| Title | : | The Mirror (Northwest Passage, #5) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 387 |
| Publication | : | First published March 1, 2014 |
B00IQBLQNU.
On September 11, 2020, Ginny and Katie Smith celebrate their nineteenth birthday at a country fair near Seattle. Ignoring the warnings of a fortune-teller, they enter a house of mirrors and exit in May 1964. Armed with the knowledge they need to return to their time, they try to make the most of what they believe will be a four-month vacation. But their sixties adventure becomes complicated when they meet a revered great-grandmother and fall in love with local boys. In THE MIRROR, the sequel to THE MINE and THE SHOW, the sisters find happiness and heartbreak as they confront unexpected challenges and gut-wrenching choices in the age of civil rights, the Beatles, and Vietnam.
The Mirror (Northwest Passage, #5) Reviews
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…And we are off on another romantic journey to the past that proves love knows no boundaries, not even time itself. The Mirror by John Heldt seems to put the final bow on Northwest Passage series with a few loops and knots that change up the field a little while keeping the feeling of love and warm romance alive.
Before we go back in time, Mr. Heldt takes us forward, to 2020 when the twin daughters of Joel and Grace, (other time travelers from previous books) are celebrating their nineteenth birthday at a county fair. Warned by a fortune teller to go straight home because they are in danger, of course, with all of the brilliance and invincibility of youth, they ignore the warning and head for the house of mirrors and are catapulted back into the year 1964, a time when the youth of America were gaining their voice, the Beatles were storming the country and Vietnam was a nightmare in full force. The fight for Civil Rights is tearing the country apart and Ginny and Katie witness a world they had only heard about. Armed with the knowledge of their parents’ time travel, they see firsthand how different life was “back in the day.”
The girls find love both from the great-grandmother they never knew as well as from two young men that belong to a different time. Torn between staying and going back to the future when the timing is right, each girl must make her choice, must be honest with those they care about, will one stay and one go home? Will the issues of the past become a beacon that draws them in, fighting for causes that are just or will the fear of tampering with the past send them running back to the mirror, heartbroken?
Were you around for the invasion by the Beatles, the racial riots of the sixties? Did you know friends and family who fought in Vietnam and if they were fortunate to come home, were met with jeers and taunts? The sixties were like a youthful awakening, when some of the innocence died and John Heldt capsulized these events perfectly, while using the contrast of Ginny and Katie’s world via their shock and reactions to validate the differences. Mr. Heldt delivers amazing details, rich in color, feel and emotional depth. Where I once walked the streets of a much younger Seattle, I could “see” the changes in the sixties version! Each character adds something special, more heart to the story. Can you imagine meeting your great-grandmother for the very first time, knowing how she will die and not being able to tell her? Being able to tell her of friends that left her behind, how they have done, what they have done and share the joys of their lives, gave these girls a clarity into how precious life was, how important family is, no matter when and where they are.
John Heldt started this series by setting himself a high standard to beat, yet with each consecutive book, he did it, over and over. Not only did The Mirror continue that upward climb, but the fresh changes and more contemporary feel brings the series full circle as it flashes through my mind!
I received this copy from the author in exchange for my honest review.
Series: Northwest Passage - Book 5
Publication Date: March 1, 2014
Publisher: John A. Heldt
ASIN: B00IQBLQNU
Genre: Adult Fantasy Romance
Available from:
Amazon
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If you have read the other books in this series then you have met Grace and Joel numerous times. They met in the past came to the future and have had many adventures in between. Well this book follows their twin daughters Ginny and Katie.
They find themselves at a carnival while celebrating their 19th birthday. Once there they go on a sudden and unwanted trip to 1964 through a House Of Mirrors. Stuck in the past they find jobs until they can find the way home. Along their journey they find more out about life and love than they could have ever imagined.
This was a great story to finish an already amazing series. Each book was better than the last and I can not wait to read more from this author. He writes in such a way that captivates. I loved each book! ...Stormi
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This is a novel that continues a story found in earlier books of the series. I enjoyed remembering some of the characters from that one and the progression of their lives. It becomes challenging to go along with the author when it comes to the movement in time and how it affects those doing the traveling. The story of what takes place whilst the characters are in the past seems to be one that would be more appealing to teens or young adults. As such, this novel has something for all different kinds of readers. It was intriguing to me and I enjoyed it very much.
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Book Info
Kindle Edition, 384 pages
Published March 1st 2014 by John A. Heldt
ASIN B00IQBLQNU
edition language English
other editions None found
Source:Digital copy from
Author
Book Buy Links
AmazonBOOK SYNOPSIS
On September 11, 2020, Ginny and Katie Smith celebrate their nineteenth birthday at a country fair near Seattle. Ignoring the warnings of a fortune-teller, they enter a house of mirrors and exit in May 1964. Armed with the knowledge they need to return to their time, they try to make the most of what they believe will be a four-month vacation. But their sixties adventure becomes complicated when they meet a revered great-grandmother and fall in love with local boys. In THE MIRROR, the continuation of THE MINE and THE SHOW, the sisters find happiness and heartbreak as they confront unexpected challenges and gut-wrenching choices in the age of civil rights, the Beatles, and Vietnam.My Thoughts
Twins Ginny and Katie Smith are like night and day. Ginny is outgoing, bubbly and always up for an adventure while Katie likes to think things out, take her time and plays it safe. However the one thing the girls do have in common is their love for each other and their family which plays a big part in the decisions they make when confronted with the reality of what to do with no valid currency, ID or contacts in 1964 Seattle.
Like the other four books in the Northwest Passage series the reader is emotionally invested with the characters and caught up in their story from the very first page, in this particular book it is even easier as both Katie and Ginny are very engaging young women whose ability to make one smile goes a long way toward cementing affection for them.
As the twins find themselves employment, a place to live and make friends things progress rapidly and we find ourselves caught up in the girls struggles to try their best to limit the impact their presence makes before they can leave and return to the year 2020. It comes as no surprise when they both find themselves more involved than they had counted on and forming emotional attachments that they tried very hard to suppress knowing that the people they left behind would never be seen again.
We are taken through a period of time that was full of unrest politically as the country faced division over the civil rights movement as well as backlash from a very unpopular war that erupted in Vietnam. During this time period we also had the influx of some of the greatest talents in music as well, the excitement generated by appearances in the States from The Beatles was even touched on when the Smith twins and their friends got a chance to see them perform.
The heart wrenching decisions that Ginny and Kate face at the end of the four month period when their time is up will have you wrecked as much as it did them, the surprising twists that come to light when all the dots are connected clear up the mystery of their journey back into time and add even more romance to the joyous ending of the book.
Totally engrossing with so many topics that struck a chord with me from beginning to end. This is the end of a series that just so happened to have taken place during a period of time that I can identify with being a child of the 1960's which added to it's appeal very much for me
To say that this is just a simple time travel romance in no way does the book justice as it is so much more than that, it is a story of family, a story of love, a story of new beginnings, a story of pain and loss and hope for a better tomorrow, most of all it is a story of friendship that bonds two people together stronger than even the blood they share![Digital copy from
Author in exchange for honest review] -
I have been getting a lot of review requests lately but have found myself skipping over most (at least for now). But when I saw the description for The Mirror by John Heldt I immediately said yes.
The Mirror is a stand alone book in the Northwest Passage series. Ginny and twin sister Katie Smith were born on September 11, 2001. It is now September 11, 2020 and they are celebrating their 19th birthday at a fair in Seattle. They have a great time till they encounter a strange fortune teller. Ignoring her warnings they decide to visit the house of mirrors. Soon both girls are traveling through the mirror and back into 1964. They decide to bide their time till they can get back to 2020 but things like boys begin to complicate things.
The good news is that even though this book is part of a series you can read it without reading the other books. When I started the book I was worried that one of my biggest pet peeves was in there...the dreaded head hopping (changing first person perspective). I was worried because the chapters had the name of the different sisters. But I didn't have to worry as this was not first person and there was no real head hopping. Believe me I gave a sigh of relief.
Of the two sisters Ginny was my favorite right out of the gate. But I loved the relationship between the twins. Each one was unique but they had that special bond that twins seem to have including communicating without speaking.
I used to be a HUGE fan of time travel stories but this one was unique in that it takes place in the 60's. I can't remember another time travel book that I've read that has done that. I love that it was close enough to have been in recent memory for some people but yet far enough away to seem a whole lifetime ago (which I suppose for some it is).
I really enjoyed the book and plan on checking out at least one other book in the series.
4 out of 5 stars.
*I received a copy of the book in exchange for my honest opinion. -
I have to say that I almost wanted to not open this book. Not because I wasn’t looking forward to it but because I knew that this was the last book that had been published. I didn’t want to read it and then find myself wishing it could go on forever when it came to an end. But I couldn’t help it. I just had to know what happened.
Like the previous books things are different in The Mirror. Nothing is really the same except that some of the characters remain as old friends. While they’re not the focus they are in the periphery. And it’s comforting. It’s like they’re a comforting blanket for readers who have read the whole series. Even while the emotional scenes are taking place you take comfort in the fact that there are familiar characters mixed in with the new characters. It was nice.
What was even more interesting about this book is not that two characters travel in time as that has happened before but two sisters, and more specifically the twin daughters of Joel Smith. I’m not going to name their mother because that would mean spoilers for the first book. But it was interesting to see the problems that can come from two people travelling back who are related and especially when there is someone who knows about one of the previous time travel adventures. It presented new problems of its own.
I found this series intriguing as John A. Heldt was able to recreate the adventure and emotional turmoil in every book. There wasn’t really anything familiar except for a few characters. It was refreshing and I enjoyed it.
If you love time travel, series’ and romance than this is an amazing series, one that I was sad to finish. Have you ever read the Northwest Passage Series? Did you enjoy it? What did you think about the different time travel scenarios?
Find this review and many others at
Reading Shy With Aly -
The Mirror (Northwest Passage #5) by John A. Heldt
The fifth installment of the Northwest Passage series has Ginny and Katie (twins) celebrating their 19th birthday at the county fair. They find themselves in 1964 when one sister goes back in time in the house of mirrors.
Once there they meet their great grandmother and a few boys. Soon they have a life altering choice to take, what direction will they chose and how will it all end?
A fast paced adventure, filled with secrets, suspense, love, family and friendship. I really liked Ginny and Katie, I being a twin myself, could really understand the bond the sisters had. Twins are unique in so many ways and
John A. Heldtgot it spot on, how it feels to be a twin (at least in my opinion). I strongly recommend
The Mirror, for those who love time travel/adventure stories.
Also recommend the first four
The Mine,
The Fire,
The Show and
The Journey. -
Other reviewers have said this is Heldt's final book in the Northwest Passage series. IMO, that's a good thing because both this book and #4, "The Fire," are just OK. The storyline here is the most stilted and convoluted of any in the series. Additionally, I'm just plain tired of inaccurate historical details,anachronisms galore, and trite/stupid similes. I get that Heldt is trying to be original, but so many of his comparisons just don't work. As an example of an historical inaccuracy: When Cindy brings the twins a box of GS cookies, she is described as wearing a "pleated green skirt and a merit badge sash." I wore that uniform in the 1960s, and the skirt was NOT pleated -- in fact, I don't believe any GS uniform has ever had a pleated skirt. Additionally, Girl Scouts do NOT earn merit badges; they earn badges. "Merit" badges are unique to the Boy Scouts. An example of an anachronism? While there were dishwashers in many kitchens in the 1960s, I find it a little hard to believe there would have been one in a rented apartment.
All of the above aside, the character development is also off. It was not at all believable to me that Steve, for example, turned out the way he did.Or that Ginny transferred her feelings so easily between boyfriends. That part of the storyline was seriously lacking. Also, as others have noted, things were wrapped up at the end way too easily/quickly. I didn't really understand the supposed connection between generations of characters and dates ...
Overall, the book was just OK. This could never be called great writing, but I've certainly read worse. It's quick, easy, and somewhat entertaining. Don't overthink things and you'll probably enjoy the story. -
When Ginny and twin sister Katie ignore the warnings of a carnival fortune-teller and enter a house of mirrors, they find themselves time-traveling back to the 1960’s. Exiting into a *very* different world, they use their wits to survive. Along the way, they meet their great-grandmother, experience some serious culture shock, and even find love.
“Two time travelers with knowledge of the future could make a big difference in this world – or make a big mess.”
What made this installment of the Northwest Passage series special to me was that Ginny and Katie were twins and experience time-travel together. I loved the idea of how they entered a house of mirrors and exited into the past. What was also of interest is that the story begins in 2020.
My favorite part of this book was when they see their great-grandmother in the grocery store they are working at. That was a really fun scene!
The Mirror was a satisfying conclusion to the Northwest Passage series. I would recommend it to fans of time-travel sci-fi!
*In the interest of fair disclosure, I received a copy of this book in exchange for a fair, honest, and thoughtful book review. This in no way swayed my opinion nor rating.*
https://awellreadwomanblog.wordpress.... -
I've read the paperback, The Mirror by John A. Heldt. It's the final book of the Northwest Passage series. I've enjoyed every book in the series and read them back to back. (in between all my other hobbies and work) In my opinion, this last book is a great finale. The author wrote this series with good people as the main characters. -- Idyllic humans who still have their flaws. This story is about the next generation of time travelers. It's about two beautiful, courageous twin sisters and how they deal with the past. Their attitudes in 1964, loves, decisions and heartbreak. I always find it amazing how authors come up with interesting fictional ideas and insert them in historic accounts. In this case, time travel. Who knows, maybe time travel is possible? I hope not, though.
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Lightweight.
Lightweight novel.Twins usual!y doub!e delight but in this case only doubles the tedium.Just another romance of a " Mills and Boon " variety passed off as time travel. Conversations are teenage angst. Don't expect feminism .This novel could be set in Stone age.The females expectations of themselves are very limited. -
A major disappointment! It was too long and was tediously boring!
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This is exactly what you'd expect from a free time travel book about teenage girls written by a middle-aged man.
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The Mirror (Northwest Passage) bk 5 by John Heldt Review
Turning nineteen could lead to an unknown journey!
On September 11, 2020, Ginny and Katie Smith celebrate their nineteenth birthday at a country fair near Seattle. Ignoring the warnings of a fortune-teller, they enter a house of mirrors and exit in May 1964. Armed with the knowledge they need to return to their time, they try to make the most of what they believe will be a four-month vacation. But their sixties adventure becomes complicated when they meet a revered great-grandmother and fall in love with local boys. In THE MIRROR, the sequel to THE MINE and THE SHOW, the sisters find happiness and heartbreak as they confront unexpected challenges and gut-wrenching choices in the age of civil rights, the Beatles, and Vietnam.
What did I like? When I was little I use to love the house of mirrors but as I grew older they really scared me... Today, I hate them! Now after reading this I will never step foot inside one. I loved the girls and what they did. The took the lemons they were served with and definitely made lemonade with them. At nineteen I am not sure there are many girls that would figure out what to do so it was really interesting to see where they went with things. I really loved the ending in this one also. Oh, I know it is just a story but gee with all the pampered kids now a day it was really nice to read about some that took the bull by the horns and did something for themselves.
What will you like? Interesting, lots of action, unbelievable twists, uncanny turns and lots of romance! These girls enjoyed their time traveling and it showed in what they did, so it was very refreshing! The connections in the books shows up again and I love the way that John handled it with kid gloves. There is only one book left for this series and I am off to finish it up. Don’t forget to get River Rising, it is tied to the time traveling and continues the stories. -
The Mirror (Northwest Passage) bk 5 by John Heldt Review 11/4/17
Turning nineteen could lead to an unknown journey!
On September 11, 2020, Ginny and Katie Smith celebrate their nineteenth birthday at a country fair near Seattle. Ignoring the warnings of a fortune-teller, they enter a house of mirrors and exit in May 1964. Armed with the knowledge they need to return to their time, they try to make the most of what they believe will be a four-month vacation. But their sixties adventure becomes complicated when they meet a revered great-grandmother and fall in love with local boys. In THE MIRROR, the sequel to THE MINE and THE SHOW, the sisters find happiness and heartbreak as they confront unexpected challenges and gut-wrenching choices in the age of civil rights, the Beatles, and Vietnam.
What did I like? When I was little I use to love the house of mirrors but as I grew older they really scared me... Today, I hate them! Now after reading this I will never step foot inside one. I loved the girls and what they did. The took the lemons they were served with and definitely made lemonade with them. At nineteen I am not sure there are many girls that would figure out what to do so it was really interesting to see where they went with things. I really loved the ending in this one also. Oh, I know it is just a story but gee with all the pampered kids now a day it was really nice to read about some that took the bull by the horns and did something for themselves.
What will you like? Interesting, lots of action, unbelievable twists, uncanny turns and lots of romance! These girls enjoyed their time traveling and it showed in what they did, so it was very refreshing! The connections in the books shows up again and I love the way that John handled it with kid gloves. There is only one book left for this series and I am off to finish it up. Don’t forget to get River Rising, it is tied to the time traveling and continues the stories. -
Journey into the past.
This was the second time-travel book I'd listened to by this author, unfortunately from two different series. I preferred The Mirror (Northwest passage 05) to Class of '59 (American Journey 04), mainly because it was less confusing in the early chapters. I also favoured the narrator of The Mirror.
Ginny and Katie Smith, nineteen year old twins, have come from a family of time-travellers, and while they never expected to find themselves in another time, they seemed to have some awareness of how things worked and how to go about returning to their own time. However, they were aware that they needed to be very careful not to make significant changes in the past, and not to fall in love and leave heart-break behind them when they left. Whilst they pretty much achieved their first objective, they were far from achieving the second.
The era in which they find themselves is 1964, with the rise of The Beatles, the build-up of racial riots and the impending Vietnam disaster. This was also the era in which their great-grandmother lived. Meeting her and her daughter, their grandmother, was one of the highlights of their trip and they were able to fill her in on the fates of some of the people whom she'd loved and lost.
The characterisations were good and I loved the different social feel of a time when courtesy was the norm. The dialogue, however, was a bit stilted and I felt for the narrator in tackling an endless stream of 'he said, she said'.
Although this does work as a standalone, I was sorry I hadn't read the previous books in the series. I struggled with the the ending, which brought together the fates of all the previous characters and was rather confusing. I still plan to go over the last few chapters again to really understand who everyone was and how their roles in the story panned out.
I'm a bit surprised that this is not listed as a YA book as it struck me as a coming-of-age novel rather than adult fiction. -
The Mirror is the fifth book in the Northwest Passage series and sequel to The Mine and The Show.
The first John A Heldt book I read was The Mine, also the first book in this series. Not being a sci fi fan I was reluctant to accept the request for a review, but I was seriously hooked on this author from the start.
Like his other books I was drawn into the story from the first page of The Mirror. Heldt does not write your average time travel science fiction. He writes adventure, romance and historical fiction. He writes stories where you will quickly become familiar with the believable characters, have clear images of the scenes and feel the emotions. And, as always, you’ll get a history lesson.
While The Mirror is readable as a stand-alone story, I recommend reading The Mine and The Show first for greater enjoyment and appreciation.
Having been a young teen in the 1960s I completely related to the period, especially the obsession with The Beatles and hemlines gradually creeping up.
Heldt has become known among his fans as writing great endings and The Mirror is no different. There were some wonderful sincere and sentimental moments at the end and I loved it all.
There is one comment I feel I must make in relation to a few of the reviews and that is in relation to intimacy between the girls and their boyfriends. Some reviews read as though there are descriptive passages. This is not the case. We know the girls sleep with the boys, that is all. There is suggestion by some reviewers that in the sixties teens were not sexually active. This is also untrue. John Heldt has told it as it was, and he has done it tastefully and honestly. -
It was okay. It’s a young adult romance. Not a lot really happened and it jumped around from the time traveling twins to the point of view of their great grandmother in 1941 a few times, and their mother in 2021 once, with no reason when the story should have only been in the POV of the two main characters, the twin sisters Ginny and Katie. The explanations of their family having history of time traveling was just super confusing!!! I didn’t realize this was book 5 in a series and apparently their parents had time traveled in the previous books as well as some other family members. Honestly, trying to explain that should have just been left out as it was too confusing who was who. Also, the fact that Mike had a grandfather that looked like him and his grandmother looked like Katie yet they were NOT the Mike and Katie. Also very confusing and there was absolutely no point to that since they were NOT them. Also, the fact that Mike’s grandfather made the mirror had no point either since he wasn’t a magician that made the mirror magical or anything. Again, no point to that. And the whole September 11th and May 2nd dates being the dates where everyone time traveled seemed pointless as well as that Katie and Mike married September 18th just like the other Mike and Katie. If there were no reasons explained for it then all this was pointless to even mention. It just made the story confusing!
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Ginny and Katie are 19-year old twins, who are as different as day and night. Ginny was adventurous and Katie was cautious. A visit to a fortune teller at a county fair forsaw the girls taking a journey, an adventure like no other. “If you’re not careful, you may never see home again.”
Not really thinking much of it, the girls make one last stop at the House of Mirrors, where they walk through a glass, leaving their world behind. Suddenly, the twins find themselves at the same fair grounds, but in 1964. Oy vey!
According to their parents—Joel and Grace—who had time-traveled before, the only way back is the same way you came in. So the girls needed to find that House of Mirrors.
John Heldt knows how to write a good time travel story, but the problem is that his stories kind of sound the same, often following the same formula and plot sequence. Like any other time travel tale, the protagonists try to get back to their own time.
Overall, the story is well-written and well-crafted, but it’s a tad predictable, too. -
This is the last (as far as I know) in John A Heldt's time travel series. Having read all his other series, that I thoroughly enjoyed and gave 5 stars to, I enjoyed this series, that began with The Mine, when a young man named Joel accidentally found himself in the 1940s (as you do lol!), Married the woman he loved, who in her turn had a disturbing, unscheduled visit to the post WW1 past, this is the turn of their twin daughters. The story has the usual interesting story elements and realistic characters I have come to expect and enjoy in Mr Heldt's time travel stories, but somehow this one just lacked something for me that I can't really define. Maybe I'm just jaded by the genre or maybe this was just one too many in this particular series. It really must read in the order of the series, starting with The Mine. I could have lived without this last one
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I received the audio book code from the author in exchange for an honest review. Thank you @johnaheldt
This was a fitting end to the series. It tied up a few questions I had about the effects of messing with history during time travel and even logistical questions like, “how could they manage to live as a documented person at this point?”
The story was well written and realistic concerning the characters thoughts and behaviors. There were a few moral/ethical issues in this one which were handled well.
I do think if I was a member of this family I would be concerned every time I left my house though. Note to self, always carry cash and coins. -
Nice ending
I don't know if there are more books planned in this series but, if not, this is a fine place to stop. Each book has explored time travel a little differently but none of them relied on science - just some sort of strange occurrence that could sometimes be predictable. But the stories were cute in a young adult kind of way. -
The Mirror (Northwest Passage Book 5)
An interesting end to this series., with the multi generational family theme. This story focuses on 1964 primarily and the start of the Vietnam War, as well as racial equality and interracial relationships. Looking forward to reading more from this author. Recommend.
