When asked who my favorite author is, my answer is always Scott Westerfeld. To me he is my literary hero always crafting a brilliant story with a unique twist and fascinating characters that I always enjoy. Of his entire published collection I’ve read all of them but the Midnighter series and his Steam Punk book. A while ago I set out on a mission to rectify this problem considering that I do consider myself to be such a big fan of his work. Thus I read and reviewed the first book in the Midnighter series and am now coming to you with the second.Thinking about this book it is hard to come up with what to say about the book. It took me three weeks to read the book. This time frame doesn’t exist because it was a bad book or overly long, it was just a matter that I hadn’t been in the mood to read much and my head wasn’t there with the book. It quite possibly would have taken me another week to finish the book if it weren’t for the fact that my library won’t let me renew it as there is a hold on the book. So I blitzed my way to the end so I can return it fully read and not incur a late fee.Over all it was a good book, it only spans the time of a week which in some ways is intense for what all happens in this book. It starts out with Jessica Day the newest midnighter to Bixby Oklahoma finds that she has a stalker that seems to know about the midnight hour. Why else would he be sitting outside her house poised with a camera taking pictures right at the stroke of midnight? From this discovery things spiral out of control as there is a discovered group of people who work for the darklings in the day light hours and they want to kill Jessica and kidnap Rex to make a half human half darkling hybrid. It’s bizarre and intense, yes but somehow this crazy talk for the plot actually works and translates well on the page, and this is why I think Scott is a master of his craft.As to my opinion of the book I feel it is a bit of a classic middle book, it is good but I feel most of it was just as set up for the third book after we got the character introduction from the first book. Still much like any middling story it has its merits and should not go readily amiss. This is why I will give this book a four page rating, because it is good and if I had taken the time to read it properly rather than allow it to drag out it would have left a stronger impression with me. If you are into weird science fiction, like Scott Westerfeld or looking for a good read then the second book is worth your time though I wouldn’t recommend starting with it.
This is the 2nd book in the Midnighters series. I didn't like this book as much as the first one in the series. I just felt like the story moved very slowly for the first half of the book. There wasn't nearly as much adventure in the secret hour; with most of the mystery and events taking place during the normal hours of the day. Previous to reading this book I had read Westerfeld’s Uglies series (thought it was okay) and his Leviathan series (loved it).The Midnighters are continuing to unravel the mysteries of Bixby. However, another danger...a danger from the Daylight hours threatens one of their group. This time it is not Jessica who is being hunted but another in their group...There wasn’t nearly as much as action and adventure in the book. I was also disappointed that much of the book takes place in the daylight hours rather during the creepy and eerie midnight hour. A lot of the creepiness and creepy crawlies were fairly scarce in this book as well (I was really hoping to see more types of shadow creatures and learn more about them).Additionally this book was just plain boring. I felt like there was very little plot and story here and what was here could have been told in a short story rather than a book. I honestly struggled with staying engaged in the story and almost didn't finish the book. We again jump between a number of characters. This constant changing of POV didn’t work well for the book. It made it very hard to engage or care about any of the characters here. The story was better when the whole idea of the midnight hour was a novel and interesting one, but there really aren’t any new and interesting ideas presented in this book.Overall I was fairly disappointed in this book. I thought it was boring and struggled to stay engaged with the story. By the end of this book I had absolutely no interest in finding out anything else about these characters or the mysterious town of Bixby. If you want to read something by Westerfeld that is actually good I would recommend his Leviathan series.
Main annoyances: Why does everyone treat Melissa like crap? They call her a bitch behind her back and act like she's so high and mighty. I didn't really see that. I mean, sure, she's not the easiest person to get along with, she's a little standoffish, and she can be snarky. She's not a fan of touching anyone ever. But why? Because she hears the thoughts of not just herself but everyone. If she touches someone, it's intimate and invasive for both of them because she is privy to all their thoughts and their mind gets slightly squiggled. But ultimately she gets the worst part. She has to live with that her entire life with every single person she happens to touch, accidentally or otherwise. Whoever she touches shares in a fraction of her pain and misery for a couple seconds and suddenly they deserve to be treated like royalty. Oh, but she's a bitch. That makes no sense. I really wish they would rectify that.Also, everyone acts like Melissa is crazier than a bag full of cats. Again, I never saw that. She's not crazy. Why was Rex JEALOUS when somebody touched Melissa? Maybe he's trying to protect her since he's really the only one she can call a "friend". But then why is he jealous? Wouldn't he just be angry at the others? But I suppose that the jealously stems from him wanting to be the only one with whom Melissa shared such an intimate thing.....The language was vamped up in this one more so than the last. Not sure why. I found some of the usages to be rather distasteful.Not sure how I feel about Rex and his story. Where is that going? Will he be all right? Is he the same person (mostly)?Things I liked: I really started to like Melissa. Everyone treats her like dirt. She's misunderstood and, in many ways, alone. She has Rex, whom I disliked, to understand and be there for her though.I am really liking the fact that since (view spoiler)[ Madeleine is also a mindcaster and knows all the secrets for that ability and otherwise, and since she taught them to Melissa, Melissa is now coming to control her ability and it doesn't bother her as much and she can touch some people now without quite the same consequences. (hide spoiler)]
—Elevetha
I had a hard time getting into this one. I realized that I remembered very little about the first (it's been a couple of years) other than the basic details that they were kids, born at the stroke of midnight, fighting ancient evil. But it took me a bit to get back into the characters, especially because I didn't remember them being this obnoxious. I mean, sure they're teenagers, forming new relationships, and with the heavy burden of their gifts. But none of them actually seem to get along, and they're not even slightly working together. I mean, come on! Get organized, guys! EVIL. YOU. FIGHTING. I guess it's realistic that they're not taking charge and forming into a super-cohesive Justice League, but sort of shilly-shallying about being teens . . . but at the same time, it was kind of irritating. Especially when they started hiding secrets from each other FOR NO REASON. Ugh. But the ending really came together, and the peril was high. It definitely finished on a high note and teased even higher stakes and more trouble for book three. I'm just hoping they can all stop snarking at each other and work together!
—Jessica
I can't say that I enjoyed this book overall as much as the first one. It was just hard for me to get into at first. I can say that I enjoyed the way Westerfield fleshed out all of the characters he had established in the first book. I don't think I liked Melissa at all in the first book, and she's basically become one of my favorite characters now. Jonathan will always be my baby, though. He's the best, and I loved how this book ended. Hee. And Dess is always, always cool. Math is badass and you know it. Also, now it makes sense how all of these midnighters were able to come together in the Nowheresville of Bixby. I'm glad Westerfield dealt with that issue, because it was starting to bug me.I can't wait to read the next one. I think I'm most curious as to what's going to happen with Rex. There's a lot of potential there. I hope Jessica gets some more action, too.
—Larisa
