Book Review: The Moon in Habock’s Mirror

Media Type: Print Book
Title: The Moon in Habock’s Mirror
Author: Kara Bartley
Publisher: Self-published
Pages: Paperback; 244
Release Date: April 25, 2011
Source: Pump Up Your Book Promotions
=======================

From the moments Scarlett Cavanaugh enters the attic, her life begins to change. Family secrets and hidden voices are soon discovered as she delves into another time. With a guide she never envisioned and a world now unfamiliar, Scarlett must battle her inner demons to find the strength that lies within.

On her quest to return home, Scarlett encounters many unexpected characters. Each one plays a role in her life as they teach her the consequences of her actions. Burdened with this knowledge, she embarks on a perilous journey in search of an enemy unimaginable. From there, Scarlett will have to put aside her family values to restore the timeline and ultimately, find her way home.

Scarlett Cavanaugh wants nothing more than to live her life. At fifteen years old (almost sixteen she’d say) she’s quite a rebel at heart. Going out late at night with different boys, breaking curfew, snapping back at her parents, Scarlett is a teen who is living her life for the moment. Add in a heart defect, a mother who is understanding, and a  twin sister who is the exact opposite, and you have the perfect recipe for a pretty good story.

Now it’s a little difficult for me to explain exactly what didn’t sit right with me at the end of this story, but I’ll do my best. At it’s most basic level, The Moon in Habock’s Mirror is a story about a young girl who goes on a fantastical adventure. However it’s must deeper than that. Scarlett doesn’t face down ghosts, or any other paranormal creatures. No, Scarlett faces down the deep dark part of herself that she doesn’t always acknowledge is there. Sound deep? I assure you, it is.

As Scarlett navigates the other world that Habock, her narcissistic cat, leads her into she learns a lot about herself. She learns that there is power and strength deep down within her. She sees how the things she does and says really affect others on a much deeper level than she thought. Scarlett even meets the darker part of herself, and let’s just say she isn’t particularly happy with how that is imagined at all. I liked very much how Kara Bartley used a twist to show Scarlett growing up and learning. I won’t ruin it, but it definitely threw me off.

Here’s the bottom line for me. Overall I enjoyed the story and loved the fantasy that is presented. Scarlett is a spitfire and I liked how she had her own personality that shone off the pages. However I felt like the moral of the story was a bit forced into the foreground near the end. Scarlett battles that darker part of herself, and it manifests in a way she never imagined. She still keeps her spitfire personality, but I almost felt like it was squashed after all the lessons that she had been taught along the way. I appreciated the morals that were presented, I just think they could have been incorporated into the overall fantasy story a little bit better.

Despite all my notions though, this was a fantastic read. Packed with fantasy, deeper meanings, and an epic adventure, this is a book that will draw in readers. I see older readers being a little more wary of the writing, but younger readers will be drawn in no problem. Kudos to Kara Bartley for writing a book that is something new and different!

FTC Disclosure: I received a copy of this book for review in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not compensated in any way.