A review by princessgonchar
The Mirror Season by Anna-Marie McLemore

challenging dark sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I think the reason that this didn't resonate with me as soundly as it did with everyone else is because I thought it was going to be a different story than it was. The synopsis suggests, at least to me, a fairly magical landscape. Not *fantasy* per se but just vaguely ~magical~. However, the story reads like a fairly standard (if well-written) YA novel with the teensiest bit of magic that honestly was probably mostly a metaphor and less of, like, real magic.

That's not to say that the book would have benefited from being more magical (whatever that means), but I do think the book would have benefited in my eyes from being marketed or described more accurately. 

I think waiting to reveal that our protagonist was the one who sexually assaulted Lock was the wrong choice. Graciela makes it clear that she remembers that night moment by moment from the beginning. Keeping the information from the reader in some sort of "gotcha" dramatic irony moment feels ... weird? I suppose one could argue that it puts you in Lock's shoes and maybe that helps you justify either one of their reactions, but ultimately, I don't think readers should be treated the same as another character in the book, especially as we're experiencing everything with Graciela. I feel like if we knew that she was hiding this incredibly heavy secret from Lock, it would just make the rest of the story make a bit more sense.


Ultimately, I didn't dislike it. I thought it was solid. I just didn't love it. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings