Mirror to Mirror
by Rajani LaRocca
read by Rasha Zamamiri and Reena Dutt
Quill Tree Books, 2023. 4 hours, 1 minute.
Review written July 9, 2023, from a library eaudiobook.
Mirror to Mirror is a novel in verse about twins Maya and Chaya, during a year when they grow apart.
Maya and Chaya do everything together. They are there for each other all the time. But Maya is hiding a secret that almost seven years ago, she broke a mirror, and she believes that all the bad luck that has hit their family since then is all her fault. Her solution is that she needs to be perfect. She needs to do everything right, and maybe that way she can protect her family.
Chaya notices that Maya’s anxiety is getting out of control. She wants to tell their parents — but their parents are having trouble with each other, and Maya’s convinced she can handle it. Chaya decides that Maya needs space, that competing with her is what’s causing the trouble. So she changes her class schedule to sign up for completely different kinds of music, including the musical theater production. But this ends up breaking the twins apart even more.
It all comes to a head when the twins switch places at music camp, making a bet to see who can fool their friends the longest. But that means they have to step into each other’s shoes.
I do still feel like I miss something when I listen to a novel in verse rather than reading it and seeing what the author does with layout and formatting. I also have a better visual memory than an auditory memory, and I really had trouble for a while knowing the differences between Chaya and Maya. I think reading the book would have helped with that. There were two narrators, but their voices were very similar. But as the story picked up with the conflict between the two, it became easier to follow.
The author dedicates the book to her twin, so I’m thinking she presented an authentic picture of finding your own voice, your own music when you’ve got an identical twin.
Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Childrens_Fiction/mirror_to_mirror.html
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Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.
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