The Town with No Mirrors
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4.5 • 2 Ratings
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- $8.99
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
In a modern-day utopian community where mirrors, photos, and even words like beautiful and ugly are forbidden, a girl who has never seen her own face harbors a guilty curiosity about the outside world. A thoughtful exploration of self-image in a world familiar to readers of The Giver and The List.
Zailey has never seen her own face. She's never seen her reflection, or a photo of herself, or even a drawing. In the special community of Gladder Hill, cameras and mirrors are forbidden: it's why everyone's happier here. Nobody talks about anyone else's appearance. You're not supposed to even think about what other people look like, or what you look like.
But Zailey does.
She knows her superficial thoughts are wrong, and her sketchbook, filled with secret portraits of her classmates and neighbors, could get her in trouble. Yet she can't help but think those thoughts, and be curious about the outside world where she once lived, years ago. Most of all, she wonders what it's like to see herself—her own face.
When Zailey suddenly finds herself beyond the gates of her town, she has a chance to see if what she's been taught about the outside world is true and search for the mother she barely remembers. Only then will she find out the real story about Gladder Hill. But is she prepared for the truth?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Twelve-year-old artist Azalea "Zailey" loves studying and drawing faces, even though she has never seen her own. In her utopian community of Gladder Hill, the 102 residents are forbidden from anything that might reveal their images: cameras, mirrors, sunglasses, shiny spoons—even the water is pumped with oxygen to cloud it. To avoid delving into what the community considers "Superficiality" and to "minimize physical comparison," denizens also wear the same clothes and buzz haircuts. After a visitor strikes up a conversation, Zailey begins wondering about her origins, including her estranged mother and her own life before Gladder Hill. The discovery of Zailey's artwork—a collection of community portraits she's hidden from her grandmother—sets off a startling chain of events that cause her to view Gladder Hill, the outside world, and herself innew ways. A dubious premise and heavy-handed messaging diminish the novel's impact, but Collins (After Zero) engages in a thoughtful psychological examination of how people view themselves and their bodies, touching briefly on body dysmorphia and disordered eating, and succeeds in creating a chilling vibe. Zailey cues as white. An author's note with resources concludes. Ages 8–12.
