its about the trials and troubations of conguted twins. ( )

Under Shifting Glass by Nicky Singer is a thoughtful novel about how we connect together.

Jess loves music and learned to play by hear with lessons from her Great Aunt Edie who has just died. Jess greatly misses Aunt Edie and inherits a desk. To say that Jess is surprised is an understatement. She looks at the old desk as it "squats" in her room and hates it as it "scowls and glowers and mocks" her. She really wanted the piano, but there is no room in the house. With her mother about to give birth to conjoined twins, they are out of room. After several weeks, Jess decides to introduce herself to the desk. Going through cubby holes and organizing her stuff, she finds a glass flask with something swimming in it. Unfortunately, no one else can see this "life" within.

Jess's life becomes difficult as her mother gives birth and the twins will have to be separated. The majority of conjoined twins upon separation only have one twin survive. Jess becomes obsessed with how we are all paired and connected together. Couldn't they be happy together? Jess's worries and obsessions with the flask create tension with her best friend Zoe, her Grandmother, and her step-father, making Jess feel disconnected. The novel follows Jess's thoughts and spiritual journey as she strives to make sense of the twins, her friendship, and her place in the family with her stepfather.

This is a very nice, well-written novel. I found it too sweet and sappy; it's definitely a "girl's book" that has a wonderful message. ( )

A story about hope and family that will resonant with younger readers. Jess experiences things in a different way from the rest of us, and the book is a gripping journey where the bounds of reality are questioned. It's a lovely story that can be easily enjoyed as an adult as well as by a child.

I received this book as an early reviewer. I think it would appeal to its age group. However, it didn't hold my interest very well. I do think if a teen was feeling overwhelmed with life, this book would help them realize they are not alone. ( )

{ I received an ARC for free through Early Reviewers on LibraryThing. Review originally posted on my blog, PidginPea's Book Nook. }

Wow. This book was beautiful. I wasn't expecting it to really touch my heart like it did. I kind of thought it would be a book about Jess's family troubles with a paranormal twist in the form of the flask. But it was so, so much more than that. I really am just in shock with how fantastic this book was.

Under Shifting Glass does deal with Jess's family - her mother (pregnant with twins), her stepfather, and her grandmother. But it also deals with Jess's beloved Aunt Edie, who has recently passed away, and throughout the book we see Jess progress through her grief over her aunt's death towards acceptance and peace. As if this wasn't enough for a young girl to deal with, her father has also passed away, and she's struggling with her relationship with her stepfather now that he'll have children of his own when the twins are born. Her friendship with her closest friend Zoe seems to be falling apart, and Jess doesn't know how to fix it. And then her twin brothers are born conjoined, and the outlook is grim.

It's hard to classify this book. Is it realistic fiction? Fantasy? Magical realism? Even when you reach the end of the book, you're not quite sure (more on that in a bit). Under Shifting Glass is labeled as Young Adult on Goodreads and Barnes & Noble, but I can see where a Middle Grade label would fit too. Jess is 12 years old, and at times I felt like her thoughts and actions might appeal more to younger readers. But then again, she is facing some very grown-up problems as well, and she does show some incredible maturity which brings her story right back to the YA level. I finally had to force myself to stop trying to label the book and just read.

Singer has a stunning way with words. Jess is a sweet narrator who wraps you up in her world; I felt her pain over the loss of her Aunt Edie, her joy at seeing her brothers for the first time, her hopelessness when her problems seem to stack up endlessly. She is dealing with so much and she's handling it as best she can, but she's looking for a reason behind it all, or a way to fix it all. As she learns more about the flask, she realizes that perhaps the flask itself the solution. There is a beautiful mix of something mysterious, something supernatural, a bit of desperate superstition on Jess's part, and a touch of religion. After everything is resolved, Singer leaves it up to the reader to decide what really happened... Was it a miracle? Was it the flask? Was it nothing special at all - just the way of things? I thought this was wonderful, as each reader can take away whatever they wish from the story.

In the middle of the book, Jess and her friends learn about Buddhism for a class assignment. To be honest, as I was reading that part, I was wondering where Singer was going to go with it or why exactly she chose to include it in the story. But I thought the way Singer tied it in at the end was quite nice, with Jess's gift of eucalyptus to her Aunt Edie. The Buddhism aspect may be a little much for some readers ("much" being perhaps a little too heavy on the religious/spiritual side for those who prefer not to read about religion, or being perhaps a little too complicated for younger readers), but it hit me just right.

I can see where this book wouldn't appeal to everyone, but in the hands of some readers it will become a new favorite. It certainly became an instant favorite for me, and I'll be on the lookout for other books by Singer. ( )