Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: The Diary of Bess Brennan (Dear America) by Barry Denenberg

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: The Diary of Bess Brennan (Dear America) Reviews

• 
  Manybooks

  So yes, the day-to-day life details (both positive and negative, both triumphs and obstacles) which Bess Brennan experiences, encounters and often must also surmount and master at the Perkins School for the Blind (in 1932 and after having recently been blinded in a horrible sledding accident) are certainly informative and very much enlightening. And I also do find author Barry Denenberg’s idea of having Bess’ twin sister Elin write the diary entries for her, for Bess, an ingenious and successful narrative device (as this of course visibly shows that Bess cannot write using pen and paper anymore due to her blindness and that since Bess has also not yet learned how to write in Braille, she obviously must at this time still rely on Elin to be her pen or pencil, to write the diary entries that Bess orally dictates).
  
  However, as much as the factual information of Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: The Diary of Bess Brennan regarding what Bess needs to learn at the Perkins School for the Blind has been interesting, I also cannot really say that I have found either Bess’ or Elin’s narrative voices all that gender appropriate. For while with regard to age, Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: The Diary of Bess Brennan does certainly read realistically enough, I am sorry, but the first person narrations of either of the Brennan twins, they to and for me do not really sound all that feminine in nature, but more as though author Barry Denenberg is masquerading and pretending at being a girl but not really succeeding all that well, making the featured journal entries feel emotionally inauthentic and not all that relatable and readable, leaving printed words that are thematically real but feeling emotionally false (not really feminine enough but actually rather asexual and stagnant, devoid of feeling and just not in my opinion reading all that much like the musings of a young teenaged girl and her twin sister helpmeet).
  
  And thus, only two stars for Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: The Diary of Bess Brennan, and yes, I really do think that Bess’ fictional journal would be considerably more emotionally and gender authentic if the author were female and not male, as I just do not think that Barry Denenberg gets Bess and describes Bess’s musings as those of a typical girl.
• 
  Jerrica

  This book made me really afraid to go sledding because the girl went blind from a sledding accident. Thanks a lot, Dear America.
• 
  Ana Mardoll

  Mirror, Mirror (Perkins School for the Blind) / 0-439-19446-6
  
  "Mirror, Mirror" is a solid addition to the Dear America series, and with a new kind of fictional diarist - a blind young woman. When Bess' eyesight is lost in a sledding accident, she despairs that she will ever be able to live a normal life. With the urging of her understanding and concerned family, she gains admission to the Perkins School for the Blind, and begins the onerous process of learning how to live independently without sight.
  
  So much of this book is quite fascinating, as Bess describes senses and feelings that would never occur to me as a sighted person. She learns, for instance, to walk down corridors snapping her fingers, listening to the different types echoes as the corridors widen and narrow while she walks. She describes how the most thoughtful teachers automatically say "Hello" and "Goodbye" when entering and leaving rooms, so that the blind students can instantly know who has entered or left. Even the process of dressing herself in the morning has a 'system' - Bess puts her light clothes in a separate drawer from her dark clothes, so that she will always match. Bess also tells us, matter-of-factly, how poorly many of the blind students are treated by the outside world; the girls who are taken out of school by fathers who don't care if they learn to be independent or not, the boys who are not allowed to socialize with the girls because the school officials fear that blind couples will result in blind babies.
  
  As good as this book is, it does have some very minor flaws. The conceit of this diary is a bit jarring - Bess cannot write her diary, so her twin sister writes it for her. This works well enough, but is a bit disconcerting when we read, "I felt that Elin was jealous today," and we realize that even though it is Bess speaking, it is Elin recording and it would be slightly unnatural for her to just write this down as such. I tried working this out in my own mind, and it feels like the two would talk about it instead, and have a nice discussion, but they apparently do not because no such discussion gets recorded in the diary, as in "I thought Elin was jealous today, but she assures me now that she was not," or something similar. It's a small point, but it did break up the reading frequently.
  
  "Mirror, Mirror" is also very short; I was disappointed in the length of this diary, as I really wanted to learn more, and I wanted to wrap up the storyline where Bess was not comfortable being friends with her old sighted companions anymore, but that storyline was never resolved, which was disappointing.
  
  Most irritating of all, the author shamelessly uses "Mirror, Mirror" as a platform to pitch his other Dear America book, "When Will This Cruel War Be Over?" which I have reviewed elsewhere as being a very poor novel, in my opinion. I was deeply displeased to see it 'marketed' in this book - Bess' teacher is the 'author' of a play by the same name, and Bess gets the part of 'Cousin Rachel' in the book, and much is written about how fabulously fabulous "When Will This Cruel War" is. There are dozens of pages devoted to laudations of this other book, and it feels like a very cheap and childish way to self-promote oneself. I am grateful that the many other Dear America authors have had the self-restraint to keep their greed from interfering with the story at hand - every moment spent talking about the awesomeness of the other book is a moment NOT spent talking about Bess and the Perkins School for the Blind.
  
  I enjoyed the fascinating and valuable look at being blind in the 1930's, when Braille was first being widely accepted and schools for the blind in America were first being really taken seriously. However, I did not like the self-promotion on the part of the author, and did not like how short the story was. I recommend trying to find it at a discount price, if possible.
  
  ~ Ana Mardoll
• 
  Olivia

  I have always liked Dear Americas. I read this one a while ago and just bought it at a thrift store because I couldn't remember what I thought of it. I won't be keeping it.
  It seemed to me that Bess' outlook wasn't too bright. I realize that she just went blind, but shutting people out and hiding in yourself isn't a very good way to handle it. Mostly, though, I thought the story was incomplete. I thought it was really short. I was really getting into the story and then BAM! it's done.
  As a final note, I was slightly confused by the Historical note, which tells how Louis Braille {born 1809} came up with Braille. It says that a type of Braille was formed for the trench soldiers in WWI, but that the army rejected it. But Louis found out about it and improved it. Now, the last time I checked, WWI happened from 1914-1918. In order for Louis Braille to have used the type that the army rejected for WWI, he would have been at least 105 when he started working on it. Something doesn't match up here.
• 
  Rebecca

  After she is blinded in a sledding accident, twelve-year-old Bess Brennan's life changes forever. Bess would like to hide in her room forever, but her family forces her to face the world, a world that will never be the same for Bess, ever again. For years, Bess has kept a diary, faithfully writing daily entries. Now, Bess's twin sister Elin must write for her instead. Bess's family decides to send her to the Perkins School for the Blind, where she can learn to live in the world without her sight.
  
  This was a really fascinating and unique book in the Dear America series. From reading it, I learned what life might be like for a blind girl in 1932, a girl who had sight for the first twelve years of her life, but suddenly and tragically lost it. Readers who enjoyed other Dear America books will likely enjoy this book as well.
• 
  Courtney Shevchenko

  I think this is my least favorite Dear America book. It was so sad!
• 
  Jeni Enjaian

  A review from my old blog...
  
  The Dear America series is probably one of the best historical fiction series for children. I enjoy reading these books even as an adult. Part of that is because I always wonder what life might have been like for a person living in different ages of history and how their life would have unfolded.
  
  From the prospective of a future middle school English (possibly) teacher I definitely would assign at least one or two books from this series to my students.
  
  This particular book is the story of Bess, a girl born with sight who loses her sight in a tragic snow sledding accident. She chronicles, through a sighted person (her twin sister for a large part) her time at the Perkins school for the blind and how she had to learn how to do all of these normal activities she once knew. Even though I wanted her to end up finding love in the epilogue she did not. I definitely enjoyed the book.
• 
  Jayme

  I enjoyed this book. I have heard of the Perkins School for the Blind. I am a semi sightless person myself. That is what they called people with some sight. The only thing I didn't like is how blind people were called "blinks". I don't understand what that means. I also didn't like how blind people were treated then like everyone was walking on needles around a sightless person. I have friends who are blind and semi blind and i treat them like human beings. Some people still treat blind people and semi blind people like we can't do anything. Just because we are sightless or semi sightless that must mean we are brainless and that does piss me off. I digress, overall I did enjoy this book and I think the main character Bess was brave and lived her life independently as best she could.
• 
  Camille

  When I was in grade school, I loved to read these Dear America books. I read them like nobody's buisiness, and every now and again, if I find one, I will read them. They tickle my fancy. And my favorite, favorite, favorite Dear America book was Mirror, Mirror on the Wall. I just loved it. I don't even really know why. I could just see their house so clearly in my mind, and it was a lovely experience. I simply adored this book growing up, and I think it has something to do with Barry Denenberg. I've read most of his Dear America books and those are the ones that I have the fondest memories of. He has a really good way of painting the picture of the time and setting. Mirror, Mirror on the Wall was one of the first books that I could not put down.
• 
  Meghan

  Denenberg’s epilogues tend to disappoint. I was also annoyed that the author blatantly referenced another of his Dear Americas in the story in a way that didn’t feel organic. It also seems that sometimes he lost track of when Bess was dictating entries at home versus at school.
• 
  Angeleah Brothers

  i think this book perfictly shows a blind persons point of viwe. but the one thing i hated is that they sead that two blind people can't fall in love. and thats not the case people should beabl to love who ever and when ever. thats what i think about this book and if you have a problum oh well.
• 
  Willa

  It is a great book. I love reading historical fiction and especially diaries, so this is one of my faves. It takes place in 1932 and is about a girl who lost her sight in an accident and goes to Perkins, a school for the blind and is about her life there.
• 
  Lucinda

  I loved it. Well, for the most part I love all of the Dear America series. ^_^
• 
  Annie

  4.5 stars! I really hoped that this book would be longer. Re-reading it brought back wonderful memories of when I was younger and read this for the first time.
• 
  Aimee

  Anyone else catch the authors reference to another "Dear America" book within the text? Page 91, the play Bess is in in called, "When Will This Cruel War be Over?" Hmmm, shameless plug?!
• 
  Pumkin pie

  I really loved this book! This book really got me thinking what it's like to be blind. This book was really awe-inspiring, hearing how Bess Brennan became blind and has to live like that, in total darkness, for the rest of her life. And she has to figure out how to read and write Braille, and learn to do all the small things in life all over again, like getting dressed, brushing her hair, eating, ect. AND on top of that, she has to find a way to still have fun and be social, like any kid her age should. This book was just very good.
• 
  ϟEvelynϟ

  Slight spoilers are in this review.

  I haven't read a fantastic Dear America book in a LONG time. This was sure a good one! This was such an inspirational read. It made me realize how "blinks" lived their lives. I learned a lot of cool things. I just thought it was a little too short. I wanted to keep reading more about Bess's life!!I LOVED this book!

  Bess was such a strong person about this situation that it was almost unrealistic. I mean, if I were in an accident that made me blind forever, I would be the most merciful person in the world. I would go crazy. I would be sent to an insane asylum. Sometimes I wonder why Bess didn't take this situation too hard. I still question that. Though, that's good!

  I pitty Eva. She seemed so vulnerable because of her sightless self. She has no idea what the world looks like. She is forever clueless about all of the wonders of life. I felt so bad because she cried every night. She just needed someone to hold.

  Uncle Ted was the coolest. I thought he was just a really wise man. He knew what was best for everyone. Another strong character unlike Mama who was a weak character. Of course she was so concerned for her Bess. I mean, but she wasn't thinking straight. All of this happened so sudden that she became tangled in her emotions.

  I thought the epilogue was a bit dull. I thought it should have been longer. I still had questions. What happened to Billy? What did they mean that(SPOILER)Amanda and Bess got swept out to sea? Was Bess their too? It wasn't clear to me. That's probably the only disappointment that I had. Oh, and even though this installment in the series didn't appear to have a love interest(I love the ones with the love interests), I still loved it!

  Now I know how difficult it could be to be a "blink", but with a little determination and hope, you can overcome it and life you life in happiness.

  P.S I was annoyed because the author mentioned his other book, When Will This Cruel War Be Over? because it was such a...bad book. ~Evelyn
• 
  Nicole

  I did like this book, and it was certainly one of the most unique of the series.
  
  The language just came across as way too adult at times (like an adult writing a 'mature kid'). That said, this book came across as really adult dark at times. These kids are dark (they have one kid plotting how to kill a teacher and thanking God when someone dies, and seeing the phrase 'blew his brains out' made my mouth drop open).
  
  I liked the dual format because it was intriguing seeing both sides of the coin (how both Bess was effected because she was in the accident, and her sister because she has to watch it all happen). I wish we had gotten an epilogue about Elin though, because she was a contributor to the diary. She felt kind of shortchanged.
  
  There were some things that came up that were a little jarring, because I'm not sure kids would even know what they were talking about. The Lindenberg baby, for example. They mention the kidnapping, but don't actually give much context/refer to what they're talking about (is this something that American kids learn early in school or something?), so I think it'd be confusing for a person who didn't already know the background. It did have a pretty good look at The Great Depression from a middle class perspective (something you don't see as often), even if it is only background to the main story.
  
  I also snorted when I saw the title of another Dear America book pop up. The fact that it was the same author made it felt like a plug, and that made it even funnier (but damn did he get so much better between that book and this one. That book was terrible on a lot of levels).
• 
  Beverly

  The Perkins School for the Blind is in Massachusettes. It opened in 1832 and was the inspiration of Dr.John Dix Fisher. He was a native of Boston, but had visited the Parisian National Institution for Blind Youth, in his studies. That school opened in 1784! The young Dr. was astonished to see blind children learning to read, write, and play musical instruments. This gave the young Dr. a mission. He returned to Boston and gathered a group of influentiol friends, who created a charter for America's first School for the Blind. Now the blind youth could be taught ways to support themselves.
  
  Louis Braille lost his sight at age 4. Charles Bartier, a former soldier, intoduced Louis to a form of writing called "night writing." It was a system of dots and dashes for trench soldiers to pass along info without giving away their position. Young Louis experimented with the 12 dots, discarded it for 6 dots and came up with a way to match dot variations with the alphabet. He also devised a separate system for math and music. The system was so good, it is still used today. We have never heard of Charles Bartier, but all of us recognize Braille as the system that teaches reading to those without sight.
• 
  Leta Blake

  I have to admit this was a dull read for me as the parent. There were parts that were interesting in terms of learning about what it is like to be blind and what it was like to be blind at that point in history.
  
  This is the book my daughter read aloud to me at night. We try to have her read aloud to us at a bit above her level, so historical fiction is great. It gives us an opportunity to help her learn more vocabulary and to teach her history by answering her questions about why people thought and behaved as they did in different time periods.
  
  I will admit that Child seemed to enjoy this book much more than I did and never complained of being bored. I, however, was glad to see this one go. I usually ask Child to score books, and that would probably be the fair thing to do here, but on this one I'm going with my score which is fairly generous given how eager I was to move on from this one.
• 
  Glen Stott

  This is a “Dear America” book for high school-aged students about the Perkins School for the Blind. The school was founded in 1832 and had famous pupils such as Laura Bridgeman and Helen Keller. This story is the Journal of a fictional 12-year-old character named Bess Brennan. She loses her sight in an accident in Dec 1931. She starts school at Perkins in Jan. Things are quite difficult for her at Perkins. They expect her to take care of herself and constantly challenge her to do things she didn’t think she would ever be able to do on her own. The journal ends in June 1932. By then, she has learned a great deal, and has come to realize, with hard work, she will be able to live an independent life. This was a well-written, very informative book.
• 
  Ashley

  Good easy read. I've never read anything in the Dear America series, but I'm trying to be more well-versed in the J Fic when doing readers advisory. I enjoyed it. It is written in diary style and the content is historical fiction, so it may be good to suggest for kids who want books like Anne Frank's Diary of a Young Girl. The books also give quite a bit of detailed historical context for the time period. Bess' diary took place in 1932, just after the great depression, so there were various descriprions of the impact on society. The book didn't just give you a glimpse of life in a blind school, it was life in this difficult time period with some historical notes and pictures at the end.
• 
  Jennyfer

  A tragic accident leaves Bess blind and everyone grieves, especially her twin sister, Elin; they can no longer play “Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall,” a game they once loved. Bess goes to Perkins, a school for the blind, and meets two new friends: Eva is a quiet orphan who was blind from birth, and Amanda is a loud, boastful, and daring girl who was born with very bad eyesight. Bess gets used to Perkins and becomes very close to Eva, making a very big decision in the end.
  This book is a diary written in first person by Bess, but she has her sister write it until she learns Braille.
  
• 
  Julie S.

  This is one of those Dear America books that tell American history through fictional children's diaries. I read just about all of them when I was younger, but this was one that I missed.
  
  This tells the story of a girl in the 1930's who becomes blind through an accident. She goes to a school for the blind and deaf-blind. That aspect was so interesting since I don't usually see blind characters featured so prominently in books.
  
  Since this is set in the Depression era, that is also explored, but it takes second place to the blind school.
  
  
• 
  Patrice

  I don't recall exactly when I read this, but I have, with the exception of the most recent ones, read all the Dear America, My Name is America and Royal Diaries books as well as many of the My America books. I enjoyed this book, because it was a window into how physcial handicaps were treated in the early 20th century without being a complete downer. In the series, it's one of the ones I enjoyed most.