The Mirror of Doom

Three siblings travel through a magical mirror and land in a medieval world of castles, sword-wielding soldiers, and a dragon in this first book in the Out-of-This-World Adventures of Tim Hunter series. After 12-year-old Tim steals his older sister’s diary, his strange Uncle Edgar throws it through a mirror; when Tim attempts to retrieve the book, he discovers that he’s trapped in another world and cannot easily return. Tim’s teenage siblings, Kat and Ron, arrive in Fenimore Castle shortly after, and all three meet Gavril, an ever-serious and superbly athletic soldier and son of King Gunther. The King believes the Hunter children have come to fulfill a prophecy, so he sends them and Prince Gavril to retrieve a magic mirror from evil Queen Morissa. Tim narrates, but silly arguments with his siblings and corny sarcasm (“I was scratched up, sore, scared, and, frankly, I wanted my mommy. If the guy thought I was going to budge a muscle, he was crazy”) undermine the tale, along with secondary story lines that are introduced then dropped. Ages 8–12. (BookLife)