Amie Rose Rotruck (Children's Literature)
When Mira is apprenticed to a witch, the witch’s apprentice adopts her as a sister. Too late, Mira learns that she should not trust her new sister when she changes Mira into a magic mirror. Mira’s sister becomes the wicked queen of “Snow White” fame while Mira, once her usefulness has worn out, is abandoned. The end of the “Snow White” tale is barely the first act of Mira’s enchanting story. When Ivana, a peasant girl running away from her cruel father, stumbles upon Mira, Mira sees a chance to possibly restore her original form. Mira manipulates Ivana into becoming best friends with a wealthy merchant’s daughter named Talia. Mira uses her magic to change the girls’ appearances so each resembles the other. What Mira does not anticipate is that Talia is quite happy with her new form and is not as easily manipulated as Ivana. It will take all of Mira’s cunning to regain enough power to restore her form, but as she comes to know Talia and Ivana, will Mira be as ruthless with their lives as she needs to be? Mira is perhaps the most intriguing and complex protagonist ever to grace the pages of a re-told fairy tale. Talia and Ivana are also strong and interesting characters with minds of their own, despite Mira’s manipulation. Although there are numerous fairy tale re-tellings on the market, Mira, Mirror is truly original, no matter how many versions of “Snow White” the reader has read before. 2004, Viking, $17.99. Ages 10 up.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, September 15, 2004 (Vol. 72, No. 18))
A melodramatic take on the early and later life of Snow White's wicked Queen and her magic mirror. Mirror is the protagonist, formerly the younger of two girls apprenticed to a forest witch, and the Queen is the older sister who, in her quest to become "always the fairest in the land," imprisons Mira in a mirror. Left for one hundred years in the queen's hideaway, in need of magic to stay alive, and ultimately hoping to become human again, Mirror convinces a runaway peasant girl to pose as a merchant's daughter; a second story of adopted sisters, complete with identity switches, ensues. Witches "harvest" magic either by being near a creature as it dies, or by taking "a vibrant life and all its pain," and the graphic descriptions of death strain to be Grimm-like. Purporting to explore weighty issues between sisters, of magic, power, and love, this weakly executed and excruciatingly tedious tale falls short. In the end, the reader is asked to take a huge leap and believe Mira/Mirror's self-sacrificing actions and her epiphany that "love is more powerful than magic." Groan. 2004, Viking, 320p, $16.99. Category: Fantasy. Ages 12 up. © 2004 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Janis Flint-Ferguson (KLIATT Review, September 2004 (Vol. 38, No. 5))
There is nothing pretty about Grimm's fairy tales, and Harrison's story begins in that same world of evil witches and grotesque magic. But from there the story is a compelling one as the enchanted mirror in the "Snow White" fairy tale tells her own story. Mira is the mirror on the wall, now 100 years after being used by the wicked queen to destroy the fairest of them all. She becomes the possession of another young woman, Ivana, who seeks to steal the face of the merchant's daughter, Talia. Mira helps Ivana in a bid to regain the magic she needs to free herself from the mirror. Ironically, Talia is interested in her own freedom and so the two women allow the magic to change their lives. Ivana and Talia develop a genuine relationship and through them Mira learns as much about love as she had earlier learned about magic. Along the way there is the use of minor magic to create good meals and major magic that entraps human souls. However, in the end, love proves stronger than magic. Early chapters are quite gruesome in depicting the witches' magic. The feminist theme of female independence is strong but well integrated into this "new" fairy tale. Category: Hardcover Fiction. KLIATT Codes: JS--Recommended for junior and senior high school students. 2004, Penguin Putnam, Viking, 320p., $16.99. Ages 12 to 18.

Timnah Card (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, November 2004 (Vol. 58, No. 3))
Trapped for over a hundred years in the mirror, Mira has become almost as cold and self-promoting as the traitorous sister witch who sealed her there. She lies to and manipulates innocents and pilfers magic in order to appropriate enough power to release herself from the confines of the mirror, but before Mira achieves freedom, a mysterious crone (actually Mira's long-lost sister) steals the Mira-mirror, threatening to keep the spellbound witch as a slave forever. Having learned that "magic is born in death . . . But love is born in life, and death cannot end it," Mira surprisingly gives up her own quest in order to salve the wounds of her aged sister sorceress, an act which leads (indirectly) to Mira's own release. This version of the wicked-witch story is peopled by multilayered, sympathetic characters, whose distinct voices and personal agendas twist the age-old plot into new shapes. The satisfyingly realistic feudal setting is grounded and expanded by the definition of the bloody source of the witches' magic; the resulting mixture of fascination and revulsion will keep readers transfixed through page after page of elegant prose until Mira's quest has ended. Unfortunately for readers so riveted, after the first 150 pages the rising action levels off, and while Mira continues to discourse on love both sisterly and motherly, her actual experience of any healthy affection is so slim that her sudden adoption of love as a guiding principle during the ending sequence simply cannot be believed. Still, some readers will care more about the secondary characters than about Mira--not an impossible preference, since the secondary characters are the ones who really learn how to give and receive love--and these will take the sputtering finish in stride. Review Code: Ad -- Additional book of acceptable quality for collections needing more material in the area. (c) Copyright 2004, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2004, Viking, 314p, $16.99. Grades 6-12.

Shawn Kerbein (The Kutztown University Book Review, Fall 2005)
The mirror from Snow White is actually another witch, trapped, and forced to do the owner’s bidding. Years after the death of that evil witch, the trapped witch attempts to gather the magic she needs to escape her boundaries by using a desperate peasant girl and a merchant’s daughter. Along the way, the trapped witch discovers that there are better things in life than seeking ones own desire by using others. For those who ever wondered just how the magic mirror worked, this is the tale for you. A skillful blending of fantasy and fairy tale elements. The ending is not as expected, but is nonetheless satisfying. The writing is grade 6-9, however, some of the story gets a little deep and might lose the younger readers. Category: . 2004, Penguin Group, $17.99. Ages 11 to 15.

Diane Emge (VOYA, October 2004 (Vol. 27, No. 4))
It all begins when Mira's mother strikes a bargain with a witch, exchanging Mira for half a load of firewood. Mira thus becomes the witch's second apprentice. The first apprentice is a strikingly beautiful young woman, who seems to befriend Mira, calling her "Sister" and teaching her how to extract magic from dying creatures. This beautiful apprentice betrays Mira, however, transforming Mira into a magical mirror. Eventually, Mira-as-mirror is abandoned in a shack, where she hangs helplessly for one hundred years. At last a peasant girl named Ivana, who is fleeing an abusive father and is enticed by Mira's promise to disguise Ivana's appearance, removes Mira from the wall and carries her out into the world, seeking new sources of magic. Mira's true intention is to collect enough magic to regain her own human form. But things quickly spin out of control when a merchant and his lively daughter, Talia, adopt Ivana and the mirror. Mira performs a magical transformation so that the two girls trade bodies, something Talia finds as useful as Ivana. The plot is rollicking and clever, much in the style of Vivian Vande Velde's writing. In addition to the fun, however, is Mira's touching evolution from vengeful victim to good-hearted friend, as she begins to care more for Ivana and Talia than her own release from mirrorhood. Recommend this one to Ella Enchanted (HarperCollins, 1997/VOYA August 1997) fans or to any reader who enjoys a creative fairy tale with a hefty dose of girl power. VOYA CODES: 4Q 4P M J (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Broad general YA appeal; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9). 2004, Viking, 256p., $16.99. Ages 11 to 15.

Gaura Mehta, Teen Reviewer (VOYA, October 2004 (Vol. 27, No. 4))
I found this book to be intriguing and exciting from the very start. It is a very touching fairy tale about a girl who was tricked by her "sister" and trapped inside the body of a mirror. Although there was no romance in this book, there were many lessons about the bonds of sisterly love. My only criticism is that the very last chapter was a little difficult to sort out. Mira Mirror is a great "speed read" book. VOYA CODES: 4Q 3P M J (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Will appeal with pushing; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9). 2004, Viking, 256p., $16.99. Ages 11 to 15.