Review: Once Again This Author Had Me Spellbound!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 9, 2014
…And we are off on another romantic journey to the past that proves love knows no boundaries, not even time itself. The Mirror by John Heldt seems to put the final bow on Northwest Passage series with a few loops and knots that change up the field a little while keeping the feeling of love and warm romance alive.Before we go back in time, Mr. Heldt takes us forward, to 2020 when the twin daughters of Joel and Grace, (other time travelers from previous books) are celebrating their nineteenth birthday at a county fair. Warned by a fortune teller to go straight home because they are in danger, of course, with all of the brilliance and invincibility of youth, they ignore the warning and head for the house of mirrors and are catapulted back into the year 1964, a time when the youth of America were gaining their voice, the Beatles were storming the country and Vietnam was a nightmare in full force. The fight for Civil Rights is tearing the country apart and Ginny and Katie witness a world they had only heard about. Armed with the knowledge of their parents’ time travel, they see firsthand how different life was “back in the day.”The girls find love both from the great-grandmother they never knew as well as from two young men that belong to a different time. Torn between staying and going back to the future when the timing is right, each girl must make her choice, must be honest with those they care about, will one stay and one go home? Will the issues of the past become a beacon that draws them in, fighting for causes that are just or will the fear of tampering with the past send them running back to the mirror, heartbroken?Were you around for the invasion by the Beatles, the racial riots of the sixties? Did you know friends and family who fought in Vietnam and if they were fortunate to come home, were met with jeers and taunts? The sixties were like a youthful awakening, when some of the innocence died and John Heldt capsulized these events perfectly, while using the contrast of Ginny and Katie’s world via their shock and reactions to validate the differences. Mr. Heldt delivers amazing details, rich in color, feel and emotional depth. Where I once walked the streets of a much younger Seattle, I could “see” the changes in the sixties version! Each character adds something special, more heart to the story. Can you imagine meeting your great-grandmother for the very first time, knowing how she will die and not being able to tell her? Being able to tell her of friends that left her behind, how they have done, what they have done and share the joys of their lives, gave these girls a clarity into how precious life was, how important family is, no matter when and where they are.John Heldt started this series by setting himself a high standard to beat, yet with each consecutive book, he did it, over and over. Not only did The Mirror continue that upward climb, but the fresh changes and more contemporary feel brings the series full circle as it flashes through my mind!