A review by minimicropup
Mirrorland by Carole Johnstone

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Atmosphere: 👍

You know how childhood memories can be both extremely vivid and super foggy? The writing style nailed that feeling. Set in a home with lots of nooks and crannies, it has a whimsical atmosphere with an underlying sense of danger that builds until it starts taking over. 
-If you feel lost, there's a layout of the house on the author's website, because they based it on their grandparents' actual house! 

 

Main POV: 👍

A twin in their 20s/30s returning to their childhood home. They were all too happy to leave behind their twin sister and hometown as a young adult to become a content creator in L.A., and returning has brought back not-so-welcome memories of their shared childhood.  

 
Growls and Howls: 🐺

-If you write a story but don’t give much detail, I will start filling it in with my imagination. And if you suddenly get descriptive and smash all my little imaginings to bits halfway through I will be so mad at you. That’s exactly what this author did BUT I was fully there for it. The fantastical and strange is gradually shaped and smashed into real life Horrors and I loved it. 

-The ending wasn’t necessarily a bad one, but it was so rushed that one of the characters had to explain everything to us and the MC. And I was still confused…I wish the beginning half of the book was cut down to draw out that ending so we could discover some of it out on our own. 

Show'n'Tell: 😵‍💫

Show with a sudden switch to tell just when it was getting good. Like bringing a Pokemon card in for class, then ending with “oh yeah I have two special edition ones too”. Flashes them up just as the bell rings. 

 

Cred Rating: 👍🤡

Best to go in with suspended disbelief. Like, the treasure hunt would have been over if anyone in that house ever picked up a Swiffer. Realistic police investigation and portrayals of how we process childhood abuse. 

 

Reading Journey: 👍

You know those city walking tours on YouTube? The one for Edinburgh went through strobe-light carnivals at the base of a giant castle on a cliff, sidewalks with gothic looking structures scattered about, and house music blaring through a maze of alleyways. That’s what reading this felt like. 

 

Good match if you like: 

-Unreliable NarratIVES (MC is sure of their memories but also starting to doubt them, yet others are having the same troubles and we aren’t sure which one is the true version and who to trust) 

-Childhood trauma and resilience themes
-"Good for her" trope

-Puzzles 

-Dark family secrets

-Evil/psychic twin bond energy
 

Vibes: 😢🤯😵‍💫

Format: Library E-book via Libby

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Murder, Child abuse, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Self harm, Infidelity, Suicide attempt, Blood, Drug abuse, and Violence

Minor: Incest, Sexual content, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Mental illness rep involves dissociative disorder and repressed memories. One character is described as paranoid schizophrenic by someone, but also recognized by others as suffering from extreme lifelong abuse. Sexual content that is explicitly described in the book is consenting adults,

but there is a discovery of incest (that act isn't described though)

. There are suicide attempts involving pills.