The Empty Mirror

By James Lincoln Collier

Nick Hodges had always been a troublesome boy. Growing up an orphan in his Uncle Jack’s care in a small New England town wasn’t easy. Everyone was a little wary, a little watchful—a little too watchful. One day, while Nick is walking in the woods, a neighbor thinks she sees him miles from where he actually is. Soon a series of events reinforcing Nick’s hotheaded reputation unfold. The incidents become increasingly serious until, finally, Nick is the scapegoat for a much more sinister crime, one that he wouldn’t even think of committing. As he uncovers history of the town’s influenza epidemic, and as he observes a strange occurrence in the graveyard, Nick begins to suspect something out of the ordinary is happening. And when he sees a figure running in the woods wearing the mirror image of his own shirt, Nick starts to piece together some of the answers—answers no one could have imagined. James Lincoln Collier has written a haunting story of a boy and his reflection—and what happens when two souls want to inhabit the same living body.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AudioGO
• Release date: Jun 1, 2013
• ISBN: 9781620646755

James Lincoln Collier

James Lincoln Collier is the author of more than fifty books for adults and children. He won a Newbery Honor for My Brother Sam Is Dead, which he cowrote with his brother, Christopher Collier. Twice a finalist for the National Book Award, he is also well known for his writing for adults on jazz. He lives in New York City.

Reviews for The Empty Mirror

[bplteen · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Review by: Angie Tough topics: running away, peer pressure, abusive, argues.In this story there is a kid (13 years old) who lives with his uncle. His parents passed away in an accident. The kid’s name is Nick who also has a friend named Gypsy. His uncle’s name is Jack who raised Nick. One day Nick looks into the mirror and sees no reflection. The problem is that Nick thinks that his reflection is out somewhere. People in town see Nick breaking windows, cursing, and also burning down a school. When Nick tells Gypsy, she immediately freaks out. Nick wishes to catch his twin so he tells his uncle and he believes him. The police and town people decide to get rid of Nick and look him up for all the damage he’s caused, but Nick did not cause any of the problems, his twin did. Nick then runs with an angry mob behind him, chasing him away. One morning the angry mob finally catches up to Nick. As Nick try’s to capture his twin they both jump in a small pond. When Nick looks at his reflection in the water he then notices his reflection is back. The crowd then realizes that there was indeed two of them and do not do anything to Nick. My favorite part of the story is when Gypsy and Nick first see Nicks twin. The least favorite part I like is when everyone is accusing Nick for doing bad things when his twin did. Every other part in the story was one of my favorite too. People who like a good beginning and not boring should read this book. This book has plenty of action and has many conflicts that soon came to a resolution at the end. Stick from 11-15 year olds to read this book because it is mostly fiction and I believe older people prefer Science-fiction (more of books that are realistic). Boys should read this because some boys have girls as friends that are their best friends. They even share secrets with them. They’re more open to girls then boys. If I were to rate this book I would give it a five. This book is very interesting and just when you want to stop reading; it comes to the most shocking or interesting parts. At the end it was very good because everyone came to understand that Nick was not a liar and was telling the truth the whole time. Everyone in the story was pretty much proven wrong at the end. This book was never boring and always had action or drama.