Customer Reviews

The Ghost In The Mirror (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

"Ghost in the Mirror" is one of several books that the late John Bellairs left unfinished at the time of his death. Those books were finished by Brad Strickland, utilizing the author's remaining outlines. It's a solid thriller with a few seams showing, but overall a good read for those not yet ready for Stephen King.

Kindly witch Mrs. Zimmermann has lost her magic, except for a sixth sense and a residual aura of unusable protective magic, and Rose Rita Pottinger has broken her ankle. Her friends Jonathan and Lewis Barnavelt have left the two behind, while on their European vacation. But suddenly Mrs. Zimmermann is called on a mission into the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country, and Rose Rita comes with her. Naturally, nothing proceeds as expected. Their car is transported back in time and crashes, leaving the two staying with the kindly Weiss family.

But the mystery deepens when the reason for their time travelling is revealed -- the ghost of the witch Hilda Wetherbee tells them that she has transported them back in time to save a good wizard, Grandpa Drexel, who is fated to die on the first of April. But an evil presence disrupts the message from Granny Wetherbee, and Mrs. Zimmermann becomes stricken with partial amnesia Rose Rita becomes increasingly suspicious that a hexer -- an evil witch -- is trying to drive out the Weiss family. But how can a de-magicked witch and a bespelled modern girl hope to stop a hexer -- and a demon?

This is neither the spookiest nor the tightest of Bellairs' fantasy-horror books, and it suffers slightly from an unfortunate cliche (time travel) and a dependence on previous Bellairs books. But it's a solid time-travel/ghost-story, with some hideously chilling scenes and some interesting new characters. There's a bit of a dull section in the middle, but Strickland picks up the pace near the end with some delightfully Bellairsian scenes of horror when Rose Rita inadvertantly conjures up the demon Aziel. And for people looking for a little educational info, there's some enlightening passages about the Pennsylvania Dutch.

Rose Rita is shown without the shadow of Lewis here, and while she is not quite as interesting as the timid ex-altar boy, she's a good heroine who shows a lot of the characteristics of her best friend. Mrs. Zimmermann is given extra dimension as she tries to regain her magical powers and gets stricken with amnesia. We also get to see two dimensions of Hilda Wetherbee -- as the ghost of a crabby old witch, and as a little girl who befriends Rose Rita. Favorites Jonathan and Lewis Barnavelt even show up for a cameo appearance.

While not the most outstanding of Bellairs' books, this is a good, spooky read, especially for fans of Rose Rita and Mrs. Zimmermann. Not to be missed.

I really like The Ghost in the Mirror. I have read most of John Bellairs books. Every book that I have read so far has been excellet, but I have to say this is one of my favorites. It is about a girl named Rose Rita and her friend Mrs. Zimmerman. It is summer time. Mrs. zimmernman invites Rosa Rita to come with her on a trip. As the trip begins, they travel back in time. There is never a boring page in this book. That's probably why I like it so much.

This nice addition to the series gives Rose Rita and Mrs. Zimmerman a chance to hit the road, spend some time together and develop their friendship ... while fighting unearthly dangers of course!

If possible, you should read the earlier books first, but don't miss this one. The story is just fine by itself, but it will make you want to read the earlier and later books as well.

I especially liked the description of early American farm life (which was a hard life indeed!) There were also a couple of nice puzzles for Rosa Rita to solve and I challenge the reader to try to figure them out before she does!

Lewis is at boy-scout camp while he has left Rose Rita home by herself. So Miss. Zimmermann takes her on a road trip. As they go through a tunnel, they go to a different world!

I may not be the best person to review John Bellairs' "The Ghost in the Mirror," since it is clearly one book of many in a series, and I've only just arrived. When I picked up my copy from the library, I had no idea that it was part of a larger set, when in fact, Bellairs has written sixteen books that contain the characters found within this book.

I should say at this point that Bellairs' passed away in 1991, leaving behind several unfinished manuscripts. It is John Strickland who has completed many of his stories, including this one. But I certainly couldn't see a drop in quality, or any obvious change in style. But then again, I'm a newcomer and this review can only judge the merits of this one particular book. It may therefore be inadequate in assessing its worth as part of a longer-running series, but maybe I can fairly review "The Ghost in the Mirror" without either the baggage or advantage of the other books.

Mrs Zimmermann is a witch, though one who has lost her powers (I'm guessing the reasons as to how can be found in anther book) and feeling a bit lonely considering her good friends Jonathan and Lewis Barnavelt has gone to Europe (again, I can only assume that they have a larger part to play in other installments). She has her young friend Rose Rita to keep her company, but Mrs Zimmermann is troubled by eerie shadows and visions that appear on her walls and ceilings every night.

But she believes that her old teacher Granny Wetherbee is trying to contact her, asking her for help. She soon has herself and Rose Rita on a road-trip to Pennsylvania where Granny Wetherbee used to live in order to solve the mystery. The adventure really starts when the two of them drive through a tunnel...and arrive on the other side to find themselves in the middle of 1828's freezing cold winter (as opposed to 1951's warm and muggy summer).

Rose Rita is nervous, but Mrs Zimmermann is excited, as the two find themselves a part of a Pennsylvania Dutch family who are in serious trouble. The Wiess family are the victims of slander, with their Grandpa Dexel accused of hexing, and the two time-travelers know what tragic fate awaits the family should they not take action against the forces that oppose them.

Throw in some magic mirrors, sinister spells, buried treasure, and a spooky graveyard or two and you have a satisfying read, especially for young readers who enjoy getting spooked. There are a couple of clichés: Mrs Zimmermann gets temporary amnesia, and the main villain pauses in his evil plan to give a lengthy monologue about the whys and wherefores of his evil, but the pace is brisk, the characterization is solid, and the plot-points hang together nicely and are brought to their logical conclusion.

I enjoyed the friendship between the elderly Mrs Zimmerman and the young Rose Rita (how often do you find an old lady/young girl team-up in children's literature?) and there is a critical eye fixed upon the damaging consequences of gossip and hearsay.

For a time-slip adventure, there is little in the way of exploring life as it was lived in a different time and place (though I did appreciate a detail that explain the Pennsylvania *Dutch* weren't actually Dutch at all). There are other little tidbits of course, such as the food and transportation used in the 1800s, as well as plenty arcane knowledge about the magical arts, but the past isn't brought vividly to life. Though once again I'm going to have to rely on guess-work and assume that such things aren't really the point of these stories.

I'm sure that getting the most enjoyment of these books relies on one's foreknowledge of the other books, where the characters appear as old friends rather than new acquaintances, and the problems that they face have context (such as how Mrs Zimmermann lost her powers, why Rose Rita cringes every time she thinks of her first dance, and what exactly Jonathan and Lewis got up to in Europe - though perhaps that last one's in a later book).

So my advice to you: start at the beginning. I ran a quick search, and found that The House With a Clock In Its Walls (Lewis Barnavelt) is the first John Bellairs book, which is almost certainly a much better starting place for this series than "The Ghost in the Mirror." With an atmosphere that's somewhat reminiscent of The Bad Beginning (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 1), which in turn is based on the dreary stylings of Edgar Allan Poe, I'd recommend Bellairs to young readers (or old) who enjoy a little Gothic creepiness mixed into their reading material.

Mrs.Zimmermann a witch goes on a vacation with Rose Rita Pottinger. Mrs.Zimmermann and Rose Rita discover that instead of going to their vacation spot they travel back to 1928 in Pennslvania Dutch country when it's winter time. When Mrs.Zimmermann and Rose Rita are in Pennslvania Dutch they have different adventures. Mrs.Zimmermann even loses her memories and her magic powers. Without Mrs.Zimmermann's powers how will Rose Rita Pottinger ever be able to get home? I thought this book was very entertaining because it was interesting.

I recommend this book to anyone who is 12 years old and older. This book is a story of friendship and bravery. One of the brave things that Rose Rita did was when she started reading a spell book that would let out a monster, but she couldn't stop reading the book. For example, she was thinking, "What was it? A smart person could get out of the trap-if he took every step backwards! That was it! But what did that mean?" She was brave because she wouldn't let the monster out. One of the things that Grampa Drexel showed was his friendship. For example, when Rose Rita asked Grampa Drexel this "Can I ask you a big, big favor? Will you help Mrs. Zimmerman get her magic back?" This was a sign of friendship because he helped get her magic back. This book should be recommended to anyone who likes mysteries and fantasy.

it was so cool. it had suspense,action,mystery,drama,and caring . uit was so cool.

Many people will enjoy this action packed thriller, and be delighted to read such a
great book. Bellairs acully makes things seem really realistic. this is awesome!

The Ghost in the mirror is a really scary story filled with
action and suspense. I'd reccomend this great book to anyone
whose parents say "you're too young for Stephen King". Mine
didn't, but from things I've heard about Stephen King, I
think this story was plotted sort of like his books. All in
all, it was a great book and I enjoyed it.