Title: Mirror in the Sky
Author: Aditi Khorana
Genres: Science Fiction, Contemporary
Pages: 352
Publisher: Razorbill
Review copy: Library
Availability: June 21st 2016
Summary: For Tara Krishnan, navigating Brierly, the academically rigorous prep school she attends on scholarship, feels overwhelming and impossible. Her junior year begins in the wake of a startling discovery: A message from an alternate Earth, light years away, is intercepted by NASA. This means that on another planet, there is another version of Tara, a Tara who could be living better, burning brighter, because of tiny differences in her choices.
The world lights up with the knowledge of Terra Nova, the mirror planet, and Tara’s life on Earth begins to change. At first, small shifts happen, like attention from Nick Osterman, the most popular guy at Brierly, and her mother playing hooky from work to watch the news all day. But eventually those small shifts swell, the discovery of Terra Nova like a black hole, bending all the light around it.
As a new era of scientific history dawns and Tara’s life at Brierly continues its orbit, only one thing is clear: Nothing on Earth–or for Tara–will ever be the same again. [Image and summary via Goodreads]
Review: If you’re into space (and who isn’t, considering all the exciting discoveries happening in the last few years), then Mirror in the Sky has, from the start, an arresting premise. Tara Krishnan is starting junior year at prep school without her best friend when the world is rocked by a discovery of, well, another alternate Earth somewhere in space. The effects of the discovery start to influence Tara’s life little by little.
Of course, as with most science fiction, a certain amount of good ol’ suspension of disbelief needs to happen. With this book in particular, I had to work especially hard to suspend any disbelief. I had a hard time believing the physics explanation introduced to explain a parallel Earth where they had their own version of Virginia Woolf, named Virginia Wool — and so on. (To be fair, I definitely switched out of my high school physics class in favor of TA-ing for English… so I may just be bad at physics.)
Tara’s narration of the changes in her world – in school and in the universe – is strong and distinct, with plenty of detail. There’s a definite melancholy, here-is-what-i-am-thinking tone to it, which may or may not be your cup of tea. There’s also Tara’s life at Brierly as she’s plunged into the social lives of the popular kids. It gets very Mean Girls, but with a much more serious tone to it, which melded well with all the space intrigue.
Honestly, if you need your sci-fi to have a strong scientific basis, or if you dislike school drama, then Mirror in the Sky may not be for you. These factors, along with the final events at the end, threw me for a loop.
But if you’re looking for a solid YA science fiction book, Mirror in the Sky is it. Definitely check it out when you get the chance! In my opinion, YA can always use more sci-fi, and this is a great addition.
Recommendation: Borrow it someday, especially if you like science fiction!