Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Riveting! Don't peek at the end!, April 9, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Girl In The Mirror (Mass Market Paperback)
I read this book a while back, but I still remember how much I liked it. In fact, I stayed up late just to see how the plot would unfold. This story is so unique, it's hard to describe except maybe as a "Flowers for Algernon" about a woman's face. <G> Born with a disfigurement, Charlotte is made beautiful by the miracle of cranio-facial surgery and becomes a big star. But a reaction to the surgery forces her to choose between her new, gorgeous face or undoing the reconstruction. There are two compelling men involved, a touching romance, and a race against the clock to see which path Charlotte will choose. Cool, huh?
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Well Researched, March 6, 2005
As other reviewers have hit on most of my points, I will skip some.
I want to add that I am very impressed with the level of research Mary Alice put into this work. For me, it bumped a 3-star read to four stars.
The depth at which she portrayed Michael's family and their Mexican heritage was enlightening for me as a non-Latina. The way the familia deals with issues from Michael's choice to work half a continent away, to homosexuality, to the place of women in the family (and how said women dealt with it), felt authentic. It was neither sugar-coated nor denigrated. It was as it was.
Charlotte's deformity and surgery seemed to be fairly well researched, too. Although I couldn't quite picture her before the surgery, I certainly felt the impact on her life. Then, issues related to the surgery seemed legitimate, even though I am not knowledgeable in the field.
Two points kept this from being a 5-star read. The meteoric rise in fame was difficult to believe, especially in combination with her slavish devotion to her agent. While she appeared to be tempered by her experiences growing up, she pretty much handed her career over to a near-has-been agent. This surprised me, given the amount of strength I thought she possessed.
The other point was the inexplicable jealousy her agent felt toward Michael Mondragon. Prejudice and status explained the problem just enough for me to buy it, but for not wanting to get her into bed, the agent was extremely possessive.
Overall, I highly recommend this novel. The other Mary Alice Monroe novel I have read is Skyward. That, I would give 5 stars!
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15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
1/3 Cinderella, 1/3 Sleeping Beauty and 1/3 Ugly Duckling, April 30, 2002
This review is from: Girl In The Mirror (Mass Market Paperback)
Charlotte Godfrey (nee Godowski), a Polish-American actress has a tragic secret. Born with a cranio-facial defect, she has reconstructive surgery in 1991 at age 20 to correct a minimal chin. She suffers from a complex regarding her appearance all of her life and after a traumatic encounter with some boys during her kindergarten year (1976-77) and an attempted rape by her employer some 15 years later prompts her to act. Like Sleeping Beauty, Charlotte revels in her new image in the mirror. Like Cinderella, she meets a prince from California who literally sweeps her off her feet. Like the Ugly Duckling, she feels as if she has developed into a beautiful duck (cygnets are young swans). She embarks upon a successful film career after her reconstructive surgery. In 1996, Charlotte, then 25 has to confront the decision she has made about her reconstructive surgery. She literally has to make a decision that not only will affect her career, but her life. I did find the story a tad implausible. I found her whirlwind success as an actress rather hard to believe and the story did follow a nice little formulaic pattern. It was also easy to figure out the true identity of some of the characters and the "surprise" ending was really not a surprise to me. Even though it was a nice little forumlaic package, it was an entertaining read. Mary-Alice Monroe has written other books that are so much better than this one, so this work is really not up to her usual par.
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