The Town with No Mirrors

Collins, Christina. The Town With No Mirrors

February 21st 2023 by Sourcebooks Young Readers

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Zailey lives with her grandmother in the town of Gladder Hill, which has very specific rules regulating the behavior of its citizens. No glass, metal, or reflective surfaces are allowed, not even spoons. The water has oxygen added to it to make it milky, and all drinks must be in covered containers. Residents can't even wear eyeglasses, but must wear contacts or have lasik surgery. There's also a rule that no one can make comments about someone else's appearance unless they are medical, and everyone wears the same oversized t shirts and has their hair buzzed off. It's all the children have ever known. Zailey's grade in school are the oldest children, since the community was founded eight years ago by the principal of Zailey's school, and any children who joined the community had to be under four years old. The adults had to be over 25. Zailey is curious about her own face, since she's never seen it, and obsessed with using her drawing skills to capture the faces of others, which is against the rules. Her grandmother has never elaborated on what happened to Zailey's mother, but Zailey does snoop and find her birth certificate. She was born in nearby Barkbee, and there is an address. Zailey has recently met a student from Barkbee, Beryl, and made her acquaintance. When Zailey is injured and goes to a hospital outside of Gladder Hill, she escapes in order to try to find her mother. She runs into Beryl, who helps her and shows her the ways of the outside world, since Gladder Hill has no media, and doesn't even teach children about other countries. Zailey finds out information about why Principal Gladder put together the community, but it also becomes clear that, while well intentioned, the idea isn't working well. 

Strengths: Zailey's artistic bent works well in this story, since she can draw beautifully, but what she likes to draw isn't allowed. Her grandmother has her best interest at heart, and the secret that she is hiding is one of particular concern to teens. (Don't want to spoil the plot.) The town and its rules are well described, and the writing makes it seem like this could actually happen, even though it would be tough to enforce such stringent rules. Zailey's flight into another community reminded me a bit of Haddix's Running Out of Time, which has a sequel coming out, so this would be a good book for readers who like that title. 
Weaknesses: It was somewhat of a stretch to believe that a town like Gladder Hill could exist, but then there are any number of cults and compounds where strict rules are applied, so it could happen. 
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who liked books like Haydu's Eventown or One Jar of Magic, where a young person rebels against the excessively controlling social strictures. It also reminded me of Spinelli's Dead Wednesday.