A Mirror Mended by Alix E. Harrow
Audiobook read by Amy Landon

Vibes wanted: upended fairy tale tropes, romance, sarcasm, hero going through reluctant/unwilling introspection, power of narrative
Vibes given: meta, queer, feminist, stubborn, recklessly brave and loving
Rating: 4/5

I am a nerd for narrative. My undergrad thesis was about trauma and narrative theory in Zusak’s The Book Thief. While I don’t have a degree in fairy tales (if only!), I did spend time studying them, so when you talk about agency or the Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index, I go full heart eye emoji. 😍 <— an actual picture of me reading this book. So for me, this book was a Very Good Time, capital letters and all.

I read A Spindle Splintered on my Kindle, and I enjoyed it but wasn’t wowed. Listening to A Mirror Mended was a much more enjoyable experience. I think that’s because I usually read too fast for my own good so novellas feel abrupt. By listening to it, I was forced to take more time and actually let myself get immersed in the universe, and that’s what this book deserves really.

My favorite parts: the explicit and implicit themes of narrative, identity, and power (I am always down to talk about these things if anyone wants to chat!); the evil queen (even the clichés were compelling); Charm and Prim, who are friends anyone would be lucky to have; and Zinnia’s blend of duty and selfishness. Hooo boy I had some feelings about her throughout the book, but even when I was so frustrated with yet another dumb decision she made, I relished how reckless and foolhardy she could be. It felt freeing, especially in the context of a chronic illness, to be able to say fuck it and keep on running. Responsible? No, of course not. But a little thrilling nonetheless.

There were tiny things that I wish had been different. The nerd I am, I would have loved even more multiverse implications, more! The pop culture was fun but I got tired of it after a while. I went in assuming that the “twist” would happen at some point and the ending was a bit cluttered. Just little things that didn’t sit right and kept the vibes from being impeccable. But to be clear, this is a very very fun book.

As a final note, the story jumping here made me think of ‘verse jumping in Everything Everywhere All at Once (the book might also call it universe jumping but I can’t remember). In an interview, Harrow talked about how she was inspired by Into the Spider-verse and whether “there were dozens of versions of that same conversation [about being inspired by the movie] happening simultaneously, given the recent boom in multiverse content.” I don’t have any specific thoughts there, just that it was something that stuck out to me. Well, I guess there are some thoughts: Does exploring the multiverse always lead back to your home ‘verse/story? What makes the multiverse so popular right now? What does it mean that A Mirror Mended actively values the other universes in their own right while EEA@O uses the other universes as a comparison to the one main characters exist in? Is that even a fair description of what’s happening?