Who is Shay Garrett from The Mirror and what is their importance?

Shay Garrett is one of the two main characters in the novel. She is transported out of 1978 into the body of her grandmother in the 1800s. Shay is a practical and modern woman, and confused by the Victorian rules she formerly considered part of antiquity. Though engaged to Marek Weir, she does not love him and is generally bored with her life. She dislikes the Gingerbread House that her mother loves so much, and feels stifled by the numerous family relics that surround the house. When she is transported into Brandy's body Shay is convinced she is dreaming, and desperate to get back home. Her marriage to Corbin Strock is awkward for her because she feels he has unrealistic expectations of her as a woman of the 20th century she has very radical ideas for the time period. She befriends Thora K, her mother-in-law, who prefers to believe that Shay has the Sight. Shay is conflicted by a real desire to succeed as Brandy and the constant desire to be taken back to her own time. Ultimately, living as Brandy wakes Shay up to the life she should be experiencing: she falls in love with Hutch Maddon and lives a life in which she earns what she has. Hutch allows her to be as unusual as she likes, while Corbin wanted her to be a specific kind of cookie-cutter wife.