From the Publisher
"Steeped in atmosphere, equal parts ghost and sororal love story, McWilliams has written a pitch-perfect southern gothic thriller about race, family, and what it means to call a place home."—Christina Hammonds Reed, award-winning author of The Black Kids
"A moving story about sisterhood and perseverance in the face of a society that tells Black girls they are worthless."—Booklist
*“Mirror Girls is a spine-tingling, empowering look at justice and civil action that urges readers to be aware, to be true to themselves and to take action. As Magnolia observes, ‘As twin sisters, white and Black, we are a symbol of coming victory. A promise of change.’”—BookPage, starred review
"[A] spooky Southern gothic ghost story. "—BCCB
Kirkus Reviews
★ 2022-12-14
Biracial twin sisters, separated at birth in 1936 and raised on opposite sides of the Mason-Dixon Line, reunite to vanquish the metaphorical and literal ghosts of their entangled past.
For nearly 17 years, fledgling civil rights activist Charlene “Charlie” Yates believed she was the only child of a Black mother and a White father who were murdered by White segregationists. She has lived in Harlem with Nana, her maternal grandmother, but when Nana becomes terminally ill and demands to be buried in her rural hometown of Eureka, Georgia, Charlie accompanies her. As a result, she learns that she has a twin sister—a White-passing Southern belle named Magnolia Heathwood. At first, Charlie wants nothing to do with her twin, who seems hopelessly adrift between two worlds. But Nana’s death sheds light on a long-standing family curse that threatens Magnolia’s life, and Charlie’s conscience won’t allow her to leave. As the girls grow closer, they unearth horrifying details about the town’s brutal legacy of chattel slavery, discover how sisterhood can transcend the color line, and use the power of love to defeat the poison of hate. The narrative, which alternates between the first-person perspectives of Charlie and Magnolia, captures the horrors of Jim Crow without gratuitous detail, vividly depicts each sister’s internal struggles, and speaks to McWilliams’ skill with characterization.
An immersive, supernatural take on the nuanced construction of Black identity that delivers hope and catharsis. (family tree) (Historical fiction. 13-18)
