Mirror Girls

by Kelly McWilliams

A thrilling paranormal mystery about biracial twin sisters separated at birth, following the brutal murder of their parents, perfect for fans of The Vanishing Half

When Charlie and Magnolia's parents are brutally murdered, their black grandmother brings the twins home to raise as her own. However, Charlie is obviously black, while Magnolia is light-skinned and can "pass" as white. As a result, Magnolia is stolen away by her white grandmother, and raised as the heir to the Gatewood cotton plantation, knowing nothing of her twin sister or racial heritage.

Elsewhere, their black grandmother flees Jim Crow, raising Magnolia in a tiny apartment in Harlem. But when Nana falls ill, her final wish is to be buried back home in Georgia-and, unbeknownst to Charlie, to see her long-lost granddaughter, Magnolia Gatewood, one last time.

Set in 1959, in a deeply haunted, rural Georgia town, both girls are visited by the angry spirits of their parents and other specters of the town's tragic past. When the sisters finally reunite as teenagers, they are worlds apart. But they will need each other to put the ghosts of the past to rest-and to discover where they truly belong.

• ISBN10: 0759553874
• ISBN13: 9780759553873
• Publish Date: 31 March 2022 (first published 8 March 2022)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Little, Brown & Company
• Imprint: Little, Brown Young Readers
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 320
• Language: English

Reviews

[Angie]

Proceed With Caution:

This book contains lynching, racism, slavery, segregation, blood and gore.

The Basics:

Mirror Girls is narrated by seventeen-year-old twins, Charlie and Magnolia, who don't know about each other. Charlie has lived in New York with their Black grandmother, only returning to Eureka, Georgia upon Nana's request. Magnolia was raised in Eureka by their white grandmother because she passes for white. When both grandmothers die, the girls learn the truth of their pasts and must fight for their futures.

My Thoughts:

I nearly read Mirror Girls in one sitting! Not just because it's short, but because it hooked me from the first chapter and never let me go! If life didn't come calling, forcing me to take a break, I wouldn't have stopped until I reached the end. This book is dark and gripping and atmospheric and at times brutal, but is ultimately about good trumping evil and making positive change for the future! It was just all things good. The ending was a bit underwhelming, which is the only thing that kept this from being 5-stars.

Mirror Girls is set in 1953 Georgia. Charlie is escorting her grandmother back to her hometown where she planned to die and be buried. Upon Nana's death, Charlie learns that she's a twin! And that her twin has been raised by their white grandmother. Meanwhile, Magnolia learns that she's really half-Black from their white grandmother on her own deathbed and promptly loses her reflection and ability to eat. Lots of death. Lots of secrets. Lots of pain. Lots of page turning!

I don't want to spoil anything, so I can't say much more about Mirror Girls. I really liked Charlie and Magnolia. They're very different girls and not just because of their skin colors. They were raised very differently, but both of them need to change their view of the world in order to make a better future for themselves. I loved the gothic atmosphere and the spirits interfering with the girls' lives. It was just exactly what I wanted to read at exactly the right time.