Black Mirror

Rating:
Summary: Couldn't Put it Down!
Review: Another masterful and spellbinding thriller from Nancy Werlin! The characters in this story (particularly Frances and Andy) will not only find their way into your heart, they will establish a permanent and memorable residence. A must read!

Rating:
Summary: Thrilling &Chilling
Review: Black Mirror is the story of a young girl searching for many things- a sense of family, her true identity and peace with herself.

The book follows a bumpy road of life after Frances's brother Daniel commits suicide. Frances, shy and suffering low self-concept, feels that without her brother, she should make some sort of effort to fit into the school she never really belonged to. Her odd life with divorced parents (her mother studying Buddhism miles away) and mixed heritage leads her to believe she can never fit in anywhere.

The author makes the characters both realistic and unique, creating an environment to completely immerse the reader in.

Frances decides to join Unity, a school charity group. But as the mentally challenged janitor James points out, it's "all fake work." Unity is a front for something else, and Frances and James are the only ones who know. Did her brother Daniel really commit suicide? Was there a note? And why is her art teacher so insistant that she join Unity, anyway? Read this, one of the best for YA in 2001, to find out.

Rating:
Summary: A Good Book
Review: Frances's only friend was her brother, Daniel. But when they started at Pettengill school they started to grow apart, and now, 2 years later, she realizes that she didn't know anything about Daniel. He apparently killed himself with an overdose of heroin, and Frances feels terrible. To try to make herself feel better she wants to join Unity, the charity that gave them scholarships to the school. Daniel was very involved with Unity and was ashamed that Frances didn't want to join. But now when she wants to her brother's girlfriend Saskia, and most of the other members don't want her. She is confused by it and the more she finds out, the more she notices is strange with Unity.

Black Mirrow is a good book that I couldn't stop reading. Frances is an interesting character and I can relate to alot of what she is feeling. The other characters were well portrayed too and it was as much them as the plot of the story that made me want to find out what was going to happen. At the end I was completely suprised. Nancy Werlin is a good writer and all her books are great, but this one really made me think.

Rating:
Summary: One of my Favorite Books
Review: I absolutley loved this book. It was so thrilling and written so well! Absolutley one of my favorites (Ive read thousands of books in my short life time):D

Rating:
Summary: pretty good
Review: 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!

Rating:
Summary: I can't see into the Black Mirror...
Review: I know that it is pretty harsh to write this, but i could not get into this book for the life of me. The author would often jump from one time period to another, and after about four or five chapters I would get so confused. Also the author didn't use much detail and its hard to understand whats going on when theres not a clear picture in your head. The plot was thought out very well, but would often not stay on track. I also never found a climax point in which i couldn't put the book down. Overall I do recommend this book for anyone over the age of 13, and suggest something of a higher reading level.

Rating:
Summary: A great work by Nancy Werlin!
Review: In some cultures it's customary for people to drape their mirrors in black cloth as a symbol of mourning. But Frances does this for other reasons. She hates mirrors and how she looks, and she never wants to look in one ever again. But more importantly she doesn't only want to mourn her brothers death, she wants to be reminded of is and find out why he really killed himself. So as she tries to find the reasons why she starts by looking into Unity, a voulenteer group in which her brother was an active part of. But she soon discovers things aren't right. The group isn't everything she says it is. But when she tries to investigate she finds herself involved in a dangerous world of drugs, lying, betrayel, and the brutal reality of her brothers death.

I really enjoyed this book. Though it wasn't as good as the last Nancy Werlin book I read, (The Killers cousin which a fully reccomend) Black Mirror is a unique and suspenseful novel that will keep you on the edge of your seat. I reccomend this to any fans of teen suspsence novels or works by Nancy Werlin. I hope you enjoy it!

Rating:
Summary: Nancy Werlin is in a class by herself!
Review: Ms. Werlin has a sure hand with psychological suspense and for creating and relating to teenaged characters. Frances Leventhal is another unique creation in YA literature, and Ms. Werlin pulls no punches in telling Frances's story. If you want to be on the edge of your seat but still care deeply about the people you are reading about, you can't go wrong with anything by Nancy Werlin.

Rating:
Summary: Taking it up a level
Review: Nancy Werlin's Black Mirror establishes her place as an interpreter for angsty teenagers everywhere. The interesting, tightly woven plot serves as a background for an exploration of depression, self-involvement and discovery that allows us a look inside that often forgotten misery known as high school. She creates well-realized characters that, while not always likeable, are often loveable. Can't wait to read the next one!

Rating:
Summary: Good, though I liked her other books better.
Review: The best thing about this book, I think, is the characters. They were very well developed. Frances, who is so solemn and depressed. James, her love object, who isn't who he seems. Saskia, the cold and scheming little witch. Andy, retarded but very gentle. Etc. While in general it wasn't as well executed as "Locked Inside" and "The Killer's Cousin" and "Are You Alone" I liked it a lot. I started reading it in a bus station and went kind of in a trance, forgetting the heat and the noise and exhaust. After I was finished I thought about it for a long time. Like, I still can't make up my mind about Saskia; whether what she did was good or bad. Or James for that matter, and what he thought about Frances. All in all: yet another wonderful book from Nancy; I can't wait to read the next one!