Review: Broken Wish (The Mirror #1)

Title: Broken Wish (The Mirror #1)
Author: Julie C. Dao
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Historical Fiction
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Source: Library
Format: Ebook
Release Date: October 6, 2020
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Sixteen-year-old Elva has a secret. She has visions and strange powers that she will do anything to hide. She knows the warnings about what happens to witches in their small village of Hanau. She’s heard the terrible things people say about the Witch of the North Woods, and the malicious hunts that follow.

But when Elva accidentally witnesses a devastating vision of the future, she decides she has to do everything she can to prevent it. Tapping into her powers for the first time, Elva discovers a magical mirror and its owner-none other than the Witch of the North Woods herself. As Elva learns more about her burgeoning magic, and the lines between hero and villain start to blur, she must find a way to right past wrongs before it’s too late.

The Mirror: Broken Wish marks the first book in an innovative four-book fairy-tale series written by Julie C. Dao, Dhonielle Clayton, Jennifer Cervantes, and L. L. McKinney, following one family over several generations, and the curse that plagues it.

Review:

1848, Germany: When Agnes and Oskar moved to their new town, they befriended Mathilda, the witch next door. Once Agnes gets help from Mathilda to have a child, she stops speaking to her, breaking the promise that Agnes made to be friends with her. This sets off a chain reaction that creates a curse that will affect her family for years to come. Sixteen years later, Elva, Agnes’s daughter, can see visions when she looks at her reflection. Her family keeps this a secret because they don’t want her to be labeled a witch. However, once Elva sees a vision of her home being destroyed, she realizes that she could get some helpful information from these visions. Elva befriends the Witch of the North Woods to learn how to improve her magical skill, but she’s in danger of ruining her future by taking control of her visions.

I love fairytale retellings. This story had similar plots to a few different fairytales, such as Rapunzel, Hansel and Gretel, and Snow White. Even the Grimm brothers were mentioned, traveling around Germany to find fairytales for their book.

This book is the first in a series that will follow a family through generations. I love this concept because it will be fascinating to see how this family’s curse, stemming from Agnes breaking a promise to Mathilda, will affect the family over time. The next book, Shattered Midnight, will be released in a couple of weeks.

Broken Wish is a great fairytale!

What to read next:

Have you read Broken Wish? What did you think of it?