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Cat in the Mirror
This is the story of two girls: Erin and Irun. One lives now in New York City, and one belongs in ancient Egypt 3,000 years ago. One is fascinated by things of the past, and the other haunted by a voice from the future.
For Erin, the "now" she lives in is not all she'd like it to be. There are problems around her and problems within her that she cannot always understand. She is a loner until a young Egyptian boy, Seti, transfers to her school and befriends her. And in her own time, Irun has much the same feelings of discontent, and another Seti tries to understand.
But there are other things that bind the girls--the same appearance, their relationships to their parents, and a cat called Ta-she. Perhaps the two girls are in some way the same person after all.
Mary Stolz's haunting novel delves into the feelings of two young women, joined and yet separated by time and place, and into their relationships with thouse around them.
For Erin, the "now" she lives in is not all she'd like it to be. There are problems around her and problems within her that she cannot always understand. She is a loner until a young Egyptian boy, Seti, transfers to her school and befriends her. And in her own time, Irun has much the same feelings of discontent, and another Seti tries to understand.
But there are other things that bind the girls--the same appearance, their relationships to their parents, and a cat called Ta-she. Perhaps the two girls are in some way the same person after all.
Mary Stolz's haunting novel delves into the feelings of two young women, joined and yet separated by time and place, and into their relationships with thouse around them.
199 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1975
About the author
Mary Stolz
88 books34 followersMary Stolz was a noted author for children and adolescents whose novels earned critical praise for the seriousness with which they took the problems of young people. Two of her books ''Belling the Tiger'' (1961) and ''The Noonday Friends'' (1965), were named Newbery Honor books by the ALA but it was her novels for young adults that combined romance with realistic situations that won devotion from her fans. Young men often created more problems and did not always provide happy ever after endings. Her heroines had to cope with complex situations and learn how to take action whether it was working as nurses (The Organdy Cupcakes), living in a housing project (Ready or Not), or escaping from being a social misfit by working for the summer as a waitress (The Sea Gulls Woke Me).
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
May 26, 2015
I read this book as a kid and remembered enjoying it so much that I sought it out again 25 years later. It is certainly an interesting read and a good tale for kids who are struggling to find their place in the world.
The main subjects of the story--cats and the wonders of life in ancient Egypt--have always enthralled me. Rereading this book as an adult, those two subjects provided the main draw for me to read through to the end (as well as the story's manageable length). Over many years of reading, my perspective has changed on what constitutes good story telling. The language and images conjured by the author didn't capture me as they once had. The characters all seemed flatter and duller. While some children's books maintain their relevance and appeal through adulthood, I don't consider this one of them.
Therefore, I recommend Cat in the Mirror to children, especially those who are challenged with fitting into social groups and those mystified by ancient Egyptian culture. However, it can be passed over by adults who have matured beyond the ability to relate to the angst of the protagonist. This one was better left in nostalgia for me.
The main subjects of the story--cats and the wonders of life in ancient Egypt--have always enthralled me. Rereading this book as an adult, those two subjects provided the main draw for me to read through to the end (as well as the story's manageable length). Over many years of reading, my perspective has changed on what constitutes good story telling. The language and images conjured by the author didn't capture me as they once had. The characters all seemed flatter and duller. While some children's books maintain their relevance and appeal through adulthood, I don't consider this one of them.
Therefore, I recommend Cat in the Mirror to children, especially those who are challenged with fitting into social groups and those mystified by ancient Egyptian culture. However, it can be passed over by adults who have matured beyond the ability to relate to the angst of the protagonist. This one was better left in nostalgia for me.
July 26, 2013
I was briefly obsessed with this book. A young girl, constantly fighting with her mother, hits her head and is transported back to ancient Egypt. The book gives fascinating insights into the life of a child of privilege 3,000 years ago, and I could not get enough of it! I believe it's out of print now, but if you can find a copy, hang on to it, especially if you are interested in Egypt.
October 10, 2007
This is one of my all-time favorites from my younger years. My budding fascination with ancient Egypt turned into a full blown love affair after reading this book about two girls separated by 3,000 years.
March 18, 2009
i read this in the sixth grade and still read it every other year or so. egypt, a girl her classmates call 'blowfish' gandy, and a dearly loved kitten? i can't resist!
July 23, 2013
I remember reading this in 7th grade and it just...hit my heart and I started crying, and thinking that life is simply...amazing.
August 16, 2017
I wish I'd read this book in middle school. I was Erin, right down to the panic/anxiety attacks, which I told no one about because I didn't know that's what they were.
April 14, 2021
I love, love, love Mary Stolz's books. 'The Noonday Friends' and 'In a Mirror' are full of heart, knowledge and carry timeless messages. I wish these books were always in print for everyone to read. I found all of these books secondhand, and feel lucky having the opportunity to read these beautiful books.
September 2, 2008
I just ordered this from alibris because I remember it so clearly... I liked finding out what ancient Egypt was like first hand.
June 7, 2012
I read this when I was in 7th grade or so and it stuck with me. Great story and well done from what I remember.
June 27, 2015
One of my favorites as a kid.
February 4, 2016
What a marvelously curious story. ♡
October 30, 2013
I read this many, many, many years ago, probably when I still fitted its intended audience in the children's section of the library.
I had completely forgotten about it until I saw it mentioned on a blog and thought it would be nice to read again. I checked my local library, expecting it to be long gone from the catalogue, but it turned out that they had a copy in the stacks.
It's from a different library to the one where I lived as a child, so it isn't the same book, but it's definitely the same edition as the one I remember reading with this rather lovely, stylised cover.
I did enjoy the story on a reread; and the issues I had with it were adult issues - why wasn't what happened to Erin and Irun actually explained; what happened to Irun's family at the end. As an adult I look forward from the words on the page to the consequences, that's part of my "job description" as a responsible adult. But a child doesn't need to do that and the story remains enjoyable and satisfying. I certainly have no memory of thinking it needed more to it.
And the last line, remains a joy.
Thank you library, for keeping an old and probably fairly unknown book (especially here in New Zealand) in the stacks for this reader to revisit some 30 or 35 years later.
I had completely forgotten about it until I saw it mentioned on a blog and thought it would be nice to read again. I checked my local library, expecting it to be long gone from the catalogue, but it turned out that they had a copy in the stacks.
It's from a different library to the one where I lived as a child, so it isn't the same book, but it's definitely the same edition as the one I remember reading with this rather lovely, stylised cover.
I did enjoy the story on a reread; and the issues I had with it were adult issues - why wasn't what happened to Erin and Irun actually explained; what happened to Irun's family at the end. As an adult I look forward from the words on the page to the consequences, that's part of my "job description" as a responsible adult. But a child doesn't need to do that and the story remains enjoyable and satisfying. I certainly have no memory of thinking it needed more to it.
And the last line, remains a joy.
Thank you library, for keeping an old and probably fairly unknown book (especially here in New Zealand) in the stacks for this reader to revisit some 30 or 35 years later.
October 5, 2011
A nice story for the 10 to 14 or so year old. Erin is a present day (well, 1975, when the book was written) girl with a mother who is at best neglectful, and a father who is more concerned with keeping his wife happy and his business going than with his daughter. Fortunately she DOES have a caring housekeeper, who seems to be the only person who loves her. She's also a loner at school--ALL the schools she's attended, and with her father's job, she's moved a lot. Then, one day a new boy comes to school. A boy from Egypt named Seti. And that's when the adventure begins. Because, one day she's in the NYMoA and falls, then suddenly she's in ancient Egypt, a girl of that time named Iran.
Very good adventure and a story that appeals to the outsider in all of us.
Very good adventure and a story that appeals to the outsider in all of us.
January 28, 2012
I had this book as a child, but couldn't get into it, even though I loved cats and Egypt. I finally read it recently, and though I was confused by some of the choices and thought it wasn't handled in an ideal way, I'm sure it would be an enjoyable time/historic place-visiting book for young readers. My main problem with it is that it could have been done so much better, and there simply isn't enough of the present-day or the past to make it feel like it's a whole that follows through. Still, an interesting idea, and enough there to make it worth a read.
June 7, 2016
I so wanted to enjoy this book more, the premise intrigued me. It likely will appeal to a tween and would be a good read for learning a bit about ancient Egyptian life. However, I felt the beginning spent to long in the "poor me, my life sucks" aspect for the main character. Once the setting shifts from modern to ancient you still get a "poor me, my life sucks" character. However, the ancient Egyptian details of life carry the story along as you learn how they lived a little.
November 6, 2018
I haven't re-read this as an adult yet, but I remembered the cover image almost exactly for 20 years before I finally found it here on goodreads, and I would every 3 years or so recite bits of the plot to people from memory hoping someone, anyone, could tell me what it was called. So maybe its a little flat, I don't know, but for middle-school me it had a huge emotional impact.
October 21, 2013
Erin lives in modern NYC, attends a wealth private school, and is studying ancient Egypt when she accidentally hits her head in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and is transported back in time, becoming Irun. Too childish for me, but I liked the cat, Ta-She.
April 27, 2016
it's always a pleasure reading anonymous out of print old books and turns out to be good. This book is some way between a children's book and a young adult fiction. It is well written with good characters.
September 5, 2008
The idea of the book was interesting. The main character was a ninny who was impossible to like because of how much she whined. That pretty much ruined the book for me.
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November 4, 2009Cat in the mirror by Mary Stolz (1975)
December 30, 2016
Sweet :)
November 17, 2018
I thought this would be a cool time travel thing. But the girl had a vile life in both eras and I couldn't stand her family issues. The Egyptian life part was the only part worth reading.
August 30, 2021
This book is two matching stories where... nothing really happens. There are no real stakes, there's no problems that need to be overcome, and when conflict does show up in the secondary story, it's right at the end, before we switch back to the first story.
And honestly, the Egyptian section is much more interesting than the 1970's New York section.
What I do find interesting is a story where the mother character(s) clearly do not like their child. I kept expecting the book to pronounce her as a stepmother, because that's a fictional trope that is more often trotted out. But no... these mothers just don't seem to like or approve of their daughters. Which is unusual.
It's a weird one.
And honestly, the Egyptian section is much more interesting than the 1970's New York section.
What I do find interesting is a story where the mother character(s) clearly do not like their child. I kept expecting the book to pronounce her as a stepmother, because that's a fictional trope that is more often trotted out. But no... these mothers just don't seem to like or approve of their daughters. Which is unusual.
It's a weird one.
April 3, 2019
Full review at http://sarahsreads.home.blog/2019/04/...
December 6, 2020
Good story!
July 9, 2021
I read this as a young girl and found it absolutely fascinating! It touched off a love of ancient Egypt. Would love to read it again as an adult.
July 20, 2022
I enjoyed this book a lot. Not what I expected.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews