I was confused as to the audience this book is geared towards as the cover lent itself to be young children,the players in the book were fifth graders and the story had an evil queen who was not so evil. The book was not scary and the message had to do with friendship and the book was rather slow so to me, the book is geared towards a wide range of ages. Hazel and Jack have been best friends for years which is fine but you need to understand that others thought they needed to hang around with children their own gender. Sure, they had friends in their own gender but they preferred each other's company more. Here enters the fairy tale part of the story where a mirror gets broken and Jack changes and not for the better. In an instant, Jack is no longer the Jack Hazel adores but rather a new strange Jack and how this new Jack came into being is a mystery Hazel can not understand. Jack doesn't realize he is not the same person and into the fairy tale world he emerges on his own. Hazel tries to understand her friends new persona and her imagination takes off and into the world of the fairy tales she finds herself. The evil witch is there and they both must confront her but how to bring Jack back is something Hazel must figure out if she is to keep her best friend. I thought the book was rather slow and then I tried to think about the audience this book was intended for. For younger children, I think the book is fine as it plays out the story and puts the pieces all in place and solidifies the relationships in the book. When the author introduces the fairy tale part of the book, the pace picks up and I enjoyed the book more. The relationship of Jack and Hazel was strong and intriguing to see what they would do in the end. I think it would make a good book to read to a child at home or a small group setting as it brings up some good topics about friendship, witches, fairy tales, the mirror aspects, and many others.
