Black Mirror Mass Market Paperback – April 14, 2003

Oops ordered by mistake. Thought it was an old people story.

Dark

I got the book a long time ago be for it was in final press its a great read for people

As an Edgar Award winner Werlin has the skill to create characters who carry readers into the story. Then she uses the mystery as a vehicle for readers to learn about Frances’ world. A great combination.In essence Black Mirror is a coming-of-age mystery. Frances’ brother kills himself and she is left to decipher why. In the process she uncovers secrets about a charity at her school and learns that even those she thought she knew best have secrets.Written in first person we get inside of Frances’ head along with her many misinterpretation of people and events. Characters are developed through Frances’ eyes, but Frances is wrong more often than not. She’s hard on herself, can’t look in the mirror and doesn’t trust people enough to make friends, but that doesn’t stop her from crushing on an older guy. She finally partners with a mentally impaired janitor and tries to reach out to a teacher for help, but who can she trust when the evidence mounts. A surprise ending leaves Frances with her biggest challenge yet, forgiveness.

Black Mirror, just reading the title of the book gave me chills. There are many reasons why I chose this book. First of all, I like to judge books by their cover and this book had an interesting looking cover. Another reason why I chose this book was because I had noticed it had received an Edgar Award. Which meant the book was going to be a thriller. As I started to read, I realized I had made a good choice.The story is about a girl named Frances and how she deals with her hard life. Her parents are divorced, she has very low self-esteem, and her brother supposedly committed suicide. While her brother, Daniel, was still alive, he attended a charity group called Unity. Somehow Frances feels like she should join Unity for her brother even though she isn't the most social of all people. As Frances gets to know Unity more, she realizes there is more than charity involved with the group. She becomes aware that there is something wrong about Unity. Frances learns the real truth about the group, how her brother really died, and her life becomes in danger.This book was probably one of the most exciting books I have ever read. Many parts of the book were both thrilling and suspenseful. I think that's what made the book so hard to put down. I just wanted to know what happed next.I would definitely recommend this book to teens that enjoy reading suspenseful novels. Black Mirror is truly an amazing book!

Oh, Nancy Werlin, so hit or miss. I've previously mentioned my feelings on many of her other books, but suffice it to say that her newer material is light years away in quality from her older stuff. This one was okay, the supernatural elements were thankfully toned down (they work extremely well in Impossible and Extraordinary, can't say the same for the rest...), and it ends up being more of a story about a girl coping with her brother's death, and trying to figure out the complicated circumstances surrounding it, including finding an undercover drug smuggling ring at her school. It's not a bad book, it's not a particularly well-written or original book either, but I've seen much worse.Rating: Very 'meh'. 3/5

A very fast read, I loved being able to relate to the Jewish stuff. I love the scenes with her trying her brother's drugs, and I love when she stands up to Saskia. I like Andy, too.I think the characters are extremely well developed, a factor which I thought The Killer's Cousin did not have, even though I loved that book. I think this book is a really great coming of age and accepting yourself story.

I enjoyed this book, but don't think it is for everyone. Black Mirror is about a girl named Frances who was a resiprient of a scolarship program. But after her brother Daniel commits suicide, she just can't get over it. She feels that it's some how her fault. But all isin't quite what it seemes: something deeper is going on here.All in all this was a pretty good book. I've read better, but also much much worse. It's a some what dark book about a depressed young women trying to find her way. Black Mirror has a well thought of plot, though it can be somewhat confusing at times. This may be a good book to try just for the sake of trying it. Hope you like it!