Looking Glass Lies

Looking Glass Lies

by Varina Denman

I have another book for you, and it's hot off the presses! (don't you love that cover?) Just dropped May 2nd.

This novel brings to light the daily battle most women face every day when they look in the mirror. The conflict between what we see and what we want to see and what the media and our culture tells us we should see. Denman skillfully tells a story about multi-dimensional people with multi-faceted problems. In fact, the characters feel so real, I half expect to see them when I walk into my local coffee shop.

Cecily and Graham are really interesting characters and their rekindled friendship is fun to watch. But my favorite is a woman named Shanty. She is an old acquaintance of Cecily who runs a support group Cecily joins to work on her “self-image.” There are three members of this group, and the author uses group texts from Shanty to communicate SO much! They absolutely cracked me up because her voice comes through so very clearly and the other two respond with very specific attitudes. I have to admit though, the subject matter gets pretty heavy in parts, so these texts and Shanty’s personality came as a welcome reprieve. I think we all need a group text from Shanty every now and then. One part comic relief, one part genuine friend.

This book will help mothers of teen girls who are trying to figure out who they are even as they are being told every day what they should look like. The story gets into the nitty gritty on both sides of the media-image-problem. There are men who consume the images being created and there are women who try to emulate the expectations those images create.

The story is written from a Christian perspective, but is not overtly Christian. I think it points people in the right direction with a very gentle hand, while clearly showing bedrock truths about body image and healthy relationships. The story is very engaging - there's a romantic thread too - so it’s a quick read – I stayed up too late more than once with these lovable characters. I hope you will too! You can snag a copy here or check out the author's website here.

Do you ever find yourself stuck, looking in the mirror for far too long? What do you do to combat the constant barrage of images telling us what to look like?

Don't forget to leave a comment to get your name in the drawing for Cinderella's Boots by Darlene Franklin! Winner will be announced in the May 29th issue of the Weekly Windup.