just throwing callbacks in as gimmicks to keep my attention and make me like her book more. Kinda felt how Celine did when Kendra made Goose tall in that one scene; I like the novel fine the way it was BEFORE you chucked references at my head every other page, it was a good book ALL ALONG.
4) Aside from Isabella, we don't get to know Goose's siblings too well. There are like a ton of kids running around that house and Celine is there ALL DAY, surely we should have seen more of them, no?
All that said, this book has a lot of great stuff to offer. In addition to amazing characters like Celine and Goose, we get Kendra, and the hilariously jerky Jonah Prince and his no-nonsense mum and funny bodyguards and ex-girlfriend Allegra -- oh and Goose's little sister Isabella, as well as his really likable parents.
Highly recommend this book!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 3, 2017
-POTENTIAL SPOILERS-
This one has a lot of negative reviews, and much like Cloaked, I can totally see why. Alex Flinn's fairy tale retellings seem to be very hit-or-miss. Everyone loves Beastly of course, and then everyone has another one of her fairy-tale retellings that they really like, then think the others are just average or even bad. Not me! With the exception of Towering, I've been a fan of all her retellings, and this one is no exception.
I found myself relating to Violet in the 1980's, the woman who eventually becomes Celine's stepmother. As someone who was bullied for their looks and who has now become extremely pretty yet vain and bitter, I can assure you that beauty means power, and only once you have beauty will people like you and notice you and take you seriously. However I do wish there was a little bit more development on her part, showing when she truly did snap and become malicious, since the last time we saw her as a child, she was vain and jealous, but not necessarily evil yet.
I will admit that I found Celine's part to be a bit...well boring. She didn't have very much personality development aside from people saying she was nice and kind, but we didn't really see her doing anything nice or kind. Plus all the references to modern technology and social media got a bit repetitive. I felt like the author was saying: "Hey, look! This story takes place in the 21st century! It takes place in 2014!" However, I felt like the pace was picked up once she goes into hiding with Goose's family, the replacement for the seven dwarves in this version. Plus the update of the poisoned apple I also found interesting.
The pace was also picked up when it came to Goose's part, Celine's best friend and an actual dwarf himself. He's on a quest to find Celine's celebrity crush, a douchy singer, so he can kiss her and bring her back to life. It was interesting watching him go on this quest and slowly become more independent and sure of himself. However, I wasn't a huge fan of the twist since I saw it coming for a mile away, that it was his true love that broke the spell, not the singer's. Back when this was written, that might've been an original twist, but I've seen things like Ever After High in where Apple White, Snow White's daughter, is awoken from her slumber not by Prince Charming's son like everyone expected, but his daughter, Darling Charming, making her Apple's true love and princess charming. Not to mention both Frozen and Maleficent did that twist too. What I'm trying to say is....it's not very original anymore.
I also don't really like the cover for this one. I mean, Violet looks fine, but Celine looks really weird to me. Maybe it's her big red lips, I don't know. I do like the apple entwined in the branches though.
Despite all my complaints, I did enjoy reading this. Snow White is a fairy tale that has some excellent retellings attached to it, and you can put this one in that pile as well.
This one has a lot of negative reviews, and much like Cloaked, I can totally see why. Alex Flinn's fairy tale retellings seem to be very hit-or-miss. Everyone loves Beastly of course, and then everyone has another one of her fairy-tale retellings that they really like, then think the others are just average or even bad. Not me! With the exception of Towering, I've been a fan of all her retellings, and this one is no exception.
I found myself relating to Violet in the 1980's, the woman who eventually becomes Celine's stepmother. As someone who was bullied for their looks and who has now become extremely pretty yet vain and bitter, I can assure you that beauty means power, and only once you have beauty will people like you and notice you and take you seriously. However I do wish there was a little bit more development on her part, showing when she truly did snap and become malicious, since the last time we saw her as a child, she was vain and jealous, but not necessarily evil yet.
I will admit that I found Celine's part to be a bit...well boring. She didn't have very much personality development aside from people saying she was nice and kind, but we didn't really see her doing anything nice or kind. Plus all the references to modern technology and social media got a bit repetitive. I felt like the author was saying: "Hey, look! This story takes place in the 21st century! It takes place in 2014!" However, I felt like the pace was picked up once she goes into hiding with Goose's family, the replacement for the seven dwarves in this version. Plus the update of the poisoned apple I also found interesting.
The pace was also picked up when it came to Goose's part, Celine's best friend and an actual dwarf himself. He's on a quest to find Celine's celebrity crush, a douchy singer, so he can kiss her and bring her back to life. It was interesting watching him go on this quest and slowly become more independent and sure of himself. However, I wasn't a huge fan of the twist since I saw it coming for a mile away, that it was his true love that broke the spell, not the singer's. Back when this was written, that might've been an original twist, but I've seen things like Ever After High in where Apple White, Snow White's daughter, is awoken from her slumber not by Prince Charming's son like everyone expected, but his daughter, Darling Charming, making her Apple's true love and princess charming. Not to mention both Frozen and Maleficent did that twist too. What I'm trying to say is....it's not very original anymore.
I also don't really like the cover for this one. I mean, Violet looks fine, but Celine looks really weird to me. Maybe it's her big red lips, I don't know. I do like the apple entwined in the branches though.
Despite all my complaints, I did enjoy reading this. Snow White is a fairy tale that has some excellent retellings attached to it, and you can put this one in that pile as well.
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