Mirror to Mirror, Rajani LaRocca (Book Review)

Summary: Mirror to Mirror

Mirror to Mirror is the story of twins Maya and Chaya, who, although opposites are inseparable. Where Maya is quiet and reserved, Chaya is outgoing. Both girls also share a few similar interests, top of which is their love for music. They even share friends, although they each have a different best friend. Suddenly, Maya starts to pull away from Chaya and the two begin to fight more.

Concluding that her sister needs space from her, Chaya starts trying to distinguish herself — getting a pink streak in her hair and dropping music and trying a new art form. But the girls keep butting heads. When matters come to a head, their parents send them off to camp together with the aim of resolving their conflict. There, the girls decide to pretend to be each other (walk in each others shoes) and and whoever can keep the ruse going longer will get to decide where they both attend high school — the main thing they keep arguing about. But will this pact work? Or is there more to their fights than meets the eye?

The Good

I think I read this in one sitting — which is always a good sign. I loved getting to know Maya and Chaya, although I liked Chaya more. This is a verse novel with alternating chapters written from each twin’s point of view so we get to learn about each girl’s motivations and their view of the strained relationship between them. I also liked seeing the similarities between the girls and their parents, because, really we take so many of our parents’ traits on and observing them can be a great way to know ourselves better.

The story also ties in with an Indian folk tale that really affects one of the girls and is linked to the root of her anxiety. For me, this was one of the detractors (and why I liked this book a little less than Red, White, and Whole). I just felt a bit underwhelmed by the secret reveal, but I guess anxiety isn’t always rational? And the girls are tweens after all, not adults. Still, the summer camp scenes were very atmospheric and I loved that both girls had strong friendships and enjoyed music deeply.

Overall: Mirror to Mirror

Mirror to Mirror is an immersive middle grade verse novel about sisterhood, friendships, anxiety, and the imperfections in family. LaRocca is a brilliant verse novelist, and this story is enrapturing, relatable, and compulsively readable. If you like stories about twins, music-loving tweens, and Indian culture, you’ll love Mirror to Mirror.