Mirror Me

                Hello happy readers!  Happy Friday.  I'm thrilled for this weekend because I am supposed to do my second escape room with my group tomorrow and I am beyond thrilled to see if we can continue the success in the Mad Hatter room.  Today's review kind of follows along the lines, going down the rabbit hole in a tale of a girl and her adventure wondering if she is going mad.  The book is Mirror Me by Tara St. Pierre.  I reviewed another title by the author Just a Few Inches some time back and enjoyed the writing and message so I was more than ready to give this new one a read.  I was provided with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Rating:  4.5 Stars

                Mirror Me follows our MC Hannah who is currently under lock and key with strict rules and punishments in place while attending a private school.  It seems a bit harsh, the list of unapproved things but Hannah is trying to be better.  These are in place after a major screw up the previous year.  She is trying to get her life back on track and earn back trust.  So when she suddenly starts getting in trouble, accused of breaking the rules she has been so diligent to follow, no one believes she isn’t doing them.  She can’t even look at her own reflection, seeing a completely different person in there.  Are her past mistakes coming back to haunt her or is she losing her mind.

                 At the start we know Hannah got into some trouble and has since moved and started over but with no trust built with her mother and some serious rules.  I wanted to know just what happened to inspire these rules from the start and getting little bits along the way made me even more curious as I tried to figure it out.  Her mom, while I really appreciated her taking an active role in her life unlike some parents in YA who are never around, I think she was a bit harsh.  The whole dynamic works well within the story and really plays out over the length of the story.  There are also moments where I felt honest empathy for several of the characters.

                Hannah is very hard on herself and is punishing herself for what happened.  I liked that she was remorseful for what happened, even before we knew what that was.  She was the kind of person who knows she was making mistakes and is trying to learn from them and change.  Which is why I thought her mom was too harsh most of the time.  You can sympathize with her and what she is going through in trying to atone.  Hannah has her friends that she is close with and you can feel the bonds there even through ups and downs.  With friends you don't always have to agree with each other or approve of things they do to be friends.  Not every friendship is perfect but I enjoyed that they were able to work through difficult times.  Still they have plenty of hilarious moments and real sincerity. 

                The romance in this was rather cute and a bit different.  I liked the overall twist and the fall out of that twist.  I think everyone took it so much better than I think I would have.  The book has many great and positive messages that I really enjoyed.  They weren't shoved at you to make a point but woven into a fast and engaging story.  A girl with a past has things start happening that she can't explain.  Is she losing her mind?  Is her past coming back for her?  The play in binding just a touch of magical/fantasy elements was perfect.  Anything is possible.

                This was a quick read for me and I probably would have finished it in one sitting had I not been out of town at the time squeezing in family visits and the like.  It was easy to pick back up and fall right back into the story.  I would easily recommend this story to anyone for the plot and the way it makes you think and take stock.  Plus any book where you seriously doubt the sanity of the character is something I want to read.  I'm happy this book fell into my radar because it was an enjoyable read for me and that is always a positive!

                Until next time…