Seeing Rowan Coleman's name on this book reassured me that the writing style would be high quality and engaging. I'm pleased to say it definitely didn't disappoint. It's easy to see Cara Delevigne's influence on the gritty subject matter, which has a Skins feel to it. It's a surprisingly interesting mystery although heavily influenced by John Green. It would probably suit other readers more.

honestly, i didnt enjoy this one. The plot twists that arent plot twists. It's not bad for a first novel.

I really didn't enjoy this book, unfortunately. It will definitely appeal to a younger audience to read but I found it one of the most disappointing reads from this year.

I wasted interested to read this but I think I am a bit too old for it. Great for YA, less so for older readers!

This book exceeded my expectations. I'm not sure what I expected, somehow I thought it was going to be a Gossip Girl/ rich kids gone wild kind of book but it wasn't that at all. It was about very relatable teens whose home life isn't perfect, whose issues are real and believable. The story is well written and put-together and keeps you enticed and wanting to get to the bottom of what's happened. It has twists that you don't expect and clues. A lot of current topics are touched upon. All in all a YA book that ticks a lot of boxes and is thoroughly readable and enjoyable. Loved it.

Unfortunately I wasn't able to open the file of this book so I was unable to leave a review.

A rare foray into YA out of curiosity as to what Cara Delevingne's debut might be like, and the answer is relentlessly angsty, dark and miserable and not at all my cup of tea in the end. There's barely a moment of lightness in all of this and that's even before you throw in the fact that between then the main characters are facing so many issues, each of which could be the plot on their own practically. Not for me, and I won't be tempted to go back for more (if there is more). Not my sort of thing. Hey ho, you win some, you lose some and you only work out what you like by reading things that you don't!

Really got under the skin of the teenage characters, but the plot is a bit too thin for the quality of the writing.

A seemingly familiar story that was surprisingly very twisty and held my interest. The main reason for the low review is how little the ACTUAL writer got any credit for it.

A teen fiction novel, written by a model, called Mirror Mirror. Your reaction is probably like mine: next! But then Cara Delevingne isn't really your average model/actress so I was interested to see if she would challenge my initial reaction. My advice for anyone interested in reading this book is: get past the first chapter. I nearly judged the whole book on this and put it down, but thankfully I kept on reading. The set-up is pretty standard for teen fiction: Red, Leo, Rose, and Naomi lead a pretty dream teen life. The high school friends (one beautiful, one creative, one with a difficult home life, and one outsider) are in a band together and are a bit too cool to be popular. Then Naomi vanishes and the friends have to band together to work out what happened before it's too late. Pretty standard, right? Well, one of the most interesting things about this story it's told through the eyes of Red, the outsider. She's short, ginger, shy, alternative-looking - and a lesbian. Mixed into the narrative of this teen thriller is a very real perspective of what it's like to be an LGBT+ teen in high school (even in 2017): constantly walking that tightrope between acceptance and discrimination. It actually paints a vivid picture of how quickly homophobia can rise out of nowhere, making giving the book much more substance than I had anticipated. I think some of this should really be credited to the book's co-author, Rowan Coleman, who put this novel together with Delevingne. Either way, if you're looking for some interesting teen fiction from a queer perspective, I definitely recommend checking it out.

Mirror Mirror is the debut novel by top model Cara Delevingne, with some contribution by bestselling author Rowan Coleman. Obviously I have no idea whether Ms Delevingne wrote the book, came up with the idea, wrote it alongside Ms Coleman but nevertheless they have worked together to produce this YA novel, and it's not half bad.

We meet a group of friends, Red, Leo, Rose and Naomi - misfits in their own ways but united by their love of music and the band that they are in together at school. Pretty much at the start of the book Naomi disappears - and none of the others have any idea where she has gone. Her mobile remains unanswered and her family have heard nothing from her at all. The remaining trio are at a total loss as to where their band mate could have gone to.

When Naomi's body is pulled from the river and is left in a coma, the friends vow to find out what happened to her. We learn more about the lives of Red, Leo and Rose - all three very different but yet united in their quest to help out Naomi. When Red notices a mysterious tattoo on Naomi's wrist, the band know that this is something she would never have agreed to - someone has definitely had a part to play in her disappearance!

There are lots of different stories entwined throughout the book, and the twist with Red - nope never saw that coming! I did work out who the perpetrator was before the big reveal but despite the many a swear word I really enjoyed this book. Bravo!

I’m going to preface this review by reminding the reader that everything in this review is strictly my opinion, and that there might be things I mention that you yourself might not mind in a book. But for me, Mirror, Mirror was a bit of a mess.

First of all, I’m not sure if the person who wrote the blurb read a completely different story to the rest of us, but it’s not remotely how the book actually panned out. Secondly, the book isn’t an easy one to read. I understand it’s YA, but that doesn’t mean it has to look like it was written by a YA. I would normally make allowances given this is a debut novel, but even a debut novel should have a better writing style.

I wasn’t really sure about the first half of the novel. It didn’t feel like it was going anywhere, but this novel is supposed to be about more than Naima – it’s about all of them and their journey navigating their way through life. As for Naima’s story, I have to say the ending was predictable, but in an era of trying too hard, that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

All in all, Mirror, Mirror is a solid debut novel, and I feel it sets out to do what it intends to. I do hope that Delevingne works on her writing skills before her next novel though.

I only managed to get about a quarter of the way through this book unfortunately. I didn't find myself engaging with the characters and the story didn't really grip it. The pace was slow and so eventually I put it down.

wow, this book went in such surprising directions. I didn't see so many of the twists and turns coming and this book also made me think so much more than I was expecting! My review is going to have to be very vague on specifics because I don't want to give away any spoilers for those of you planning on reading, which I would definitely recommend that you do, because I enjoyed this book so much more than I thought I was going to.

There is an authors note at the start of the book about what Cara wanted to achieve by writing the book and the message she wanted to get across and I really think she was able to achieve this. I also think it was interesting to include this note before the book began, because you automatically have some pre-conceived ideas about th direction the book is going to go in. I don't know whether I liked it or not but it definitely stayed in the back of my head throughout the book.

The characters in this book are very true to life and i really liked the ways the interacted with one another. I sometimes feel like teenagers portrayed in books don't actually act like any teenagers i associated with when I was a teen or any I have come across in my career so far but these teens were London based and behaved like I would expect teens from that area to behave. I feel a real affinity to Red and championed her throughout the book.

As I have already mentioned, I loved the London setting of this book and really appreciated the fact that these young people lived and went to school in an around London and yet it didn't have them touring the city as if they had never been there before. The setting was very much a background factor. It afforded the characters more freedom than if they were in a rural setting and had to rely on lifts or infrequent public transport, which fitted well with the story, but it didn't romanticise the city in any way. I liked the reality of the setting and it is something that i noticed throughout the whole of the book.

The storyline kept me gripped right the way through and kept me guessing throughout. Some of the issues explored are fairly concerning and so it wasn't a cheerful read most of the time. I did feel anxious for the characters and concerned for their welfare. One of the issues explored in a specific and a general sense throughout the book is their interaction with the adults in their lives. The adults in their lives vary tremendously but there is a lot of negativity surrounding all of those relationships and I found this especially concerning. I'm not sure how i feel about the negative message that this is sending out to young people reading it and so therefore I would definitely say that this book should be aimed at an older young adult audience, or an adult audience.

Despite my misgivings about those messages I really did enjoy the plot and the structure of this novel. The characters felt very real and I was on their side throughout the storyline. The setting didn't feel forced and I was gripped by the twists and turns along the way. I would definitely recommend this book with an added warning that I mentioned above.

This is a hard book to review. I read it really fast because I wanted to know what happened, and it made for a tense reading experience. At the same time, I didn't feel completely connected to the characters, which meant I wasn't fully invested in the plot.

I really enjoyed the sections where the band were performing or practising together, and I thought the ups and downs of their relationships were realistic. At the same time, I couldn't relate to any of the band members, although I quite liked Red and Leo. My favourite character (Ash) wasn't even in the band, but I found her intriguing and I could read a whole Ash book quite happily.

The plot kept me engaged and there were elements that were unpredictable (though I figured a few things out).

Mirror Mirror was a tense book, and I liked the way it used elements from thrillers and contemporary novels.

Mirror Mirror isn't some book made just because an actress wrote it. The story has actual plot, keeps you on the edge of your seat, and has heart at the center of it. The characters feel raw and realistic. The story is filled with secrets, friendship, family, and mystery. Readers of We Were Liars will want to check this one out.

Title: Mirror Mirror

Author: Cara Delevingne and Rowan Coleman

Genre: Young Adult/New Adult (YA with crossover appeal,) contemporary, crime*, LGBTQ+(and gender questioning)(F/F)

*ish




A few starting notes:


I received a free digital review copy of this book via NetGalley. NetGalley provides review copies from publishers in exchange for fair and honest reviews.




I'm a Cara Delevingne fan - I mean, she's a super-talented model, actress, and now writer?!

Add in that she's around about the same age as me, and a sexually fluid woman like me... she's kind of my hero, ok?!

So when I was approved to review this book I was sooo happy! But don't think I'm gonna go easy on it - y'know I'm able to fangirl and be plenty critical at the same time 😉😎




Also, this book has A LOT of sh** going on - so pay special attention to the warning list in the 'not so great bits' section, ok? Ok.




Oh, and I'm going to talk about gender and sexual orientation which is revealed in the text.

I don't consider these spoilers because marginalised identities aren't spoilers, so consider this your warning.




Premise:

Rose, Leo, Red, and Naomi were what you may call 'troubled teens.'

But that was before they found the band, and found each other. Things are better now.

Until Naomi goes missing.

With Nai gone, the strain starts to show... and it only gets worse when she's found.

What happened to her? Where was she during those weeks? Is it possible she did this to herself?

And, with everyone struggling with their own sh**, how are they going to find out?



Best bits:


OMG this book is the sh**!!!!

Uber-readable, complex characters, diversity everywhere!!!

The writing is fab - it's just good, and also manages to sound casual and not stilted, which in turn keeps the story flowing.




And it's soooo obvious that Delevingne & Coleman know what they're talking about when it comes to social media.

The way this book uses social media both as plot point and within the text is on-point.

These are modern teens - and their use of different social networks and apps for different things totally reflects that.




Our main character is Red - who I love.

Red just wants to be Red, while at the same time trying to fix everyone else's problems (me? relate to the thing? *laughs awkwardly*).

Red is also a gender-questioning lesbian.

I liked the way this was dealt with for the most part, but I also had a serious issue with one part of it (see 'not so great bits' section.)

I like that her (she uses she/her,) gender is never fully defined. 

Red tends towards masculine presentation, and feels quite like a boy, but also feels kind of like a girl, and likes to be referred to as she.

She doesn't see why this is a problem to the rest of the world - because Red is Red. Why should anything else matter?

We also get the tension this causes between Red and her mother, and the way other people treat her - which ranges from totally accepting to totally antagonistic.




We also get glimpses into the back-stories of the characters - but only glimpses.

It's enough to have a bearing on their present actions, but not enough to dominate the action.

That's great - the characters' experiences have all shaped who they are, but they don't define who they are... and that's a difficult line to tread! I'm actually really impressed.




The focus on friendship - and how the band's friendship is their lifeline - also totally rocks.



Not so great bits:



Distressing content in this book includes:

- missing people (teen)

- suicide/attempted suicide

- child (teen) rape and sexual assault

- paedophilia/paedophile ring

- child (teen) grooming

- murder/attempted murder

- alcoholism

- drug dealing/taking/addiction

- transphobia

- homophobia

- transphobic/homophobic slurs (dyke, pervert, 'it')

- physical child (teen) abuse

- emotional child (teen) abuse

- child and teen neglect

- parental rejection

- trolling/bullying

- malicious accusations of sexual assault against LGBTQ+ person

- anorexia/eating disorders

- depression

- references to self-harm

- parental marriage problems

- gun violence

- gang activity

- family members in prison


...phew! I think that's everything!




Honestly, this book is full of heavy sh** from start to finish.

But Delevingne & Coleman do a great job in not letting it feel overly-heavy. (Thank God.)

But PLEASE be careful - there is a LOT going on here. If you gotta stop, you gotta stop. Self-care comes first.

There's a butt-load of swearing, references to the sexy-times, underage drinking, and recreational drug use. (All of which are BAD because I am a responsible adult™.*)

Oh, and don't follow the examples of any of the people in this book - bad decisions everywhere! #Don'tDoTheThings!



*stop laughing!




My problem with the way Red's gender/sexuality is handled


Red is not given any pronouns for about half the novel.

We are generally led to believe she is a cisgender, straight, boy, through her being referred to as 'mate' and general gender coding.

(I have to admit that I thought she was a girl for the first chapter or two, but the way other characters treat her and the way she is spoken about convinced me otherwise.)

Now, in some ways this perhaps can be put down to the cis-normative, heteronormative expectations of the readers.

But this book plays into those expectations.

This leads to a gender-identity-reveal scenario which is played a little too much like a shock plot-twist for my liking.

I don't think there was ANY reason why Red's identities couldn't have been known from the beginning - and this particular scene was a big disappointment for me.

It just wasn't needed, Red's identity could've been explored casually just as easily, and the shock element makes it feel cheap and exploitative.

It's even more annoying given how well Delevingne & Coleman handle the rest of Red's representation. YOU WERE SO CLOSE AND YOU SPOILT IT DAMMIT!!!




Verdict:


Yes, there is a problem with this book. A BIG problem. I'm not denying that. It really pi**ed me the hell off.

But this book is also fantastic. (I know, I know, that sounds contradictory, but both statements are true, and I swore I'd never lie to you, my nerdlets.)

I loved it, I related to it, and I wish I hadn't finished it just so that I had more of it left to read.

This book is the sh**.

It's FAR from perfect, and I've given you the info. you need to decide whether it's for you, or whether you don't feel you can get behind something that falls into such an offensive trope.

As far as I'm concerned though? It's worth the read. Because it's fantastic.

This book is definitely split into two parts and I'm not sure how I feel about it. First, you've got Naomi's disappearance that the entire band is researching, and then you've got Red's identity which I'm not sure is problematic or not to have someone's sexuality/gender be the mystery...

This had some old school John Green vibes and included mixed media with text messages and instagram posts that I do you normally like, but it didn't get really interesting for me until the last 15% when the mystery was unfolding. I think my general disconnect from this book was based on the fact that it's made very clear that Cara had intentions for what she wanted the book to do, and maybe that hedged in any other possibilities. While it spoke out about some topics that are hard to deal with, I don't think so much emphasis should have been placed on social media, when in the end bullying was a stronger theme.

I wish that the characters did more music related things because I was expecting this to be way more band focused. But, it did some interesting things with the relationship between parents and kids and getting them to understand who you are. The dynamic between Red and their sister was lovely and that sweetest contrasted with the rest of the book.

I'd call this a crossover between 'Paper Towns' by John Green and 'Kiss in the Dark' by Cat Clarke, so if you liked either of those books, this is the perfect book-love-child for you.

Mirror Mirror is the story of four sixteen year old friends and their band, Mirror Mirror, formed as part of a school project. As the novel opens, one of the characters, Naomi, has disappeared. When she is pulled from the river in a coma, the police suspect a suicide attempt, but Rose, Red and Leo don't believe this: Naomi has been happy lately, and this seems out of character.

For me, the narrative voice took some getting used it. It initially seemed as though the author was trying to hard to sound teenage, and in later parts, the conversation doesn't read like conversation.

The emotions in this novel are honest and raw: we feel alongside the characters, and they each have their stories and difficulties which we experience with them. Sometimes, this bordered on being too many issues for me, but the story was intriguing, I was invested in the individual stories (particularly Red's) and the characters were interesting and well developed. I loved the focus on "finding your people and your place" and how, when it came to it, the four friends did whatever they could to help each other in spite of their differences and their own personal problems.

Mirror Mirror takes a really dark turn towards the end. I guessed the culprit before they were revealed, but that didn't detract from my enjoyment of the end of the novel. This was an interesting read, with a great portrayal of teenage friendships and I think anyone who enjoyed stories with complicated relationships will enjoy this.

I loved reading this. It had many twists and turns. Mirror Mirror really shows the importance of friendship and family. It was an emotional read, with a heartwarming ending.