The Girl with the Mermaid Hair (audio) by Delia Ephron

Suki is a beautiful teenage girl.  She is obsessed with her image though.  When her mother gives Suki her grandmother's mirror, she is warned that the mirror will be "her best friend and her worst enemy."  And it is as Suki uses it to imagine a better life and a better Suki.  As Suki delves further into her fantasy life in the mirror, she begins to understand the truth of the people around her and herself. 

I was completely ready to hate Suki from the get-go.  And I kind of did at the beginning.  By the end, though, I felt so sad for her.  She is so lonely and clueless and her mother is a ridiculous person.  And so is her father, for that matter.  It's easy to see how it's going to end for the people in her life, but I was shocked by some of the actions by the so-called adults.  It was sad to see Suki pretending that she had it all together only to see it all fall apart.  I wish there had been a little more confrontation at the end.  But it reflected a more real life situation rather than the ideal one of a novel.

This book really wasn't what I expected and I was impressed by the turn of events that lead to the end.  I think that Sarah Drew, the narrator, really sold this book.  As the narrator she struck the right nuances and tone that made Suki bearable until she actually became bearable.  I loved Drew's witty and frank interpretation of the text.

Hogwarts: Muggle Studies
YA
Library
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