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bookcub's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
charlotekerstenauthor's review against another edition
"If I scream forever, they will have to hear me forever."
CW for sexual assault.
So What’s It About?
Graciela Cristales's whole world changes after she and a boy she barely knows are assaulted at the same party. She loses her gift for making enchanted pan dulce. Neighborhood trees vanish overnight, while mirrored glass appears, bringing reckless magic with it. And Ciela is haunted by what happened to her, and what happened to the boy whose name she never learned.
But when the boy, Lock, shows up at Ciela's school, he has no memory of that night, and no clue that a single piece of mirrored glass is taking his life apart. Ciela decides to help him, which means hiding the truth about that night. Because Ciela knows who assaulted her, and him. And she knows that her survival, and his, depend on no one finding out what really happened.
What I Thought
I know that many people absolutely love Anna-Marie McLemore’s books, and this is the first of theirs that I have read. I really, really loved some things about this book, but a few others left me less than satisfied. The story’s strongest point is absolutely the relationship between Ciela and Lock - the way they support each other, laugh together, fight back against their perpetrators in silly and serious ways and develop a friendship that blossoms into love. Their relationship is incredibly sweet and a powerful demonstration of survivor solidarity and how transformative it can be.
McLemore also depicts the aftermath of sexual assault quite well, I think, in the way that Ciela pieces together her distorted memories over time and is convinced that keeping it secret is the only way to survive. The perpetrators have an entirely different view of the assault and don’t even think that they did anything wrong, instead believing that they did something friendly that was then maliciously misinterpreted and blown out of proportion.
The author is also keen on expressing that aspects of oppression and identity influence the experience of being victimized and being a survivor. Ciela makes it clear that being brown and curvy makes the perpetrators sexualize her, there is one line where one of the kids says that Ciela is only making a big deal out of what happened because she doesn’t like dick, and Lock expresses how he feels doubly victimized and shameful about his assault because he is a boy and didn’t think that boys got assaulted. Overall, I feel that the exploration of Lock's struggle was given the most care.
The only big possible caveat for the story’s treatment of sexual assault is that Lock and Ciela have sex while Ciela is hiding the truth that she is the one who performed oral sex on him while he was drugged. When he finds this out he is incredibly betrayed and makes it clear that he wouldn’t have had sex with her if he had known this. When we take into consideration the fact that consent has to be informed -meaning that no one is withholding any information that would prevent the other person from consenting - I don’t think it’s wrong to say that this could be interpreted as another huge violation for Lock, even if Ciela didn’t do it maliciously. I think this is a very interesting choice for the book to make, but it just kind of...fizzles when it’s dealing with the ramifications. Lock ends up just needing some time to work through it, Ciela apologizes, and then their relationship resumes by the end of the book. I can’t help but wish that the book had really dug deeper into this. Reader mileage will certainly vary regarding how this is dealt with by the book.
My other main problem is that the fantasy elements here don’t work very well for me. This is a very loose retelling of The Snow Queen - the key thing is that a mirror shard gets in the fairy tale character Kai’s eye just as it gets in Lock’s eye in this book, and it magnifies people’s bad features and doesn’t show their good ones. I think this parallels how Ciela filters the world after the assault, blaming herself and holding all kinds of cognitive distortions. In execution, the book just features scene after scene of mirror shards appearing, Ciela hiding them in her closet and describing her heart being embedded with shards. I know that hiding the mirror shards also represents hiding the story of the assault, but the whole thing just falls a little bit flat and repetitive for me. The one bit that really worked for me was the conclusion when the mirrors shows the perpetrators who they really are - Ciela thinks that she has to hide the mirrors, but they are actually the things that set her and Lock free.
I liked the other bit of magic in the story - Ciela is able to tell what kind of pan dulce bakery customers need to help them with whatever they’re struggling with, and this magic is influenced by how she stands up for herself in other areas of her life. My unreasonable quibble with this magic, though, is that lots of lines are spent rattling off the names of pan dulce without really describing them. This is just more of a missed opportunity than anything, I think, when I compare it to Robin McKinley’s Sunshine and how dedicated McKinley was to describing baked goods in mouth-watering detail!!!
Overall, I am very grateful for McLemore's courage in telling a story of survivorship that is clearly very close to their heart and their own experience of trauma. That is an incredibly difficult thing to do, and I think the world is better for it every time a survivor gives voice to their experience.
CW for sexual assault.
So What’s It About?
Graciela Cristales's whole world changes after she and a boy she barely knows are assaulted at the same party. She loses her gift for making enchanted pan dulce. Neighborhood trees vanish overnight, while mirrored glass appears, bringing reckless magic with it. And Ciela is haunted by what happened to her, and what happened to the boy whose name she never learned.
But when the boy, Lock, shows up at Ciela's school, he has no memory of that night, and no clue that a single piece of mirrored glass is taking his life apart. Ciela decides to help him, which means hiding the truth about that night. Because Ciela knows who assaulted her, and him. And she knows that her survival, and his, depend on no one finding out what really happened.
What I Thought
I know that many people absolutely love Anna-Marie McLemore’s books, and this is the first of theirs that I have read. I really, really loved some things about this book, but a few others left me less than satisfied. The story’s strongest point is absolutely the relationship between Ciela and Lock - the way they support each other, laugh together, fight back against their perpetrators in silly and serious ways and develop a friendship that blossoms into love. Their relationship is incredibly sweet and a powerful demonstration of survivor solidarity and how transformative it can be.
McLemore also depicts the aftermath of sexual assault quite well, I think, in the way that Ciela pieces together her distorted memories over time and is convinced that keeping it secret is the only way to survive. The perpetrators have an entirely different view of the assault and don’t even think that they did anything wrong, instead believing that they did something friendly that was then maliciously misinterpreted and blown out of proportion.
The author is also keen on expressing that aspects of oppression and identity influence the experience of being victimized and being a survivor. Ciela makes it clear that being brown and curvy makes the perpetrators sexualize her, there is one line where one of the kids says that Ciela is only making a big deal out of what happened because she doesn’t like dick, and Lock expresses how he feels doubly victimized and shameful about his assault because he is a boy and didn’t think that boys got assaulted. Overall, I feel that the exploration of Lock's struggle was given the most care.
The only big possible caveat for the story’s treatment of sexual assault is that Lock and Ciela have sex while Ciela is hiding the truth that she is the one who performed oral sex on him while he was drugged. When he finds this out he is incredibly betrayed and makes it clear that he wouldn’t have had sex with her if he had known this. When we take into consideration the fact that consent has to be informed -meaning that no one is withholding any information that would prevent the other person from consenting - I don’t think it’s wrong to say that this could be interpreted as another huge violation for Lock, even if Ciela didn’t do it maliciously. I think this is a very interesting choice for the book to make, but it just kind of...fizzles when it’s dealing with the ramifications. Lock ends up just needing some time to work through it, Ciela apologizes, and then their relationship resumes by the end of the book. I can’t help but wish that the book had really dug deeper into this. Reader mileage will certainly vary regarding how this is dealt with by the book.
My other main problem is that the fantasy elements here don’t work very well for me. This is a very loose retelling of The Snow Queen - the key thing is that a mirror shard gets in the fairy tale character Kai’s eye just as it gets in Lock’s eye in this book, and it magnifies people’s bad features and doesn’t show their good ones. I think this parallels how Ciela filters the world after the assault, blaming herself and holding all kinds of cognitive distortions. In execution, the book just features scene after scene of mirror shards appearing, Ciela hiding them in her closet and describing her heart being embedded with shards. I know that hiding the mirror shards also represents hiding the story of the assault, but the whole thing just falls a little bit flat and repetitive for me. The one bit that really worked for me was the conclusion when the mirrors shows the perpetrators who they really are - Ciela thinks that she has to hide the mirrors, but they are actually the things that set her and Lock free.
I liked the other bit of magic in the story - Ciela is able to tell what kind of pan dulce bakery customers need to help them with whatever they’re struggling with, and this magic is influenced by how she stands up for herself in other areas of her life. My unreasonable quibble with this magic, though, is that lots of lines are spent rattling off the names of pan dulce without really describing them. This is just more of a missed opportunity than anything, I think, when I compare it to Robin McKinley’s Sunshine and how dedicated McKinley was to describing baked goods in mouth-watering detail!!!
Overall, I am very grateful for McLemore's courage in telling a story of survivorship that is clearly very close to their heart and their own experience of trauma. That is an incredibly difficult thing to do, and I think the world is better for it every time a survivor gives voice to their experience.
btwnprintedpgs's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
My heart hurts so much omg. I'll review this after I stop crying.
---
This was my first Anna-Marie McLemore book, and I am officially a fan. I own two of their other books and I'm so excited to pick them up now.
The Mirror Season is heavy - it begins with our MC Ciela bringing an unknown-to-her boy to the hospital after he was drugged and they were both sexual assaulted in separate rooms. From there, we see how the system fails minorities and the poor; how keeping traumatic events to yourself slice into you slowly and begin to affect who you are; and how you build guards around yourself, both physically and mentally, in the aftermath. Everything about this book is so raw and heartbreaking, and knowing that it's a story that was born from personal experience makes it that much more valuable and important.
As the past unravels itself to us, and as Ciela opens up to more people, we see how her support systems lift her up. I loved her relationship with her family, and Lock's with his, and how they help these two kids navigate the worst the world has the offer. I know this isn't true for all, but I hope this book helps at least a few victims of sexual assault and rape open up to those they trust to help them.
Her and Lock's relationship, with all it's complications, was so amazing too. How they helped to build each other back up, the areas of conflict and how they manage it, and the healing they bring to each other. It was all so thoughtfully written and with such care. I want to give them both a hug.
This book is healing and hopeful and my heart hurts just thinking about it. One of my favourite books of the year, for sure.
Rep: Latina MC and family
TW: rape, sexual assault, sexual violence, lesbophobia, panphobia, racism, bullying, injury detail, blood
---
This was my first Anna-Marie McLemore book, and I am officially a fan. I own two of their other books and I'm so excited to pick them up now.
The Mirror Season is heavy - it begins with our MC Ciela bringing an unknown-to-her boy to the hospital after he was drugged and they were both sexual assaulted in separate rooms. From there, we see how the system fails minorities and the poor; how keeping traumatic events to yourself slice into you slowly and begin to affect who you are; and how you build guards around yourself, both physically and mentally, in the aftermath. Everything about this book is so raw and heartbreaking, and knowing that it's a story that was born from personal experience makes it that much more valuable and important.
As the past unravels itself to us, and as Ciela opens up to more people, we see how her support systems lift her up. I loved her relationship with her family, and Lock's with his, and how they help these two kids navigate the worst the world has the offer. I know this isn't true for all, but I hope this book helps at least a few victims of sexual assault and rape open up to those they trust to help them.
Her and Lock's relationship, with all it's complications, was so amazing too. How they helped to build each other back up, the areas of conflict and how they manage it, and the healing they bring to each other. It was all so thoughtfully written and with such care. I want to give them both a hug.
This book is healing and hopeful and my heart hurts just thinking about it. One of my favourite books of the year, for sure.
Rep: Latina MC and family
TW: rape, sexual assault, sexual violence, lesbophobia, panphobia, racism, bullying, injury detail, blood
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, Sexual violence, Lesbophobia, and Racism
Moderate: Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, and Blood
bookstorianreads's review against another edition
4.0
4.5
Oof. This was painful to read. Not because it wasn't well written (is there anything Anna-Marie McLemore can't write beautifully about?) but that it's about sexual assault, which apparently was inspired by the author's personal experience. It's not an easy book to read, but it's much needed, especially because it's about things people tend to keep quiet about. They need to know they're not alone, and that they have a voice. And for that alone, this book is worth reading. Highly recommend.
Oof. This was painful to read. Not because it wasn't well written (is there anything Anna-Marie McLemore can't write beautifully about?) but that it's about sexual assault, which apparently was inspired by the author's personal experience. It's not an easy book to read, but it's much needed, especially because it's about things people tend to keep quiet about. They need to know they're not alone, and that they have a voice. And for that alone, this book is worth reading. Highly recommend.
baileyreneec's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Absolutely one of my favorite novels I've read this semester. The representation of the sexual assault of not just Ciela but also of Lock was done so well and not just in a clinical sense that we see everything that happens to them without any consideration for what they felt, but in a way that shows us as the readers everything. By the end of the novel we see everything that has happened to Lock and Ciela, at the party and afterwards and how they each cope in their own way with the abuse they suffered. The detail of Ciela hiding the fact that she was in the same room as Lock from not only the people in her life but from us as well was such an interesting choice and really portrayed the reality of assault: it causes people to deny reality sometimes, to deny what has happened to them. Ciela not even being able to convince herself that she was in the room when Lock was assaulted is one of the factors that makes this novel so realistic and effective.
khalila's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
jackiea's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
arich6213's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0