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_eliza's review
5.0
Perfect for teaching young kids archetypes and the hero's journey. Thankfully we finally have POC representation when it comes to teaching myths and legends. I feel like some of the code-switching was forced and a lot of legends were squished into one novel. I would love to see each get their own story. Everyone saying "just read Percy Jackson" has obviously never suffered for lack of representation in their books, especially for kids. This is a great alternative for the worn-out Greek/Roman repeats.
olbeelaine's review
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
nizharu's review against another edition
3.0
I don't know how to think about this book.
I like it, I like it a lot, but, simple, I don't know.
I like it, I like it a lot, but, simple, I don't know.
ehparrish's review against another edition
The writing was flat and heavily expository. The kids didn't read like kids. I kept pushing but in the end, I just wasn't interested enough to finish.
libscote's review
3.0
I liked this one. Twins Carolina and Johnny are sent to live with relatives in Mexico for a summer after their father realizes he isn't dealing well with the loss of their mother. The twins have started to notice something funny happening to them at night. It turns out they are naguales, shapeshifters that can turn into a wolf and a leopard, respectively. It is a generational thing, and twin naguales are special and unique. They discover their mother is actually trapped underground, and they are going to have to travel the Aztec underworld to find her.
If you have a kid who is a mythology nut, this is a great addition to that genre. I enjoyed learning a lot about Aztec mythology. I was also grateful for the glossary and definition guide in the back, because I didn't know a lot of the words, having never taken Spanish and not being familiar with Aztec culture. I'll be interested in checking out the second one.
If you have a kid who is a mythology nut, this is a great addition to that genre. I enjoyed learning a lot about Aztec mythology. I was also grateful for the glossary and definition guide in the back, because I didn't know a lot of the words, having never taken Spanish and not being familiar with Aztec culture. I'll be interested in checking out the second one.
plexbrarian's review
4.0
Twins Carol and Juan Angel Garza are living with their father in a struggling family setup after the mysterious disappearance of the twins' mother. When they are sent to Mexico to stay with family in order for their father to try to get help for his depression and related alcoholism, the twins start having strange beastly dreams involving prowling and hunting, and Carol catches Juan transforming one night after falling asleep. They come to discover that they are naguales or shape-shifters who occur in the family once each generation; and the fact they both have the gift makes them a rare and potentially powerful force. They also learn that their mother is alive and being held at the end of the 9 deserts of the Underworld by someone who would seek to control their power and use it for global destruction. The Garza twins are determined to save their mother and, with some help from other supernatural beings, may learn how to use their shape-shifting powers along the way.
I think upper elementary to middle schoolers might enjoy reading The Smoking Mirror, especially if they have some knowledge of the Spanish language or are willing to look up words they don't know along the way. Having not known much about Aztec or Mesoamerican mythology/literature beyond the major names like Quetzalcoatl, learning more about this history was really interesting to me. The characters felt pretty one-sided (serious, worrying Carol and jokester Juan Angel who doesn't like his sister telling him what to do) but they ended up respecting each other a little bit more by the end and have to deal with real-life issues like bullying and parents with mental illness, and the story was still engaging enough. I got this through the library as part of a ZipBook program.
I think upper elementary to middle schoolers might enjoy reading The Smoking Mirror, especially if they have some knowledge of the Spanish language or are willing to look up words they don't know along the way. Having not known much about Aztec or Mesoamerican mythology/literature beyond the major names like Quetzalcoatl, learning more about this history was really interesting to me. The characters felt pretty one-sided (serious, worrying Carol and jokester Juan Angel who doesn't like his sister telling him what to do) but they ended up respecting each other a little bit more by the end and have to deal with real-life issues like bullying and parents with mental illness, and the story was still engaging enough. I got this through the library as part of a ZipBook program.
laurann's review against another edition
This book was assigned to me for my Children's Literature Course...I didn't like it. I was intrigued by the story, but overall it was poorly written and felt forced. The characters were flat and didn't seem to grow. If it wasn't for a class I would have quit reading it.
libscote's review against another edition
3.0
I liked this one. Twins Carolina and Johnny are sent to live with relatives in Mexico for a summer after their father realizes he isn't dealing well with the loss of their mother. The twins have started to notice something funny happening to them at night. It turns out they are naguales, shapeshifters that can turn into a wolf and a leopard, respectively. It is a generational thing, and twin naguales are special and unique. They discover their mother is actually trapped underground, and they are going to have to travel the Aztec underworld to find her.
If you have a kid who is a mythology nut, this is a great addition to that genre. I enjoyed learning a lot about Aztec mythology. I was also grateful for the glossary and definition guide in the back, because I didn't know a lot of the words, having never taken Spanish and not being familiar with Aztec culture. I'll be interested in checking out the second one.
If you have a kid who is a mythology nut, this is a great addition to that genre. I enjoyed learning a lot about Aztec mythology. I was also grateful for the glossary and definition guide in the back, because I didn't know a lot of the words, having never taken Spanish and not being familiar with Aztec culture. I'll be interested in checking out the second one.
rachelkc's review
2.0
The Garza Twins discover things about themselves in the midst of dealing with the disappearance of their mother and the their father’s resulting breakdown in The Smoking Mirror. The imaginative aspects of this tale are reliant on the reality of their situation, and they follow the “rules” set forth by the book, allowing Carol and Johnny to explore their relationship with each other and with their new “shapes” while they fight to find their mother and set the world right again. I wasn’t a fan of Bowles’s writing style, especially his dialogue, so I struggled to finish this book. Where there is creativity and imagination involved, certain events and interactions fell flat, and it felt that there was more telling than showing.
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