Twins Trey and Tai get sucked into a magic-filled family mystery, that leaves the reader with more questions unanswered than concluded in this fourth book of the quartet. Trey is a musician and Tai is a photographer. Both find their magical abilities emerging as they near their 16th birthday, which ultimately lead them on a quest to track down their missing mother.
I tried two different times to read this book, and I just couldn't get into it. I finally powered through and finished the audio version. It might have helped to have read the first 3 in the quartet beforehand, so keep that in mind before picking this one up. Additionally, there were parts of the narrative that were stilted and forced, and Trey and Tai do not always read as 16 yr olds–more like middle school than high school–but the random swearing throughout feels out of place.

Book 4 in a series that follows a generational curse on a family. It is an interesting concept. I feel like this probably had spoilers for earlier books, but otherwise I wasn't impacted too much by starting with book 4. My students will like it and I am excited to see the other books.

4 stars

A magical tale of one family trying to break a legendary family curse. The fourth book in the series, this magical tale is a world you can fall into for the first time, or come back for a family visit.
I have greatly enjoyed this story and look forward to reading the rest of the series. Starting with the fourth book was odd, but it was also fun. Also, it stings a little that the 2000s can be argued as "historical fiction".

Tai and Tre are twins with magical abilities and a mother who is missing. When their 16th birthday triggers their 'birthday bad luck' a chain of events starts that nobody could have expected.

This book is set in the year 2000 and is billed as a historical fiction on some sites because of it. The only historical elements you really come across is the music, the mention of the twin towers on the skyline, and the fact that Tai has had some social issues in the past for being bi. (I'm sorry, but even in Y2K the price of a cello would have been more than the price of its case, especially if Tre was really a music superstar).

I thought this was a great book, overall. The relationship Tai and Tre had, not only with each other, but with their Dad, was pretty incredible. It all played into the fact that family connections were so huge in this story. There were plenty of mishaps and plenty of adventure, but through it all they relied on and worried about each other.

Splintered Magic by L.L. McKinney is the fourth and final book in the innovative Disney YA series, The Mirror. The series puts a new, unique, spooky and mature spin on the young adult fantasy genre. This quartet of books tracks one family―and the curse that plagues it―over several generations.

Splintered Magic follows Broken Wish by Julie C. Dao (book one), Shattered Midnight by Dhonielle Clayton (book two) and Fractured Path by J. C. Cervantes (book three). In Splintered Magic, McKinney wastes no time in jumping right into the magic in bustling New York City in the year 2000, where Trey and Tai’s journey begins and ultimately where the family saga ends.

There is so much to love about this series and one of the primary themes that Splintered Magic in particular does a great job of is making magic more ‘mature’.

As sixteen year olds, Trey and Tai are in the midst of teen growing pains and their struggles are exacerbated by losing their mom ten years earlier and the fact that they each possess unwieldy, unpredictable magic that they’re not sure how to control, let alone know what to do with. One may generally think of magic as a great gift; a relatively straightforward wand-waving, for example, but Splintered Magic reveals the long-term trials and tribulations that come along with it, leaving the reader wondering if the tradeoff is all it’s cracked up to be. I found this more mature, thoughtful spin on magic refreshing and engaging, as it puts the reader at the heart of the struggle as well – we might not know how to use magic but we sure can relate to and empathize with the characters’ learning experiences, including grappling with the plague of self-doubt that can come with being brave, facing one’s fears, and trying to control the seemingly uncontrollable.

McKinney also does a commendable job of exploring relationships in this book. The relationships between Trey and Tai, the twins and their dad, Tai and Aisha, and Trey and Aisha dig deep and shed new light and dynamics on this modern family unit which is different to the family composition in prior books. I loved that Splintered Magic split the protagonist role between twins and that Trey’s and Tai’s views are woven together into one story in which they both equally lead.

Splintered Magic is very much split into a first act and second act. In the first act, the reader gets to know the twins, glimpse their magic and learn about their relationships. In the second act, the journey drastically intensifies as McKinney makes her own magic in wrapping up the series and tying the generational stories together. This was no easy feat given the richness and complexity of the magic elements across all four books, but McKinney manages it with ease, clarity and a delightful dose of humor.

All books in the series do a good job of addressing gender and racial disparities. It is inspiring to see great stories bringing these issues to the fore in significant and clever ways. While The Mirror is premised on fantasy, the disparities flagged are raw and real (and have been since the 1800s in which the first book is set). Dao, Clayton, Cervantes and McKinney use their talents not only to raise awareness but to educate intelligently and thoughtfully. Young readers and adults alike can learn and benefit a lot from such storytelling.

Finally, another aspect I love about The Mirror is the time – and geography – travel between the stories. Readers are transported to:

1800s Germany (in Broken Wish, book one)
1920s New Orleans (in Shattered Midnight, book two),
1960s San Francisco (in Fractured Path, book three), and
2000s New York City (in Splintered Magic, book four).
Each different period brings with it new context and characters, and each subsequent book builds on the trials, tribulations and lessons learned from prior books in the series. There is a lot of unpacking to do, and this series strikes me as one in which every time you read it, you may pick up on something new.

Splintered Magic conforms to the necessary parameters laid out in the prior books while simultaneously doing a tremendous job in tackling the unenviable task of concluding the quartet. It course-corrects prior broken promises, works through generational family secrets and encourages hard work, self-belief and persistence to make things right for the past, present and future.