Palace of Mirrors

  I just started the book "Palace of Mirrors" by Margaret Peterson Haddix. So far this book is very interesting, because the author really pulls the reader into the lives of the characters. It's as if I'm standing right next to them experiencing everything they see. Palace of Mirrors is about Cecilia a princess who was forced to hide in a very very very small town to get away from the evil forces that killed her parents. And while she's far away from her castle living life as practically a peasant, there's another girl who trading places with her; and is now living the dangerous life inside the castle.

   Throughout the pages, I've learned that Cecilia the hidden princess is a very secretive and scared character. Her best friend Harper who knows her the most, who sticked up for her and protected her whenever she needed it, still doesn't know the truth. I understand why Cecilia is keeping to herself, because maybe Harper could spill her spot and big problems could be made out of this. But I think Cecilia is slowly giving her secret away, because of her behavior. For example: in the book when Cecilia and Harper went fishing she saw a shadow behind a tree, turns out it was just a dog lurking around in the woods. But, Cecilia still was trying to prove her point to Harper that it was a human who was trying to take her away. I understand exactly where Cecilia is coming from, and I don't think it's time yet to give out her secret to Harper, and I do agree that she should wait, but I don't think that it's necessary for her to make a big deal out of little things, because in order to protect her identity she needs to act normal.

   What I've also realized happening in the book, is that the people closest to her are acting so weird. When Cecilia was cutting fish that she caught in a river, she accidentally cut her finger and yelled out loudly "Ow! Blast the dark one's sneezes!" And less than a minute later, her nanny runs in the room holding a knife above her head. She thought it was an animal who was about to attack. But even Cecilia pointed out that her nanny held the knife as the same height of a human, and that it's impossible to hold your knife so high to fend off a wild boar. I think this is extremely weird, I have a feeling that her nanny and all her protectors are keeping a big secret from her that could change her life in many ways.

   Cecilia is becoming very suspicious of the people around her and their actions. Such as what her Nanny did, and I'm looking forward to see what happens next; and what changes occur.