Review of Secrets In The Mirror
Posted: 03 Aug 2022, 15:58
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Secrets In The Mirror" by Leslie Kain.]
Secrets In The Mirror is a fiction book by Leslie Kain. The focal characters were Gavin O'Malley DiMasi and Devon Umberto DiMasi. They were identical mirror twins, meaning that they had opposite personalities. There were themes of domestic and substance abuse, mental illness, and death.
While growing up, Gavin was constantly mistreated by his twin, Devon, and their father, Tony, being termed a wimp because of his fragile nature. This continued over the years, and their mom, Collen, was the one who was his advocate. This discriminatory treatment left him on the verge of depression, but with the constant help of Dr. Pedersen and support from his mom's grandparents, his wife, Katie, his best friend, Trayvon, and some other friends he made while on his path of fulfillment, he was able to scale through. During their sixteenth party, Devon found an excuse to slide out to attend to his desire to purchase a hard substance. On his way, he had an accident that landed him at the hospital where he spent about two months, and Gavin was the one who was expected to donate his blood to save him. Throughout his stay, he abhorred the place and couldn't wait to return home. The doctors diagnosed him with a disorder known as Narcissistic Personality Disorder. To ease the discomfort Devon felt, he used hard substances brought to him by his uncle, Marco. And this led to his drug addiction. Gavin, according to Tony, was the weaker twin, while Devon was the strongest. This preferential treatment was what fuelled Devon's narcissistic behavior and led him down the path of self-destruction. The person who was expected to save him from this path was his twin, whom he constantly abused. Would Gavin be able to rescue Devon while not losing himself in the process?
There were outstanding aspects throughout the book. I liked the author's writing style. A unique, realistic, fluent, and simple language was employed, and it was easy to comprehend the message being conveyed to readers by the author. There were mentions of some foreign names in the book, and the author went ahead to include their meanings. I appreciate this gesture. Some examples were "Kuleana and Mahele", which meant "responsibility" and "divide" respectively. The characters were well-developed, and the way the author described some of their actions was relatable. There were great lessons to learn from the book. The author made readers know that no matter the situation, they would have to save themselves first, and saving everyone else isn't possible either. The book also evoked the right emotions in me. I loved that Gavin always tried to help Devon, despite his mischievousness. One important lesson I got from Gavin was his doggedness to fight his demons and not allow them to have the better part of him. And that is an attitude we will have to emulate to come out stronger from anything weighing us down. I thoroughly enjoyed the book without being bored at any instant.
Nothing was unsettling about this book. I enjoyed every bit of its content as I wondered how the events would unfold. The book was remarkably well-edited, as I did not encounter a grammatical error while reading it. For all the above reasons, I'll be rating Secrets In The Mirror with an excellent score of four out of four stars.
I would recommend this book to avid readers who are fascinated by well-written works of fiction because it would provide the right amount of satisfaction for them. Anyone who is going through abuse of any sort will find this book helpful as some quotes from a character, Dr. Pedersen, will be of help to them. I'll bring to the notice of potential readers that this book has an abundance of profane words.
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Secrets In The Mirror
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Secrets In The Mirror is a fiction book by Leslie Kain. The focal characters were Gavin O'Malley DiMasi and Devon Umberto DiMasi. They were identical mirror twins, meaning that they had opposite personalities. There were themes of domestic and substance abuse, mental illness, and death.
While growing up, Gavin was constantly mistreated by his twin, Devon, and their father, Tony, being termed a wimp because of his fragile nature. This continued over the years, and their mom, Collen, was the one who was his advocate. This discriminatory treatment left him on the verge of depression, but with the constant help of Dr. Pedersen and support from his mom's grandparents, his wife, Katie, his best friend, Trayvon, and some other friends he made while on his path of fulfillment, he was able to scale through. During their sixteenth party, Devon found an excuse to slide out to attend to his desire to purchase a hard substance. On his way, he had an accident that landed him at the hospital where he spent about two months, and Gavin was the one who was expected to donate his blood to save him. Throughout his stay, he abhorred the place and couldn't wait to return home. The doctors diagnosed him with a disorder known as Narcissistic Personality Disorder. To ease the discomfort Devon felt, he used hard substances brought to him by his uncle, Marco. And this led to his drug addiction. Gavin, according to Tony, was the weaker twin, while Devon was the strongest. This preferential treatment was what fuelled Devon's narcissistic behavior and led him down the path of self-destruction. The person who was expected to save him from this path was his twin, whom he constantly abused. Would Gavin be able to rescue Devon while not losing himself in the process?
There were outstanding aspects throughout the book. I liked the author's writing style. A unique, realistic, fluent, and simple language was employed, and it was easy to comprehend the message being conveyed to readers by the author. There were mentions of some foreign names in the book, and the author went ahead to include their meanings. I appreciate this gesture. Some examples were "Kuleana and Mahele", which meant "responsibility" and "divide" respectively. The characters were well-developed, and the way the author described some of their actions was relatable. There were great lessons to learn from the book. The author made readers know that no matter the situation, they would have to save themselves first, and saving everyone else isn't possible either. The book also evoked the right emotions in me. I loved that Gavin always tried to help Devon, despite his mischievousness. One important lesson I got from Gavin was his doggedness to fight his demons and not allow them to have the better part of him. And that is an attitude we will have to emulate to come out stronger from anything weighing us down. I thoroughly enjoyed the book without being bored at any instant.
Nothing was unsettling about this book. I enjoyed every bit of its content as I wondered how the events would unfold. The book was remarkably well-edited, as I did not encounter a grammatical error while reading it. For all the above reasons, I'll be rating Secrets In The Mirror with an excellent score of four out of four stars.
I would recommend this book to avid readers who are fascinated by well-written works of fiction because it would provide the right amount of satisfaction for them. Anyone who is going through abuse of any sort will find this book helpful as some quotes from a character, Dr. Pedersen, will be of help to them. I'll bring to the notice of potential readers that this book has an abundance of profane words.
******
Secrets In The Mirror
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
