Lily in the mirror by Paula Hayes
Fremantle Press, 2016. ISBN 9781925163872
(Age: middle school) Recommended. Vietnam, Family. 'To be dark and
mysterious is one of my lifelong goals' says Lily, bemoaning the
fact that her life is rather slow, but when she discovers a strange
mirror in her Grandfather's house, locked in a room that no one
uses, she is entranced with what she finds. Mystery and magic appear
all at one, as the girl in the mirror needs Lily's help.
Of Vietnamese extraction, Lily does not know her mother's parents
but the locked room in her granddad's house is intoxicating. Related
in Lily's emotive voice, the story is of wrongs righted as Lily and
the girl solve a family mystery together. Lily's brush with he
supernatural helps her win over the bullies at school, and her
advanced knowledge of the Harry Potter books gives her an unexpected
advantage. Middle school readers will love Lily's fresh voice and
the working out of the problem of the girl in the mirror.
Fran Knight