The Looking Glass by Jessica Arnold Pages: 324
Published by Month 9 Books on April 15, 2014
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Legends, Myths, Fables, supernatural, Young Adult
Source: eARC from Publisher
Find the diary, break the curse, step through The Looking Glass!
Fifteen-year-old Alice Montgomery wakes up in the lobby of the B&B where she has been vacationing with her family to a startling discovery: no one can see or hear her. The cheap desk lights have been replaced with gas lamps and the linoleum floor with hardwood and rich Oriental carpeting. Someone has replaced the artwork with eerie paintings of Elizabeth Blackwell, the insane actress and rumored witch who killed herself at the hotel in the 1880s. Alice watches from behind the looking glass where she is haunted by Elizabeth Blackwell. Trapped in the 19th-century version of the hotel, Alice must figure out a way to break Elizabeth’s curse—with the help of Elizabeth's old diary and Tony, the son of a ghost hunter who is investigating the haunted B&B—before she becomes the inn's next victim.
The Looking Glass is a really interesting take on a re-telling. The girls name is Alice, and she ends up on the other side of a mirror, but that is about where the similarities stop. Jessica Arnold has created a completely new, creepy, intriguing and utterly fascinating world in her spooky hotel. I loved watching Alice explore it, both through the diary she finds and through running from room to room. I felt Alice’s pressure the whole book, just hanging there in the air. I felt like I had to keep reading because if I didn’t then Alice would run out of time to figure out whatever she needed to figure out to get out of that house and back to the real hotel. I loved that she was transported to basically an alternate mirror world of the hotel where she was vacationing with her family.
I will admit that I was kind of confused when I started reading the book, but this is the kind of book where you just go with it. Alice is just as confused as the reader, if not more, and you are trapped in her world. You only get to know what she knows, and there is something cool and exciting about that kind of writing. I thought Jessica Arnold did a wonderful job with the detail in this book. The hotel sprung to life before my eyes while I was reading. The little girl that no one in the real hotel could see never failed to give me goosebumps and shivers. I felt like the book was a little slow at the start but it was probably just for setting the scene purposes. As the book got going it did start to pick up momentum.
I loved watching Alice try to figure out what was happening to her and just how she could fix it. And at the same time we got to learn the story of the hotel and of Elizabeth. It was a cool dual storyline going on. Reading The Looking Glass was a real experience for me. I could easily see this book translating into a movie. It would be creepy and intense and pretty awesome. The Looking Glass was really unique. I haven’t read a re-telling quite like this one.
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(OPEN INT.) – Winner will be drawn May 9, 2014
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Ginny @ Gin's Book Notes
I love retellings when they are done right and it sounds like this one is. I also love when you get to experience the story as the character is experiencing it and you make this one sound like it was a vivid journey. I will definitely check this book out. Thanks for sharing and the chance to win!
Michelle @ Book Briefs
This is a different kind of re-telling. I would say it is a loose retelling and I loved that about it. I hope you check this one out 🙂
maidenveil
This looks promising! 🙂
Michelle @ Book Briefs
I hope you enjoy it. Let me know if you read it 🙂
Thanks for stopping by!
Tabitha (Pabkins)
The getting to know more as the character learns thing tends to work well for me. I like seeing how quickly I can figure out things as opposed to the character.
Doesn’t that cover just beg to be stared at and examined? Good use of color.
Michelle @ Book Briefs
Yea the writing style worked for me too. Especially for this kind of story. I kind of liked being in the dark.
Can’t wait to see what you think of this one if you check it out Pabkins 🙂
Mary Preston
I like the sound of this. I would be so frightened if this happened to be. Great review thank you.
Michelle @ Book Briefs
I know! I would be beyond freaked out too Mary.
Thanks for stopping by 🙂
chelsea
That is an interesting take on re-telling, I’ll have to check it out! I love the cover.
Michelle @ Book Briefs
yes, it was a really interesting take on the story. Completely unique. Let me know what you think.
Thanks for stopping by Chelsea 🙂
Victoria
love the cover! Sounds like it’ll be a good book..thanks for sharing!
Michelle @ Book Briefs
I love the cover too. The book was spookier than the cover let on but still really cool.
Victoria
Nice! Makes me even more excited to read it 🙂
kimbacaffeinate
I often enjoying having the world unfold through the eyes of the character, it adds a little suspense.
Michelle @ Book Briefs
It added a lot of suspense, that’s for sure. This book was different than most of my other reads and I really liked that about it.
Thea 'Gizzimomo' Wilson
This sounds like a really interesting re-telling and one I will be on the look out for, thanks for the great review!
Thea @ Gizzimomo’s Book Shelf
Michelle @ Book Briefs
I hope you get a chance to read it. It’s super interesting.
Anna T
I love to read reellings especialy when their are nicely done 🙂
Daniel M
really liked the intro sounds great!