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Review

Reflection

by Elizabeth Lim

Reflection Cover
Culture,Fairy Tale,History,Identity,Magic,Monsters,Mythology,Retelling,War

Twisting the classic Disney movie “Mulan” into an adventure of its own, author Elizabeth Lim has created a story that fans of the original work can likely find great enjoyment in. Though the timeline unfolded quite quickly, and the characters were not portrayed exactly as thought I knew them, I walked away from this novel feeling incredibly inspired by the courage and resilience demonstrated through the whole of the work.

Marvelous and magical, Reflection is a story that takes on a life of its own.

★★★★☆

Elements

The adventure continues…

Characters

Mulan has always been one of my favorite Disney characters and so, I was incredibly excited to have the opportunity to read a story from her point of view. Yet, for reasons that I can’t quite quantify, I felt like Reflection lacked the presence of the voice I had expected from Mulan.

In fact, I felt similarly in regard to the portrayal of Shang and a couple of other characters in the novel. There is a good chance that sentiment has to do more with my expectations than any sort of flaw with Reflection though and regardless, I can say that my respect for Mulan and what she stands for has only grown.

Writing Style

Reflection was quite well written. Throughout the course of the novel, I felt as if I was seeing everything through the perspective of the main character and that experience really enhanced my understanding of Lim’s portrayal of Mulan.

I really appreciated the fact that Lim’s writing style is very active in its voice, keeping the reader immersed in the action without losing too much attention in the transitions.

 

Plot

From a concept standpoint alone, the plot of Reflection brings an incredible element of creativity to the traditional Mulan story line. I absolutely loved the incorporation of Chinese mythology into the story for it was not something that I had previously known much about.

World Building

With influence from Chinese mythology, as mentioned above, and a shade of vibrancy uniquely its own, the setting for Reflection was wonderfully immersive and captivating.

Lim did an excellent job explaining the world to the reader so as not to make you feel lost. However, she never included “exposition dumps” or paused the action of the novel to do so.

Thoughts

First Impression

Bold, crisp, and eye catching, the cover of Reflection perfectly adheres to the overall cohesive look of the books in the “A Twisted Tale” series. The accent colors pair wonderfully in this cover image to create an altogether visually appealing color scheme and piece of art.

Criticism

Everything just happened so fast…

While I did really enjoy the pacing of the events in Reflection – in terms of where they occurred in the book itself – the actual timeline of the story just progressed incredibly quickly. Now for some readers, a story that unfolds over only the course of a short while might not be much of a problem at all, but as the kind of person who enjoys watching characters and a plot line build to that final glorious synthesis, I just didn’t really feel like there was enough time to allow that to truly happen in Reflection. The entire plot of this novel unfolds within the span of about 24 hours, and I just wished I had more time to really get to know this story.

 

Appreciation

One of the best things about Reflection is that it really does cater to such a large possible audience. (In my opinion, of course) this is the kind of book that can be read by a younger reader due to its fairly mild content or picked up by an adult fan of the Disney franchise who can still find appeal within the revival of a classic heroine.

Though Reflection might not quite be the beloved original version of Mulan, it has an incredibly vibrant setting, well-defined characters, and a fast-moving plot that certainly prove it worthy of respect and appreciation in its own right. Above all else, I found this work to be incredibly inspiring. Mulan certainly earns the title of “role model” for girls, young children, and just human beings in general.

 

The last word

Though the original movie, Mulan, will always hold a special place in my heart, Reflection proves itself to be a worthy accompaniment to the original story.

A refreshing new “twist” on a classic tale…

Rating: ★★★★☆

Age Group: YA, Middle Grade

Recommendation: Yes

Related Cause: Women’s Rights, Culture

Series: A Twisted Tale

Read more . . .

Reflection

Quelling

Careering

Sowing

Never Fight Alone

Pandemonium

Knockout Girl

Then She Was Gone

Hollow

The Thing About Jellyfish