The Glass Republic by Tom Pollock

Genre: Young Adult, Supernatural, Fantasy

Pages: 464

Publication: October 4th 2016 by Jo Fletcher Books

Synopsis:

Teenager “Pen” Khan is burdened by a life of secrets, the biggest of which is now written on her face. Following a devastatingly close encounter with the Wire Mistress, Pen’s face is strangely disfigured by dozens of crisscrossing scars, making her an outcast among her peers. The only person who understands and accepts her is Parva, Pen’s mirror sister, confined to the world of London-Under-Glass.

Following Parva’s abduction, Pen strikes a terrible bargain with the unforgiving Chemical Synod in exchange for the means to track her mirror sister down, and ventures into the unknown. In London-Under-Glass, appearance is everything, and Pen’s peculiar scars make her a valuable ally. But some in the reflected city are doing everything they can to prevent Pen from learning the truth about the disappearance of a girl who shares her face.

My Thoughts

Admittedly, I didn’t read the first book, which meant as I read this book I realized it was essential that I did. I read on and found myself utterly lost, confused and if someone asked me what the book was about I’d have grimaced and scratched my head as I did my best to sum it up.

That was my fault, partially. It’s not written in a way to give you a glimpse of what happened in the prior book.

I still don’t grasp the entire story, but what I did come to learn is that this book is about Pen, a disfigured teenage girl who knows the truth of the world – that there is another world behind the mirrors. The Mirrorstocracy. Something happens to her mirror-sister [her reflection,] and Pen is willing to do whatever it takes to get her back, even make a dangerous deal.

The world aspect to the book is really amazing. Detailed, its own entity and the oddities and laws of the world versus the harsh and cruel reality of the world we live in. I have to applaud Pollock for his world building and the developments because he breathed a life into the world behind the mirror.

As far as the characters went I found myself wanting more from them. I became confused and often between Pen and Parva – they’re mirror-sisters but I kept having to remind myself who was who and who was from where. It also didn’t help that all of their personalities were interchangeable and maybe that was what stopped me from truly connecting with the characters, or maybe it was because I missed the first book, whatever it was there was a disconnect for me.

The overall idea was so unique and weird, a little creepy but delightful! I just wish I could have gotten into this story more than I did. I believe fans of Gaiman, Pratchett, and Carroll – or basically all things creeptastically adventurous would enjoy this.