'The Mirrorwood' Book Club: Day 3 [End]

By: Shanleigh Klassen Photo By: @pages.for.dawn
Some things are worth facing your fears over.


What a wild ride! Welcome back to the third and final book club read-along for The Mirrorwood by Deva Fagan. I absolutely loved this story and I’m so excited to hear what you all think about it as well.

This is a spoiler discussion for chapters 18 - 26, so if you haven’t finished the book yet, beware! Not to worry, you have until Friday, May 27 to get caught up and join in on the conversation. Anyone who participates in the discussion questions below will be entered to win a free OwlCrate Jr box, one per post!


The Story Concludes . . .

Fable runs towards the Withering and pulls Dedonderus’ skull out from her satchel. The bard begins to sing and the Withering falls asleep, allowing Fable to tear out one of its fangs. Just as the Withering begins to awaken, Lyrian arrives on his giant owl and they fly away to safety as a grim warning from the creature echoes in Fable’s mind.

With the citizens of Fenhollow safe at the castle, Fable comes across Odessa as she’s trying to locate Lyrian. As the two talk, Odessa shares some of her awful memories of having grown up as Prince Rylain’s cousin and how she was the one who triggered the curse. Fable later finds Lyrian in the north tower and the two talk about Lyrian’s memories of Rylain’s past actions and how they haunt him. When Fable tries to comfort him, she accidentally steals Lyrian’s face — only her face becomes Rylain’s. Lyrian loses control seeing the prince’s face and thankfully Odessa is able to calm Lyrian down once Fable switches faces.

The next day, Fable wakes up to find both Moth and Vycorax in her room. Overjoyed, Fabled shows Vycorax the tooth, which the blighthunter snatches up giddily. Fable tries to explain to her that Lyrian is not the evil demon they thought he was but Vycorax is dedicated to stopping the blight. When Lyrian walks into the throne room, Vycorax stabs him without hesitation and he vanishes into oblivion.

Prince Rylain awakens on his throne and Lady Mirachne assures them that everyone else will awaken and soon the Mirrorwood will be all “joy and bliss.” Fable sees this as the curse that it is just as Vycorax begins to regret her actions. Odessa arrives and the three of them silently agree to appease Rylain and Mirachne until Fable can figure out a way to bring Lyrian back. Odessa and Fable escape to the library and with Dedonderus’ help, they realize that a fabled mirror may be just the tool to trigger the curse again — only it’s located in the Subtle Realm. Fable calls on the Bannon and he agrees to bring Fable to his realm but warns her that only one mirror will break the curse.

Fable is taken to the Grove of Reflection which is made up of pools of water. Fable sees many different reflections of herself using the faces of all those she’s stolen before. The last reflection, however, is obscured and Fable is convinced that it’s her true face. Fable goes after this reflection but is attacked by the creature in the water. She’s saved by Moth, who is instead pulled into the reflection, leaving Fable alone and without the mirror.

Fable returns to the castle where Vycorax finds her, and the two come up with a plan. They enter the ballroom and Fable asks Rylain to dance. As the clock strikes midnight, Fable steals Rylain’s face, only she grows the fangs and horns of Lyrian’s face. Fable is the mirror needed to show Rylain his true self.

As the final bell tolls, the prince opens his eyes as someone who is both Rylain and Lyrian, no longer separate. Mirachne welcomes the Withering into the ballroom and is intent on it devouring Fable. Fable confronts the creature, finally accepting herself for who she is rather than the face she wears, and the Withering vanishes. From her actions, Fable’s blight changes: Although she doesn’t have her true face, she no longer has to steal from others, and Fable is content with that.

Lyrian banishes Mirachne from the Mirrorwood, to her absolute fury, and the others prepare to move forward with their lives. Vycorax decides to stay in the Mirrorwood, no longer wanting to be a blighthunter, and Fable decides to return to her family for a bit but will visit frequently. Fable makes one more deal with the Bannon, who returns Moth in exchange for an unspecified favor. Overjoyed at Moth’s return but wary of the favor owed, Fable and Moth return home.

Discussion Questions:
  1. Like so many fables, there are a few lessons we can learn from our reading of The Mirrorwood. Which message from this story do you think is the most powerful?

  2. Share any other thoughts you had of The Mirrorwood!

Thank you so much for joining us on this book club read-along. We’ll be back in a couple of weeks to read through our May book, to be revealed soon. Happy reading!

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