While the book is well written and has a great deal of suspense, parents need to be aware that it may not be good for sensitive or younger children who have much higher reading levels. Child and spousal abuse, alcohol addiction, doppelganger/dead people coming back to life, lynch mobs coming after a child, etc., are some of the things that are present in this book. I give it four stars because of the quality of the writing but the subject matter can be of concern to sensitive children. Mine started having nightmares after chapter three so we had to stop reading.

Thirteen year old Nick Hodges is growing up in the care of his Uncle Jack after losing his parents in the flu epidemic of 1918. Admittedly, he's a "troublesome" boy but things take a major turn for the worse when he wakes one morning feeling like he's lost something, only to discover that he no longer has a reflection. Then people begin to tell him they have seen him in places he knows he hasn't been; next, crimes begin to be attributed to him. Out of desperation, he goes searching and finds an exact replica of himself---his mirror image.

This is a fun book with lots of activity and a bit of creepiness. Nick is a thoroughly believable character accused of incidents he's not done and aching to to clear himself though no one but his uncle will believe him. The story leaves a lot of questions to be answered; we are left wondering the hows and whys of the stealing of the reflection and its return. The fact that there were too many hanging questions denies me giving this book 5 stars, but it was still a fun read with lots of interesting twists. If you can accept the story at "face" value, you'll love this one.

Nick Hodges grew up an orphan in his uncle's care in a small town and has always spelled trouble, but when he begins to be sighted miles from where he's at, and faces incrimination for a series of incidents not his fault, Nick decides to investigate why he's being built up to be a scapegoat - with frightening results. James Lincoln Collier is best known for his Newbery winner My Brother Sam Is Dead, and The Empty Mirror is no less compelling.