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bbookmylife's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
sand_leewin's review against another edition
4.0
highly rated because alex flinn is my guilty pleasure author and this book has become a new fave for fairytale retellings
laughlinesandliterature's review against another edition
3.0
*I received this book from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review*
The synopsis of this book makes it sound like Violet and Celine are around the same age, so I wasn’t really expecting to find the story starting out with a young Violet and Celine not even making an appearance until halfway through the book. Now it is a retelling of Snow White, so I’m not quite sure why I was under that impression only that I was somewhat surprised. Now onto the review!
I will say that poor Violet had a rough childhood, she was neglected and ignored for most of her life. I can understand why she would want revenge on those who had wronged her. However, she took it a step to far and went totally crazy. Celine is Violet’s step-daughter, but worse than that she is the daughter of Violet’s #1 tormentor when they were in high school. Now Violet had always been in love with Celine’s father Greg, but she took it to the extreme. And that’s really all I can say without spoilers.
The first half with Violet was central to the plot, but it also got tedious as it was so obvious that Violet was self centered and didn’t really care about anyone else. Worse than that she was fine with being malicious and cruel. It honestly felt like Violet was always a 13 year old girl who was bullied and was finally getting her revenge. And it was heartbreaking because Violet had so much potential.
Celine and Goose were the absolute best parts of this book, and they completely drove home the message that looks don’t matter. Even better Goose and Celine were complete characters. They had flaws, they were sometimes mean but mostly nice and they felt guilty when they did someone wrong. They were also quite funny, and I found that endearing. Overall, I would give the book 3.5 out of 5 stars. I know that may seem wrong considering I did like it, but really I felt bashed over the head with the Violet sections of the book.
*This review was first posted to Moonlight Gleam Reviews http://moonlightgleam.com/2016/04/mirrored-by-alex-flinn.html*
The synopsis of this book makes it sound like Violet and Celine are around the same age, so I wasn’t really expecting to find the story starting out with a young Violet and Celine not even making an appearance until halfway through the book. Now it is a retelling of Snow White, so I’m not quite sure why I was under that impression only that I was somewhat surprised. Now onto the review!
I will say that poor Violet had a rough childhood, she was neglected and ignored for most of her life. I can understand why she would want revenge on those who had wronged her. However, she took it a step to far and went totally crazy. Celine is Violet’s step-daughter, but worse than that she is the daughter of Violet’s #1 tormentor when they were in high school. Now Violet had always been in love with Celine’s father Greg, but she took it to the extreme. And that’s really all I can say without spoilers.
The first half with Violet was central to the plot, but it also got tedious as it was so obvious that Violet was self centered and didn’t really care about anyone else. Worse than that she was fine with being malicious and cruel. It honestly felt like Violet was always a 13 year old girl who was bullied and was finally getting her revenge. And it was heartbreaking because Violet had so much potential.
Celine and Goose were the absolute best parts of this book, and they completely drove home the message that looks don’t matter. Even better Goose and Celine were complete characters. They had flaws, they were sometimes mean but mostly nice and they felt guilty when they did someone wrong. They were also quite funny, and I found that endearing. Overall, I would give the book 3.5 out of 5 stars. I know that may seem wrong considering I did like it, but really I felt bashed over the head with the Violet sections of the book.
*This review was first posted to Moonlight Gleam Reviews http://moonlightgleam.com/2016/04/mirrored-by-alex-flinn.html*
aplatt23's review against another edition
3.0
Extra star only for the somewhat unconventional ending.
aylea's review against another edition
3.0
Review originally posted at The Children's Book and Media Review
In this modern twist of Snow White, readers get the perspectives of all the primary characters. Violet is brilliant but ugly enough that her classmates and teachers despise and bully her. She only has one friend, Greg, until he forgets her and starts dating Violet’s worst enemy. While Violet is dealing with losing her only friend she meets Kendra, a witch who can help her change the way she looks and teach Violet how to use her magical gifts. Violet becomes obsessed with using magic to become beautiful, but nothing she does seems to be able to change Greg’s mind. Years later, Greg’s daughter, Celine, loves her new stepmother, Violet, until suddenly Violet no longer seems to like her at all. When Violet attacks Celine, Celine has to rely on the help of Kendra and her friend Goose to find her a true love’s kiss to save her life.
This book is obsessed with beauty, trying to get the message across that beauty is not everything. It also deals with themes of bullying and stereotyping. Goose is arguably the best character in the book, packing a lot of personality and charm into his short frame. A lot of the other characters, such as Greg, are one-dimensional and are only there to serve a purpose. Celine herself seems to only have the fault of being too pretty. The teacher’s dislike of Violet because of her ugliness in spite of being intelligent and a good student makes little sense. Some of the fairy tale adaptions into the modern world are very clever, but sometimes with so much contemporary the magic seems out of place. While not the best fairy tale retelling out there, the modern take and the book not taking itself too seriously makes it an interesting retelling of a classic story.
In this modern twist of Snow White, readers get the perspectives of all the primary characters. Violet is brilliant but ugly enough that her classmates and teachers despise and bully her. She only has one friend, Greg, until he forgets her and starts dating Violet’s worst enemy. While Violet is dealing with losing her only friend she meets Kendra, a witch who can help her change the way she looks and teach Violet how to use her magical gifts. Violet becomes obsessed with using magic to become beautiful, but nothing she does seems to be able to change Greg’s mind. Years later, Greg’s daughter, Celine, loves her new stepmother, Violet, until suddenly Violet no longer seems to like her at all. When Violet attacks Celine, Celine has to rely on the help of Kendra and her friend Goose to find her a true love’s kiss to save her life.
This book is obsessed with beauty, trying to get the message across that beauty is not everything. It also deals with themes of bullying and stereotyping. Goose is arguably the best character in the book, packing a lot of personality and charm into his short frame. A lot of the other characters, such as Greg, are one-dimensional and are only there to serve a purpose. Celine herself seems to only have the fault of being too pretty. The teacher’s dislike of Violet because of her ugliness in spite of being intelligent and a good student makes little sense. Some of the fairy tale adaptions into the modern world are very clever, but sometimes with so much contemporary the magic seems out of place. While not the best fairy tale retelling out there, the modern take and the book not taking itself too seriously makes it an interesting retelling of a classic story.
ewil6681's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
callidoralblack's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Minor: Bullying, Car accident, Death of parent, Violence, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Grief, Murder, Animal cruelty, Gaslighting, Medical content, Animal death, Blood, and Fire/Fire injury
sc104906's review against another edition
3.0
Welcome to Alex Flinn's version of Snow White. Told from the perspective of both the Snow White character, Celine, and the evil stepmother character, Violet. Kendra makes appearances throughout this novel.
Violet believes that only pretty people can succeed in life. After learning magical powers through Kendra, Violet begins to change her appearance, so that she can be with her long time crush. Her changes do not matter and her crush marries and has a child with another woman. Years later, Violet marries him and becomes the evil stepmother to Celine.
Celine is beautiful, but shy. She hates drawing attention because of her looks and is seeking something real. She meets a boy with a lower center of gravity (little person) and finds a real connection. Eventually, he is the one person she can count on to save her from her evil stepmother.
This wasn't my favorite book in the series. I was hoping for redemption of the evil character, and a better well-rounded character. The story did not have enough of Flinn's usual twists.
Violet believes that only pretty people can succeed in life. After learning magical powers through Kendra, Violet begins to change her appearance, so that she can be with her long time crush. Her changes do not matter and her crush marries and has a child with another woman. Years later, Violet marries him and becomes the evil stepmother to Celine.
Celine is beautiful, but shy. She hates drawing attention because of her looks and is seeking something real. She meets a boy with a lower center of gravity (little person) and finds a real connection. Eventually, he is the one person she can count on to save her from her evil stepmother.
This wasn't my favorite book in the series. I was hoping for redemption of the evil character, and a better well-rounded character. The story did not have enough of Flinn's usual twists.