Ghosts, Witches, and Alternate Worlds Make for a Super Read

THE GHOST MIRROR by Jamieson Wolf

 Review

 Mave Mallory’s parents are afraid of her and pretend she does not exist, so her grandmother, Mona, takes Mave to live with her. Mave sees spirits in her grandmother’s house. Her grandmother tells her not to “pay them any mind.” She also tells Mave that she has magic in her, but warns her not to touch the mirror that whispers to Mave in the attic. She tries to obey. But when a ghost girl she has befriended is pulled into the mirror, Mave has to save her. She suddenly finds herself cast into another world, a world where she is feared and not welcome and recognized for what she is—the last witch.

Mr. Wolf paints a lovely picture of this alternate world, using symbols for water, air, Earth, and fire. In this new world, Mave meets Mr. Lavender, an evil man who draws the souls out of his victims—the children. And he is very interested in Mave. Why? Who is the young boy, Euwan, who is eager to help her? Why does a crow watch her?         

Told from multiple points of view, Ghost Mirror is a dark story that grips the reader from the opening scene with Mr. Lavender to the final pages, where Mave discovers the magical powers within her and must use them for her survival. Some scenes are too intense for younger readers, but readers from age fourteen to adult will eagerly follow Mave’s struggles to discover the truth about herself.

Reviewed by Beverly Stowe McClure, author of young-adult novels Listen to the Ghost, Secrets I Have Kept, and the forthcoming Rebel in Blue Jeans.