On the Bookshelf

Before I get in to the review I just want to apologise for the delay on getting this review out. I had to give priority to writing out some job applications as I would really like (read need) either some part time or full time work, which, unfortunately, is not very easy to come across at the moment. Much to my frustration, today the Word document for my selection criteria for one position was somehow corrupted beyond recovery and I now have to start over from scratch meaning I will probably be fairly quiet over the coming few days as well as I try to catch up.

Now, on with the review.

The Midnighters of Bixby finally have some of their hard sought answers about the secret hour in their town. But the answers have come at a price - Rex is left damaged, somehow different, after his horrifying experience in the desert at the hands of the Darklings and the delicate bond in the group is strained after Melissa's violation of Dess's mind. With the Greyfoot's ability to communicate with the Darklings severed the Midnighters might finally be safe enough to spend time to recuperate and regroup. Except, history may not be as black and white as they thought and then comes the day when the blue time arrives in the middle of the day.

Soon the Darklings will once again be free to prey upon humans - unless the Midnighters can find a way to stop the secret hour and real time from crumbling.

What an amazing end to great series. Blue Noon really sees the characters of the Midnighters series fulfill their potential. Rex struggles with the Darkling part of himself and Jonathon, even though he knows that it is wrong to want it, cannot help but wish that the Darklings plan really does become a reality so that he can have the freedom of being able to fly all of the time. Dess cannot forgive Melissa for violating her mind while Melissa begins a transformation into an entirely different person as she finally acquires the knowledge to be able to deal with her Midnighter ability. In some ways, this book is the opposite of the first in the series, The Secret Hour, and Jessica is the one that is left behind a bit on the development scale. Rex really becomes the most fascinating character to follow here. He is in conflict with the Darkling part of himself, a part of himself that might even want the Darklings to succeed, but also in the changes in brings in him he is finally able to question the Lore which he had previously regarded so highly. He is finally able to question the history of Bixby as written by Midnighters past and realise the bias there.

Blue Noon is packed with action and suspense but goes above and beyond being merely a "final battle," going on to ask further questions. I really liked how Westerfeld chose to end the series and how the extent of their possible success was uncertain and that no matter what their would be consequences. Right up to the end of the book the characters were continuing to develop and be impacted on by events, setting them up for what directions they choose to take after the story comes to its close. I also liked how some seemingly insignificant idea that he had slipped in over the course of the past two books turned out to be very significant in the end. Something that was previously just seemingly a little something to ponder suddenly becomes the big "aha!"

My one complaint, might be the overuse of certain similes throughout the course of the series. This is particularly in reference to the 'tastes' that Melissa picks up using her psychic ability. For example, things are often described as being like a battery or the tip of a pen or lead pencil pressed against the tongue. Did Westerfeld go around licking pencils and batteries in preparation for this book because he sure seemed to reference it quite a bit?

Midnighters has been a great series and Scott Westerfeld really is just a wonderful young adult author. I definitely recommend that you give this series a try.

Terra

Jessica has discovered her Midnighter ability and can finally defend herself against the Darklings. However, as the Midnighters dig deeper into the history of the secret hour and Midnighters in Bixby, they realise that Jessica might be the only one that the Darklings are after. Even worse, Jessica and her friends can no longer count themselves as safe in normal time when they discover that the Darklings have daylight supporters seeking them out.
Touching Darkness is a bit darker than The Secret Hour was. The Secret Hour was more an adventure of discovery as you newly explore midnight with Jessica. In Touching Darkness you start to learn more about the nasty history of midnight in Bixby and why all the Midnighters disappeared nearly fifty years ago, not to mention the chilling concept of the Halfling along with the warped, manipulative nature of mindcasters.
Jessica is still the main character but the perspective does get passed on to the other Midnighters a lot more often in this second installment in the trilogy.Personally, I considered this to be a good thing. Dess is my favourite character so it was really good to see more of her and it was great to get more insight into the nature of Melissa and Rex's relationship. Now I look back, though, Jonathan may have been a little neglected.

One thing that bothered me, about the edition that I was reading at least (1904233848), is that there were a number of grammatical errors and typos. This isn't entirely Westerfeld's fault, of course, as his editor should have been more thorough. It really disrupts the flow of an otherwise excellent book when I have to stop and reread a line over several times to realise that the word "he" was supposed to be "if" or when my brain starts nagging me that there should have been a comma there and to wonder why exactly is a word is randomly capitalised.
Terra

Jessica Day moves to the town of Bixby, Oklahoma where she finds things to be pretty strange. For starters, the water tastes really funny and time freezes at midnight. Only a small group of her fellow students are aware of the secret hour that occurs each night and each is gifted with an ability to help protect them from the dark creatures that haunt the secret hour. As long as the Midnighters never got in the way of the darkling creatures they were safe but Jessica's presence has the darklings riled up. She must discover her Midnighter ability before the darklings have a chance to stop her.

This one was a reread for me. I wanted to refresh my memory before going on to read the second book in tha Midnighters series, Touching Darkness. The book is very enjoyable. I would not have bothered to read it again or even bothered with the sequels if I did not like it the first time around. I am still going to stand behind my previous statement that Peeps is my favourite Westerfeld book so far. That said, I think that the thing that I like more about Peeps is that the characters are older than the characters in Midnighters. As a twenty year old, I find it easier to relate to the maturity levels of nineteen year old Cal than fifteen year old Jessica. Or maybe it is just that I am so very over high school.

I particularly liked all of the thirteen letter words Westerfeld slings at you and the funny combinations he comes up with: "Purposely Hyper-Inflated Individuality." I don't know about anyone else, but I got suspicious and often when I saw a long word I would wonder if he was sneaking in more thirteen letter words and pause reading to count. Focus! I really must learn to focus!

I really like the idea of the secret hour, a twenty fifth hour in every day that is rolled up so tight that only people born at the exact moment of midnight can experience it, and seeking the history behind it and Bixby. A similar concept of the moment in time that occurs between one day and the next, I hear, is explored in Persona 3, a video game released in 2006 (Japanese release date), but no one fires any gun like objects at their heads in the Midnighters series to invoke powers...

The Midnighters, aside from Jessica, are a bit stereotypical in the looks department with dyed black hair and Rex being a trench coat kind of guy, not to mention that they are a mite bit antisocial, but the stereotype contrasts with Jessica's normalcy and how very "11:59" she is. Their looks did not really bare too much impact either as Westerfeld spends the time to build their personalities. Their gifts are a major factor into their characterisation. I found myself particularly liking Dess. I wish that I could be a polymath! I suck at maths. Although, defying gravity would be pretty cool too.

Overall, it is a pretty entertaining read. You will also be seeing a review from me on the next book in the trilogy very soon, partially because I am looking forward to getting stuck into it and partially because it is due back at the library in a couple of days, so keep an eye out!

Terra