Land of Mirrors

Gr 10 Up–Antonia is alone. She discovers a beautiful flower to care for and it fills her days, giving her a sense of purpose. She is connected to the flower and can feel that it is also alone. Then a traveler, Manuela, comes along and upon learning about the flower, wants to help Antonia solve the problem of the flower needing so much care. Antonia follows Manuela to a city filled with mirrors, where she feels just as lonely among all the people as she did when she was by herself. Will they be able to find help in time to care for the flower again? And why are there so many mirrors here? Reading almost like poetry, the tale flows from page to page. It is easy to get lost in this book, forgetting how much time has passed, much like Antonia. This story is gloriously illustrated; Medem fills each page with rich color and light. Even the shadows are saturated blues and purples instead of murky black or gray. The style of the illustration is equally stunning, with an abstract, almost dreamlike quality; one panel absorbing the next and keeping readers slightly off-balance, like a reflection in a fun house mirror.