Your Dystopian Book Club unit probably needs a glow up. The Town With No Mirrors by Christina Collins is an excellent addition. Offer it to students who need an introduction to the genre or who aren’t ready for the intense conflict that other Dystopian texts feature. Even if you don’t teach it in a book club, keep it on your shelf for the students who obsess over how society sees them.
The Town With No Mirrors by Christina Collins
Genre: Dystopian
Age Range: 10+
Summary: 12-year-old Zailey lives in Gladder Hill, a secluded town designed to support healthy body images by preventing residents from ever seeing their own reflection. No photos, no mirrors, no glass windows — even the water is altered so it isn’t reflective. But Zailey is an artist and can’t help herself from drawing secret portraits of all of the other residents. When her “superficial” portraits are discovered, a series of events lands her in the “real world” where she discovers harsh truths about the Gladder Hill she thought was her safe haven.
Teaching with The Town With No Mirrors
Recommend it to students who like these dystopian stories:
- The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera
- The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau
- The Giver by Lois Lowry
- Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix
- Cleo Porter and the Body Electric by Jake Burt
Ready for an Escape Room that requires only 5 minutes of prep? Invite students to review story elements by solving puzzles and trying to escape the Voice of the Vortex. Ideal for test prep, literacy centers, or sub plans.
By reading it, students will learn about…
Body Image: What external and internal pressures create unhealthy body images? Is it better to not know what you look like rather than risk a toxic body image?
Portraits: Do we draw portraits to celebrate our looks, or to capture our humanity? Is it self-absorbed to want a portrait of ourselves?
The Media: Is being scrutinized by the media the price of being famous? Or do celebrities deserve privacy?
My Two Cents: I first heard about this book when observing a Dystopian Book Club unit in a former colleague’s 6th grade ELA class. If you also teach such a unit, I highly recommend adding The Town With No Mirrors as an option. With a 660L lexile measure and a straightforward plot, it’s an accessible text that still provides a thought-provoking storyline.
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