The Girl in the Broken Mirror [Review & Guest Post]

Hello Catastrophes!

Title: The Girl in the Broken Mirror

Author: Savita Kalhan

Publisher: Troika

Published Date: 29^th March 2018

Rating: 4 Stars

*Thank you to the author for the review copy*

Synopsis: Jay’s creative writing exercise is to write a fairy tale, to end with ‘they lived happily ever after’. But the way her life is panning out she’s not sure it will ever reach that stage. She and her mother are moving in with distant relatives, and they have super strict rules for girls. Jay is expected to have only Indian friends, if she has any at all. How can she see her school friends, Chloe and Matt?

But this is only the beginning of a nightmare for Jay. When her life implodes, how can she hide the shame – and how will she find a way to keep going?

Review: When I was sent this one for review by the author, I did not expect this story to be one where rape was the main event and topic in the book. I wanted to start my review with this because it needs to be said: there is a trigger warning for rape, suicidal thoughts and sexual assault in this novel. When I started reading I couldn’t believe that there wasn’t any indication of this subject matter in the synopsis or as a warning! So, I was already cautious when reading. But I have to say, this was amazing well written and such a powerful story.

I want to start talking about how the story was presented. The first chapter of the book is a prologue, and we see the events that happen immediately the morning after Jay has been raped. After that first chapter it rewinds to the beginning of the story, and I couldn’t help but be suspicious of every single male character we were introduced to. This was very clever on the author’s point of view – she gives the reader the paranoia that the main character doesn’t have, that women shouldn’t have to live with. Although the beginning of the book was a bit slow as we are only getting to know the characters and their situation, my curiosity of wanting to know who would do this to Jay.

The beginning of the novel is where the cultural clash is most discussed as well. Jay’s parents moved from India to England, and she was born in the UK. Even though her parents weren’t too strict about keeping up with traditional Indian values from their home country, when Jay moves in with her aunt’s family they start to bring it up again. I cannot speak for how accurate the Indian culture representation is, but the book managed to communicate how suffocating it can be when you don’t agree with the values and ways of living that those around you have – especially if they are your parents. It was interesting to read what Jay did considering her situation, and the ways she tried to skirt around the rules.

By the end of the novel, I was reeling from all the emotions, and the implications of everything that happened to Jay. I even had to pause and shut the book for a moment to process my thoughts and feelings. Unlike me, who can close the book and pause, the nightmare Jay lives is one that some people are experiencing right now or have experienced in the past. They can’t close a book and think about it with some distance because it’s their reality. Which breaks my heart in two and really hit me hard. I think the author handled the topic really well and clearly shows how horrific it is. But also, how you can survive, and how it isn’t the end of everything. Because that is an equally important message too.

The relationships in this book get complicated, especially the mother and daughter relationship. I liked that there was this complication, and the discussion of assigning blame to certain people, and revenge. You can’t be nice to everyone all the time, and her mother and her have a lot of disagreements that they must work through. The focus being on the mother daughter relationship is one that I really appreciated seeing in this YA novel.

Bless the characters Ash and Matt in this book! Matt is Jay’s best friend, and they sort of start to get into a relationship throughout the novel. He’s shamelessly playful all the time – and it made me worry what he would do when he found out what happened to Jay. I wanted him to understand and be there for her, but I worried his playful and young nature would make him unable to understand. I won’t tell you how it panned out for them, but I also really liked them in the beginning part of the novel. Matt doesn’t really get why Jay has all these rules about their relationship and why they can’t be seen in public – but he tries to understand for Jay’s sake. Which I really, really appreciated! I wanted more from his character because I loved it so much!

I also really loved Ash. He was nerdy and quite and so kind without any particular reason for needing to be so. I kind of wish we got to delve more into his character and his history with his family. He seemed to be in a similar situation to Jay in some ways, and if it was explored more we could compare and contrast their situations more.

The writing style was quite straightforward and simplistic. At the start of the novel it did frustrate me that we were told everything so plainly. But when it came to the rape and everything that happened afterwards, I was grateful for it. I didn’t want any moments of misunderstanding or confusion about what she was feeling or what was happening. It worked.

If you read this one and appreciate it, I recommend trying It Happens All the Time by Amy Hatvany, which was very intriguing because you get the points of view of both the victim and the rapist.

Relevance to today: I think it is quite clear how this is so relevant – with the #metoo movement there has been a raise in awareness about what sexual assault is, and the implications of it. This book only contributes to more understanding, more justice and hopefully, fewer cases of rape occurring.

Links: Get the book on Goodreads, The Book Depository or Amazon!

Gif Summary:

Guest Post: It’s great to be on your blog today, Olivia, so thank you for inviting me. The blog tour for The Girl in the Broken Mirror has been amazing! It’s so exciting to have my book out there in the world – I’m still jumping with joy!

The Girl in the Broken Mirror wasn’t an easy story to write, and there were lots of times when I wondered why I was writing it. But there are some stories that you just know you have to write, there are some voices that need to be heard – Jay’s voice was one of those. I’ll warn your readers now – the book may make you cry…

I love writing and I love telling stories, but, like most writers, there are times when the muse deserts you and writer’s block rears its ugly head. That’s a terrifying moment. Doubts creep in as to whether you can actually ever write again. That’s when I write short stories.

Short stories are not dissimilar to writing a novel, but there are differences, the length being the obvious one. Sometimes when I have been stuck, I have set out to write a short story and after writing three thousand words, I’ve realised it could form the basis of a full length novel. When the story flows, I go with it – wherever it may take me, and sometimes it has led to a novel, and others times it has remained a short story.

So if you are stuck for words or want to try writing something different, here are my eight simple rules to short story writing:

1. Tell the story from the point of view of the central character.

Don’t tell the story from the point of view of any of the other characters. Get inside your character’s head and speak with his/her voice – not your own. For a short story the fewer the characters the better and the simpler the story structure the better.

2. Introduce the main theme of your story as soon as possible.

It’s important that an element of conflict/dilemma/problem is introduced within the first couple of paragraphs to draw the reader in.

3. Try to hold your reader’s attention throughout the story.

Keep the reader in suspense/anticipation throughout the story as to how the character will resolve the conflict/dilemma/problem. There doesn’t have to be a cliff-hanger at the end of every page. It can be subtly done. But it is very important that the reader wants to follow your character right through from the beginning of the story to the end.

4. There has to be a climax or resolution near the end of the story.

The reader needs to know how the character resolves the problem and what happens to them. Keep the reader guessing until the end.

5. Focus the story.

Focus the story on a single event or some kind of pivotal moment in the central character’s life. Don’t introduce sub-plots – there’s no time for that in a short story.

6. Don’t be boring!

If you’re bored with what you’ve written, the reader will be too, so don’t lose the reader. Your job is to let them experience the story with all their senses.

7. Give your story a title.

It makes the story more real for you if you don’t wait until the end to give it a title. If you can’t think of one or are not happy with the one you have then give it a provisional title. Titles often get changed at submission, or even later by the publisher!

8. Make every word count.

Writers are often given guidelines for the number of words required for particular submissions. Generally it can vary between 2000 words and 8000 words. That’s not a lot, so once you have written your story, reread and make sure you have used exactly the right word for the right moment. Writers reread and rewrite countless times, checking punctuation errors and spelling mistakes, which are a distraction to the reader and can spoil the story.

Thanks so much for inviting me here, Olivia. I’m happy to answer any questions your readers might have about my eight rules for writing – and if they have any rules of their own to add to the list.

If your readers have any questions about The Girl in the Broken Mirror I am very happy to answer those too, so I will check in on the comments.

You can find out more about me by heading to my website, or chat to me on twitter @savitakalhan. I’d love to hear from you!

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Olivia’s Question: What are some topics or subjects you find hard to read about in books?

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Olivia-Savannah x