Mirror Image (Orca Currents)

Thrown together for a special art project, two totally different girls find a way to become friends and learn a little something about life in the process. Sable and Lacey are from opposite sides of life. Sable wears nothing but black, never seems to smile, and prefers to hang out alone. Lacey always dresses in pink, appears to be way too perky, and hangs with the popular crowd. The two are in Mr. Ripley's art class when he decides to deal with the class attitude problem by partnering students without regard to already developed friendships. The project is to get to know your partner and match them with a famous quotation to be incorporated into the design of each student's project. Forced into a relationship, the girls soon discover each other's secrets. Their homes and families hold surprising insight into what makes each girl who she is. Through the project they find they each have something to offer the other, and a friendship does indeed blossom. In MIRROR IMAGE, I was struck by the amount of character development K.L. Denman was able to squeeze into a mere 105 pages. Sable and Lacey were able to speak to me and make me part of their growth experience. MIRROR IMAGE would work well for reluctant readers and also for reading aloud and class discussion activities. Reviewed by: Sally Kruger, aka "Readingjunky"