The Mirror's Tale

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Everyone has heard the story -- the dwarves, the talking mirror, the evil witch. But this tale doesn't belong to Snow White anymore.... Bert and Will, the twin sons of the baron of Ambercrest, are best friends. They do everything together and can't help it if trouble just seems to...find them. But the baron is fed up and has decided that separation will keep them out of mischief. One twin, he proclaims, will stay in Ambercrest for the summer, while the other will be sent to The Crags -- a foreboding, rocky outpost on the edge of the kingdom. It is there, hidden in a forbidden black chamber, that one of the boys discovers a bejeweled and mysterious mirror. What is the precious object? And why does it make him feel so...powerful? Soon the twins' kinship is replaced by dark magic and deceit, and a kingdom hangs dangerously in the balance. What becomes of one who is ruled by the forces of evil? And can brotherly love conquer a consuming quest for power?From School Library JournalGrade 4-7–In this accessible entry in the series, Catanese imagines events many years after Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs ends. Mischievous Bert and timid Will, twin sons of the baron and constantly in trouble, are separated by their parents to keep them out of trouble. Bert is sent to The Crags, the former castle of the Witch-Queen of the Grimms' story, and now ruled by his Uncle Hugh and Aunt Elaine. He finds the enchanted mirror and is bewitched by it, deciding to kill his brother whom he believes is likely to inherit the barony from their father. While the plot starts a little slowly, it quickens and does not lag until the exciting and action-filled climax. The human characters have a contemporary feel, which is especially evident in their dialogue. This limits the magical and historical elements of the story, but makes it more accessible to reluctant readers. While Bert undergoes some soul-searching, the transformations in the boys over the course of the story are predictable and two-dimensional. The dwarves, or Dwergh, are the most successfully drawn and interesting characters. The mirror itself is far more evil than that in the original fairy tale, and, as the title suggests, this is really its story. Buy where there is a demand for fast-paced, easily read adventure fantasy.–Sue Giffard, Ethical Culture Fieldston School, New York City Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. About the AuthorP. W. (Paul William) Catanese was born in New York and grew up in Connecticut, where he lives with his wife and three children. When he's not writing books, he draws cartoons and works for an advertising agency. Interestingly, the letters in "P. W. Catanese" can be rearranged to spell "want escape?" Paul figures that's why people read books like his.