If you’ve been searching for a story with a unique plot, look no further. The Midnighters by Hana Tooke is exactly that. The main character, Ema, is the youngest daughter of a scholarly family trying to find her place in the world and her family. Often feeling like she doesn’t belong, this is a difficult task for Ema. When her parents go on a trip and leave Ema to stay with her uncle, life as she knows it changes completely.
Upon arrival, Ema’s stay with her uncle is monotonous, with little to entertain besides a naughty cat but as she meets a new friend, Silvie, the adventure begins. Things get even more exciting as the pages turn and we’re introduced to a new setting. Tooke gives us quite the treat with the visuals she describes, sending your imagination running wild. The story is also full of a wide variety of characters who take the story to a new level. As the title suggests, The Midnighters is a darker story full of mystery and surprises. One of the best parts of the story is seeing how the underdogs manage to solve the mystery even though it may take several attempts to do so. If you loved Hana Tooke’s The Unadoptables you’ll likely enjoy The Midnighters as well.
Review of a Digital Advance Reading Copy Provided by the Viking Books for Young Readers
Content Analysis:
Profanity/Language: None
Note: A character “let out a smallish curse” and a reference to something being “hellish.”
Violence/Gore: Several (18) brief incidents including something smelling like rotting flesh; illusionists pretending to decapitate and stab another; character worried about another getting killed; character might plummet to death without following rules; character glaring “murderously” at another; murder used as a metaphor; characters will “sleep like the dead”; reference to someone seeming deadly; character suspected of lying, stealing, cheating, kidnapping and murdering; reference to death; reference to murder and kidnappings; second-hand report of character getting bitten by a goat; several references to ghosts and trying to prove that they’re real; vases getting thrown and broken.
Sex/Nudity: None
Mature Subject Matter:
Murder; reference to bodily functions (character nearly wetting self, belching and vomiting).
Alcohol and Drug Use:
None
