cursedherondale's review against another edition
3.0
I already wrote a review for this book and I accidentally deleted the book in my shelf and have to rewrite a new one which is gonna be more crap than the first lol
Despite how this book annoyed me at times, I really enjoyed it. Kendra has always been my favorite book-witch and her complex character always intrigues me. Her relationship with Violet is heartbreaking and I love how she keeps her head on top and strives to help Celine with all her best. Goose is another character in this book that I really love, and I didn't mind, not a bit of him being a dwarf. His personality speaks for him and sometimes, in this cruel physical-sensitive world personality is more than enough.
Despite how this book annoyed me at times, I really enjoyed it. Kendra has always been my favorite book-witch and her complex character always intrigues me. Her relationship with Violet is heartbreaking and I love how she keeps her head on top and strives to help Celine with all her best. Goose is another character in this book that I really love, and I didn't mind, not a bit of him being a dwarf. His personality speaks for him and sometimes, in this cruel physical-sensitive world personality is more than enough.
ajworkman77's review against another edition
3.0
A great idea, cool characters, however it was too long and the end was drawn out EXCEPT for the last moments with evil Violet. That could have go on a bit.
thosebookishdays's review against another edition
4.0
《 2.5/5 stars 》
I was disappointed in Mirrored. I've read some of Alex Flinn's other books and I was always impressed with them. Mirrored however was only okay, it most definitely wasn't one of the best books that I've read.
I didn't really care for any of the characters all that much. Their development was weak and none of them really changed as the story went on. Alex Flinn tried to humanize Violet in the first part of this book by telling it from Violet's point of view. While I felt bad for her I don't think this first part worked because there was no character development. The only character that I really enjoyed was Goose and I only liked him because he was the comic relief.
I didn't think that this was a very good retelling. It was very predictable and didn't really change much of the original fairy tale.
There also wasn't a lot of plot it was the same old Snow White story and the stuff that was different was kind of bland.
The writing was okay. There wasn't really anything spectacular about it, but there also wasn't anything horrible about it either. I felt like it was geared more towards a younger audience, like middle school age, and I have a hard time reading those types of books now, since I'm older.
While I wasn't necessarily happy with this book I was able to get through it and liked some parts. So I recommend this book to teens who like books with romance, some action, and fantasy.
I was disappointed in Mirrored. I've read some of Alex Flinn's other books and I was always impressed with them. Mirrored however was only okay, it most definitely wasn't one of the best books that I've read.
I didn't really care for any of the characters all that much. Their development was weak and none of them really changed as the story went on. Alex Flinn tried to humanize Violet in the first part of this book by telling it from Violet's point of view. While I felt bad for her I don't think this first part worked because there was no character development. The only character that I really enjoyed was Goose and I only liked him because he was the comic relief.
I didn't think that this was a very good retelling. It was very predictable and didn't really change much of the original fairy tale.
There also wasn't a lot of plot it was the same old Snow White story and the stuff that was different was kind of bland.
The writing was okay. There wasn't really anything spectacular about it, but there also wasn't anything horrible about it either. I felt like it was geared more towards a younger audience, like middle school age, and I have a hard time reading those types of books now, since I'm older.
While I wasn't necessarily happy with this book I was able to get through it and liked some parts. So I recommend this book to teens who like books with romance, some action, and fantasy.
hehkhatea's review against another edition
3.0
Kind of wished Flinn had used the original Snow White story instead of the usual Evil Queen was a misunderstood girl that becomes Snow White's stepmother. Flinn could also stand to learn some more modern lingo, i don't think anyone has said "le sigh" since 2008. At least the ending was sweet.
bookmarklit's review against another edition
3.0
Somewhere between 2-3 stars. SUPER mixed feelings about this one. The overall story was a cool retelling, but the writing style didn't work for me at allllll. Some parts really dragged but other parts were pretty interesting.
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Full review:
I definitely have some mixed feelings on this one. I’m tempted to lower the rating because of all the things that bugged me, but there were quite a few things I liked as well.
The overall story behind this one was really cool, from a retelling standpoint. All of the elements that actually connected to Snow White were really well-done. Some of them made you think a little bit, and I bet I even missed some of the references to the original story. The plot was a really interesting take on that story and didn’t seem too similar. I have to give this book points for that. It was also cool to have the three different perspectives in the story, starting with Violet’s backstory, how that impacts Celine in her part, and how Goose finishes off the book.
The characters were pretty good. Again, I liked getting a glimpse at Violet’s backstory so you could really see how and why she got to be the way she was. It was a little bit easier to be KIND OF sympathetic towards her when she starts being insane. Celine was a nice enough main character but was really just (1) smart and (2) obsessed with a singer named Jonah Prince. We don’t get too much more than that. Goose was probably my favorite but even then he wasn’t super memorable.
The pacing and writing style really bugged me. There were a few (okay, a lot) of places in the book that draaaaggged on and on. I was bored a lot of the time. The dialogue and writing overall was kind of choppy and off too. There were some parts that felt really forced and not actually teenager-like. I can’t think of specific examples, but the writing just didn’t jive with me. I think for that reason, I probably won’t try another Alex Flinn retelling.
The ending seemed a bit too convenient. I won’t spoil anything, but it was far-fetched. I mean yeah, this is a fairy tale retelling and involves magic, so it’s all kind of far-fetched… but this was different. What needed to be done was very obvious to me and it bugged me that literally no one thought of it. They all jumped to a different conclusion and the book dragged on forever.
Overall, I can’t say I’d wholeheartedly recommend this one. I don’t think I’ll bother with the author’s other books because of the writing style, but the retelling aspects were cool.
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Full review:
I definitely have some mixed feelings on this one. I’m tempted to lower the rating because of all the things that bugged me, but there were quite a few things I liked as well.
The overall story behind this one was really cool, from a retelling standpoint. All of the elements that actually connected to Snow White were really well-done. Some of them made you think a little bit, and I bet I even missed some of the references to the original story. The plot was a really interesting take on that story and didn’t seem too similar. I have to give this book points for that. It was also cool to have the three different perspectives in the story, starting with Violet’s backstory, how that impacts Celine in her part, and how Goose finishes off the book.
The characters were pretty good. Again, I liked getting a glimpse at Violet’s backstory so you could really see how and why she got to be the way she was. It was a little bit easier to be KIND OF sympathetic towards her when she starts being insane. Celine was a nice enough main character but was really just (1) smart and (2) obsessed with a singer named Jonah Prince. We don’t get too much more than that. Goose was probably my favorite but even then he wasn’t super memorable.
The pacing and writing style really bugged me. There were a few (okay, a lot) of places in the book that draaaaggged on and on. I was bored a lot of the time. The dialogue and writing overall was kind of choppy and off too. There were some parts that felt really forced and not actually teenager-like. I can’t think of specific examples, but the writing just didn’t jive with me. I think for that reason, I probably won’t try another Alex Flinn retelling.
The ending seemed a bit too convenient. I won’t spoil anything, but it was far-fetched. I mean yeah, this is a fairy tale retelling and involves magic, so it’s all kind of far-fetched… but this was different. What needed to be done was very obvious to me and it bugged me that literally no one thought of it. They all jumped to a different conclusion and the book dragged on forever.
Overall, I can’t say I’d wholeheartedly recommend this one. I don’t think I’ll bother with the author’s other books because of the writing style, but the retelling aspects were cool.
geno's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
"Mirrored" es un retelling actualizado de "Blanca Nieves" contado en 3 puntos de vista distintos: la bruja, Blanca Nieves y el interés amoroso.
Como idea, está interesante, podría ser complicado modernizarlo pero se mantiene lo suficientemente cerca como para que nunca dudemos de qué se trata. Sin embargo, no cumple con las expectativas.
Siento que la mayor falla es que pasamos mucho tiempo con la villana, Violet. Es la bruja malvada del cuento, pero como la historia arranca con ella de niña, terminamos conociendo mucho de su vida (una madre abusiva y obsesionada por la belleza, compañeros de colegio que la maltratan, un amigo que la abandona por una chica más linda) y el punto de vista termina sin que la hayamos visto migrar a villana. Sí, Violet tiene algunas actitudes cuestionables y podemos inferir que va a ser mala, pero no vemos el proceso. La mayor parte del tiempo me la pasé entendiendo su angustia adolescente más que pensando que estaba haciendo maldades.
El segundo punto de vista es el de Celine, la hijastra de Violet, con la cual tienen una buena relación. Nuevamente, sin desarrollo, Violet comienza a odiarla al punto de quererla matar. No sería un problema pero no "vemos" el cambio, pasa más por piscótica que por desarrollo de personaje.
Finalmente, el interés romántico es Goose, el mejor personaje y el más entretenido de leer. Aun cuando le toca la subtrama menos pensada y caótica de todo el libro (que de por sí tenía la vara muy baja). Cerrando en un final feliz típico de cuentos de hadas.
Como resumen, el libro tiene buenas ideas, la ejecución queda a medias, especialmente por la falta de desarrollo. El tipo de escritura está más cerca de un middle grade que de YA, seguramente aquellos lectores más jóvenes disfruten más de esta historia.
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"Mirrored" it's a modern "Snow White" retelling told in 3 POV: the evil witch/stepmother, Snow White, and the love interest.
The premise sounds interesting enough. My main issue it's that it starts with the "evil witch", Violet, and even if the author makes an effort to show us she is bad, the truth is she's just a young girl with an abusive mother being bullied by her peers. It's easier to take her side than the "good ones" side. And yes, she made some questionable things but I can't bring myself to despise her.
The second POV it's from Celine, Violet's stepdaughter. They start off friendly but suddenly, Celine it's the "most beautiful girl" and Violet turns into the evil witch she always was. It's fair but pretty shallow.
The last POV it's from Goose, Celine's friend who gets involved because he is a good person and somehow convinces himself that to wake her up, he needs to bring an obnoxious pop star. Even if Gus is by far the best character, this subplot it's so messy, it's not worth it.
Overall, some good ideas, but not a particularly interesting book, it falls closer to a middle grade than to YA.
Como idea, está interesante, podría ser complicado modernizarlo pero se mantiene lo suficientemente cerca como para que nunca dudemos de qué se trata. Sin embargo, no cumple con las expectativas.
Siento que la mayor falla es que pasamos mucho tiempo con la villana, Violet. Es la bruja malvada del cuento, pero como la historia arranca con ella de niña, terminamos conociendo mucho de su vida (una madre abusiva y obsesionada por la belleza, compañeros de colegio que la maltratan, un amigo que la abandona por una chica más linda) y el punto de vista termina sin que la hayamos visto migrar a villana. Sí, Violet tiene algunas actitudes cuestionables y podemos inferir que va a ser mala, pero no vemos el proceso. La mayor parte del tiempo me la pasé entendiendo su angustia adolescente más que pensando que estaba haciendo maldades.
El segundo punto de vista es el de Celine, la hijastra de Violet, con la cual tienen una buena relación. Nuevamente, sin desarrollo, Violet comienza a odiarla al punto de quererla matar. No sería un problema pero no "vemos" el cambio, pasa más por piscótica que por desarrollo de personaje.
Finalmente, el interés romántico es Goose, el mejor personaje y el más entretenido de leer. Aun cuando le toca la subtrama menos pensada y caótica de todo el libro (que de por sí tenía la vara muy baja). Cerrando en un final feliz típico de cuentos de hadas.
Como resumen, el libro tiene buenas ideas, la ejecución queda a medias, especialmente por la falta de desarrollo. El tipo de escritura está más cerca de un middle grade que de YA, seguramente aquellos lectores más jóvenes disfruten más de esta historia.
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"Mirrored" it's a modern "Snow White" retelling told in 3 POV: the evil witch/stepmother, Snow White, and the love interest.
The premise sounds interesting enough. My main issue it's that it starts with the "evil witch", Violet, and even if the author makes an effort to show us she is bad, the truth is she's just a young girl with an abusive mother being bullied by her peers. It's easier to take her side than the "good ones" side. And yes, she made some questionable things but I can't bring myself to despise her.
The second POV it's from Celine, Violet's stepdaughter. They start off friendly but suddenly, Celine it's the "most beautiful girl" and Violet turns into the evil witch she always was. It's fair but pretty shallow.
The last POV it's from Goose, Celine's friend who gets involved because he is a good person and somehow convinces himself that to wake her up, he needs to bring an obnoxious pop star. Even if Gus is by far the best character, this subplot it's so messy, it's not worth it.
Overall, some good ideas, but not a particularly interesting book, it falls closer to a middle grade than to YA.
kyera's review against another edition
4.0
As a fan of Alex Flinn's fairytale re-tellings, especially Beastly, I was anticipating this novel greatly. It was a unique take on the Snow White tale's Queen, Huntsman, Prince and happily ever after. As the story of Snow White is pretty well known, there's not much I can say without giving away how this re-telling decided to approach the story. Definitely recommended for those who enjoy fairy tales and happily ever afters.
bookdragonslair's review against another edition
5.0
Another amazing fairytale retelling by Alex Flinn. I really do love that these novels are somewhat light so I can just read one within a day.
Alex Flinn really does an amazing job giving new life to these old tales, especially given they are in a modern setting. I often dislike books set in modern day but these ones I quite enjoy. The romance in them also strikes me as very sweet and innocent, something refreshing in a teen novel.
Alex Flinn really does an amazing job giving new life to these old tales, especially given they are in a modern setting. I often dislike books set in modern day but these ones I quite enjoy. The romance in them also strikes me as very sweet and innocent, something refreshing in a teen novel.