Customer Reviews

The Empty Mirror

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Empty Mirror is one of those books that will keep you on the edge of your seat. This book is creepy and you'll wonder what happens next. The author wants you to get in to the book and guess what's going to happen next. I recommend this book to others who want a spine-tingling mystery.

The Empty Mirror is a thrilling, exciting, action packed book. This book shows what happens when two people, one dead and one alive, want to inherit the same body. Nick has a troublesome reputation. So when somebody tries to imitate it and get it in to trouble, the town thinks it is him. Throughout the book, Nick wishes he hadn't been so troublesome. This person is doing worse and worse things each day. Can Nick stop him? I think this book should be recommended for ages eleven and up because of language and drug references. This is a great book. If you are looking for a great, thrilling mystery, see if you can find The Empty Mirror.

Nick Hodges grew up an orphan in his uncle's care in a small town and has always spelled trouble, but when he begins to be sighted miles from where he's at, and faces incrimination for a series of incidents not his fault, Nick decides to investigate why he's being built up to be a scapegoat - with frightening results. James Lincoln Collier is best known for his Newbery winner My Brother Sam Is Dead, and The Empty Mirror is no less compelling.

Thirteen year old Nick is raised by his uncle in a small New England town after his parents die in the 1918 flu epidemic. When people start claiming to have seen Nick in places he knows he wasn't, he knows something's wrong, and he soon discovers he has no reflection. A double of him is doing mischief around town and getting Nick into serious trouble--who is this other kid who looks so much like him, and what has happened to his reflection? A mystery/ghost story/and historical fiction rolled into one, this is a quick-moving story told in the first person by a likeable young narrator. The story also includes interesting details about the flu epidemic and small town life in that era. This novel is a good pick for reluctant readers who might enjoy a good ghost story.

"My backbone went cold, and a chill rose up and shivered across my head. Gypsy's reflection was there, all right. But there was no reflection of me."
Nick Hodges, a thirteen year old orphan with his uncle Jack in a small New England town. Nick wakes up one morning to find he has no reflection. Following the disappearance of his reflection a woman sees Nick miles from where he actually is, a priest says he saw Nick throwing stones at the church when he was working with uncle at home, and many other people claim they see Nick doing other things he didn't do and had nothing to do with. The worst thing about it- the events Nick are accused of doing are getting more severe every time. Nick soon discovers a boy named Jared Solters, who died years ago, took over his reflection and is the one causing all of the trouble. So, it's up to Nick to find a way to stop Jared before he does something unforgivable and turns the entire town against him.
I found this novel very entertaining and thrilling because of the interesting characters, the suspense build up, and the setting. One thing about this book I didn't like was some of the predictable events.

One thing I didn't like in this book were some of the predictable events. This book was very suspenseful overall, but there were some instances when you know exactly what was going to happen next. It took some of the thrill out of the story. For example, there was one part in the story where Nick was running out of town because they were after him for doing something he didn't do, and he hid in the woods. Somehow, his possessed reflection manages to find him in the woods, like he does throughout the entire story.

An element of this story that made it enjoyable were the interesting characters. Nick's uncle Jack. Nick's uncle is a calm, collected type of guy who takes things as they come. He never loses his "cool", and always knows what to do when conflict rises. He is an interesting character because even when a serious situation is happening he doesn't panic. The only event when Jack acted shocked was when he saw Nick and Nick's possessed reflection standing side by side.

The setting in this story made it more mysterious. The place where Nick finds his reflection that is being possessed by Jared Solters is in the woods behind an old graveyard. Briggs Pond is the name of the place where Nick discovers his reflection has disappeared. The author of this novel combines mysterious events with mysterious locations and is bound to give the reader goosebumps every time they read it.

The final and most essential part of this story, in my opinion, was the suspense build up with a few exceptions, this story leaves you guessing what will happen next the entire time. The author does a very good job of building suspense before an event happens. An example of this happening in the story is when Nick is fixing up the graveyard he see's a shadow figure flash through the trees around him in the corner of his eye. He turns around to where he saw it and it was gone. Other events similar to this, happen throughout the story. It sets the mood for reader and leaves them on the edge of their seat wondering ho the story will end.
Overall, this book was a fast-paced, and very suspenseful that has the reader guessing until the very last page.
S.Brown

This book is pretty good but confusing at times. It is kind of slow and has the same conversation more than once. Having the scene about Gypsy's dad didn't have any real meaning to the story and was just randomly throwen into the story but i have to admit it was an interesting lead. Overall the it suspencefull and a great book!

A fun read, perfect for a long fight or train ride. High intensity and suspenseful.

While the book is well written and has a great deal of suspense, parents need to be aware that it may not be good for sensitive or younger children who have much higher reading levels. Child and spousal abuse, alcohol addiction, doppelganger/dead people coming back to life, lynch mobs coming after a child, etc., are some of the things that are present in this book. I give it four stars because of the quality of the writing but the subject matter can be of concern to sensitive children. Mine started having nightmares after chapter three so we had to stop reading.

Thirteen year old Nick Hodges is growing up in the care of his Uncle Jack after losing his parents in the flu epidemic of 1918. Admittedly, he's a "troublesome" boy but things take a major turn for the worse when he wakes one morning feeling like he's lost something, only to discover that he no longer has a reflection. Then people begin to tell him they have seen him in places he knows he hasn't been; next, crimes begin to be attributed to him. Out of desperation, he goes searching and finds an exact replica of himself---his mirror image.

This is a fun book with lots of activity and a bit of creepiness. Nick is a thoroughly believable character accused of incidents he's not done and aching to to clear himself though no one but his uncle will believe him. The story leaves a lot of questions to be answered; we are left wondering the hows and whys of the stealing of the reflection and its return. The fact that there were too many hanging questions denies me giving this book 5 stars, but it was still a fun read with lots of interesting twists. If you can accept the story at "face" value, you'll love this one.

The Empty Mirror is about a boy named Nick hodges, who lost his parents in a flu epidemic. Nick lives with his uncle Jack, who owns a boatyard, where nick works. They live in a town called stoneybeach, where no one talks about the flu epidemic.

When Nick wakes up one day he feels that something is missing from him. He later finds out that he has no shadow. When Nick sees a boy that looks exactly like his reflection, things turn for the worst. Nick gets blamed for a series of crimes that he did not committ.

When Nick continues to run into his reflection, he discpvers that a boy named Jared Solters stole his reflection, wanting to get revenge on uncle Jack. Jared's mission is to kill nick and get him blamed for everything he does. When Ni9ck is Wanted for murder, he tricks Jared. Finally, Jared flees to the pond as a last resort, and Nick finally gets his shadow back.