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A review by ali_k0
Mirror Girls by Kelly McWilliams
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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
4.75
Mirror Girls was the first horror novel I've ever read, most certainly my first Southern Gothic (here's to new things in the new year!) and I'm certainly glad it was.
Both sister had such clear voices, as I was reading I could here Charlie's Harlem accent, the stiff-backed confidence that etched itself into her narrative. And for Magnolia, her Southern Belle Drawl poured off the page. There were several moments I laughed at the way her sister described it.
Kelly McWilliams laces this book with a sense of unmooredness for the characters. Charlie returns to a home she's never known, deep in the Jim Crow South. Eureka is "a place where nothing ever changes and nothing ever dies", where her stiffed back confidence is the very thing that could get her killed. As for Magnolia, well she's a Southern Belle who's no Southern Belle at all.
Mirror Girls is a testament to Racism, dark and powerful histories, and the challenges of identity and homes that don't want you. I cried so much during the final pages of this book, it's beautiful, it's painful, I loved it all.
And I'll definitely be reading more Southern Gothics.
Both sister had such clear voices, as I was reading I could here Charlie's Harlem accent, the stiff-backed confidence that etched itself into her narrative. And for Magnolia, her Southern Belle Drawl poured off the page. There were several moments I laughed at the way her sister described it.
Kelly McWilliams laces this book with a sense of unmooredness for the characters. Charlie returns to a home she's never known, deep in the Jim Crow South. Eureka is "a place where nothing ever changes and nothing ever dies", where her stiffed back confidence is the very thing that could get her killed. As for Magnolia, well she's a Southern Belle who's no Southern Belle at all.
Mirror Girls is a testament to Racism, dark and powerful histories, and the challenges of identity and homes that don't want you. I cried so much during the final pages of this book, it's beautiful, it's painful, I loved it all.
And I'll definitely be reading more Southern Gothics.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Death, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, and Classism