Mirrors

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Summary: Mirrors is a great read
Review: I was really pleased to hear that Marianne K. Martin's Mirrors had been nominated for a LAMMY (Lambda Literary Award). I enjoyed this book and couldn't put it down. Jean has a totally paralyzing conflict trying to figure out how to help her young student when she can't even figure out how to handle the same problems in her own life. Ain't that the way it goes in life, all arrows point back to us? In Jean's life everything is so interconnected. One mistake and there goes her career, or her best friend, or all self respect. Standing at the precipice Jean makes the the hardest but bravest choice. Her courage pays off big time. I loved the rush of hope it gave me. Keep writing Marianne, and I'll keep reading.

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Summary: YES! A LAMMY FINALIST!
Review: I was so happy to see that Mirrors has been chosen as a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award. This book impressed me in so many ways. One being that it does widen the defines of the romance genre. This is one lesbian, as I am sure there are many others, who does not want to read a gay version of a harlequin romance. I want to read about the diversity of lesbians and how their lives are played out amidst a variety of societal situations. There is no argument here that love is a huge part of our lesbian lives, but so is family, career, and friendship.

To me, what makes love romantic is how lesbians can pursue the "normal" - dating, making committments, living together - in a less than accommodating environment. And it is the little things, the selfless things, that make an act romantic. Two examples from Mirrors that exemplifiy this are: The scene where Jean and Shayna are so engrossed in thier conversation that they were totally unaware that the restaruant was closing around them; and the one where Shayna waits in the parking lot for hours while Jean is at a school board meeting.

I was also impressed with the introspection by Jean and then by Shayna in back to back chapters (30 and 31). They are written extremely well and are very effective in getting deep into their emotional past. And Ms. Martin did a beautiful job of depicting her characters in their careers. I was able to understand why they chose their particular careers, and how important they were to them by actually seeing them at work. How people relate in the workplace says a lot about them. Since real people spend so much time at work, it seems that that should be, and it is in this book, an important aspect of the story. That's where I learned valuable information about these characters.

I could go on and on, there are so many wonderful things about this book. But suffice it to say that Mirrors is a finely written book, and an honest, heartfelt depiction of lesbian love, life, and angst that is deserving of a Lambda Award.

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Summary: Wasn't to sure what kind of book this was...
Review: I wasn't to sure what type of book this was- romance or not but toher than that it was a good read and it was nice to see some characters of color. i recommend this book to all

Rating:
Summary: TWO THUMBS UP!
Review: I'm not an athlete. I didn't even like P.E., but I loved the badminton scene, and I loved Jean. Why couldn't I have had a teacher like her? ... Anyway, the badminton scene didn't have anything to do with winning or losing the game, it was all about what was learned in the process, and winning over a student. I thought it was a clever and exciting way to show the reader how much her students meant to Jean. Her interaction with her students shows a large part of who Jean is; without seeing this part of her we cannot really understand her decisions regarding Ken and Shayna, and her turmoil with Lindy.

The game scene was also a pivotal part of the plot, which I won't spoil here. I really love how the author uses the active scenes to offset the quieter, internal monologues that she does so well. I think they really pick up the pace of the story and keep it moving very well.

I love this book and I see by one of the other reviews that it has been nominated for a Lammy Award. I think it deserves an award because it is not only a well-written and interesting story, it is one with an important lesson and very powerful message. MIRRORS and Marianne Martin has my two thumbs up!

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Summary: Colors of Love
Review: In her latest novel, MIRRORS, Marianne Martin artistically weaves a tapestry of sophistication and psychological introspection with colors of love. The love of friendship between Jean and Shayna is no truer blue that that of an Iris. The love between Shayna and her father challenges the pure whiteness of a carnation, and no author paints passion any redder than Martin.

As in all her books, Martin creates conversations that make her characters so unique. You won't be able to mistake that these words are anyone's except Shayna Bradley's: "Look at these wrists...See any shackles on them?...How about these ankles? See any chains? No. You're damn right you don't. I'm a free woman. Been free all my life. Free to be whoever and whatever I choose...No one is going to put ancient chains on me, least of all you."

As this passage also illustrates, Martin isn't afraid to take her genre deep into psychological and socialogical issues. Her characters struggle with guilt and self-discovery, and face homophobia, all in three dimension. Yet, through it all, she has stayed true to her genre by weaving tightly into this colorful tapestry a beautiful love story.

Marianne Martin has once again won my heart. MIRRORS is a story that I'm sure in time will prove to be a classic. This book has my highest recommendation.

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Summary: Marianne Martin stretches her wings!
Review: It's exciting when a writer picks up minor characters from a previous work and gives them a novel of their own. These two women were worthy of the effort. This novel delivers everything I've learned Martin delivers: strong characterizations, insightful internal monologues and plots based on the grey areas of life. Martin excels at issues that ought to be black-and-white and shows how complicated they can turn out to be.

What really struck me about this book, though, was how Martin seems to be stretching her wings a bit. The book is longer, and more time is given to the entire backdrop of these women's lives, not just where their lives intersect. The characterizations are strong as usual, but they're also rich with small details.

I've really noticed that Bella Books is delivering longer, more complicated works from established writers. I already thought Martin was a fine writer. If Mirrors is anything to go by, she will soon be a truly great one now that she is with a publisher that seems to let writers fly to new heights.

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Summary: Mirrors: Breaking the Rules
Review: It's no wonder that Mirrors was nominated for a Lammy. Marianne Martin tackles so many issues that confront us all, guilt, commitment, concern, harassment, insecurity, religion, professionalism, and, of course, love. Mostly, Marianne Martin writes about the heroism that occurs in ordinary lives. Sound overwhelming? Not really because of the ease in which she imbues her characters with these human qualities and emotions.

Is this a Romance novel? You bet it is. Does it break the rules? It does so marvelously. Mirrors is the story of two professional women who find themselves more adept at doing the appropriate thing than finding the right thing within themselves. As with all romance novels, they fall in love, but that's when things really start to get complicated. As Bette Davis said in "All About Eve", "Fasten your seatbelts; we're in for a bumpy ride." And what a ride it is? Martin keeps us guessing as to the outcome of several situations up until the end. She also makes us, the reader, look into our own mirrors to view our own behaviors more clearly.

Tautly written, humanly portrayed, and realistically fraught, Martin's characters leap from the page to become your next-door neighbor or one's own niggling conscience. Just as easily, some of these characters could be drawn from today's headline news stories.

Buy this book. You'll be happy you did. It makes for an excellent read.

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Summary: Kudos!
Review: Kudos to Marianne Martin and Mirrors! Real lesbian lives, real issues, real well written. This is a 'don't miss' book.

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Summary: Marianne Martin's Best Book Yet!
Review: Marianne Martin has done it again! Mirrors chronicles the growing love between two characters we've met in her earlier books. Anyone who has made the transition from a friendship into a committed relationship will identify with the hurdles Jean and Shayna must navigate.

Ms. Martin has a real gift for character development. She draws the reader into the story. In one scene, Shayna reveals to Jean a horrendously painful secret from her childhood. As I read, I could feel the pain, the release, and the comfort they shared.

Part of the story line involves Lindy, a student at the high school where Jean teaches. Lindy struggles with the taunting, prejudice, and self-loathing that unfortunately often go along with coming out in high school today. As an educator, I squirmed at the lack of sensitivity shown to Lindy by the guidance counselor, administrators, students, and some of the teachers. Jean struggles with finding her own equilibrium between supporting Lindy and keeping her job. That is the struggle faced by many educators on a daily basis. Thanks to Ms. Martin for describing it so clearly, and for the triumphant way Jean resolves the issue for herself and her students.

If you're looking for a great love story that also deals with real issues and their resolution, you'll thoroughly enjoy Mirrors. This is Marianne Martin's best book yet!

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Summary: A Heartwarming Soulgasm..
Review: Marianne Martin's latest novel, "Mirrors", is the kind of literary prose that tenderly pulls at the strings of your heart and the deep recesses of your mind in regards to love, duty, and friendship. With her well-crafted ability to bring us into the very soul of her characters, Martin introduces us to Jean Carson; a special type of teacher that students look up to and who goes the extra mile to make a difference everyday in their lives. Jean's passion for her career and the stability of her life is upturned when she must face coming out after being in the comfort zone of a heterosexual marriage. Her struggle; a not so uncommon, yet life-altering one, is paralleled in the personal strife of a young, female student who is victimized from being seemingly different to her peers. Shayna Bradley is a confident, sharp lawyer with a sense of justice and a desire to help mothers and their children. Shayna is the kind of friend any woman would want in their back court, but when it comes to relationships work tends to run into over time and romance lingers on the sidelines. Despite this she is grounded in her loyalty to family and friends and drawn deeply to the needs of both. Intertwined by a cherished friendship and lined up together in the battle of conformity versus differentiation, Jean and Shayna must each view what is mirrored in the reflective pool of their hearts. Like soup, Ms Martin once again manages to warm the soul with a stirring, personal look at two women who share a similar consciousness. This is the type of good literature that delves deep, splinters and fragments into a thousand glass pieces for each reader to see a portion of themselves glimmering back from within its pages.