Document Type

Honors Thesis

Publication Date

Spring 5-2016

Abstract

Morgan Molloy is the worst student at Graybridge Academy, a school for the children of the rich and famous. She doesn't do her work, talks in class, and is a professional troublemaker; she's Queen Bee, and knows it. Nothing can ruin this high in life.

Until her friend goes missing.

Morgan's world is turned upside down by the aftermath of her party; things only get stranger when she receives a letter from her father, a man she has never met. After this revelation, Morgan starts to see the world a little differently - that maybe the strange disappearances of the youth in town may not be so mundane in nature.

One by one, her friends are disappearing. And she might be next.

A YA paranormal novel, The Sapphire Mirror is an exploration of friendship and relationship conflicts among teens, as well as the concept of death and different perceptions of it; in particular, the idea of ‘teenage invincibility’ and how an adolescent might cope with it, both with positive and negative results.

The story is partly inspired by an old wives’ tale that all mirrors must be covered in the house of a dying person — if they aren’t covered, then the mirror can trap the soul of the departed and keep them from entering the afterlife. Thus, there are also themes of reflection, often found in mirrors or water, that provide outward context and introspection to those who are otherwise incapable of self-awareness.

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