Midnighters: The Secret Hour

* Bibliographic information
Westerfeld, S. Midnighters: The Secret Hour. HarperCollins, 2004.
ISBN: 9780060519520.

- Volume 1 in the Midnighters series.
- Aurealis Award Winner in 2004, Young Adult Novel
- YALSA 2008 Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults
- YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers: 2005


* Plot Summary
Jessica Day has just moved to Bixby Oklahoma; being the new kid at school is always hard, especially when you think you might be going crazy. Jessica is a Midnighter; those born at the stroke of midnight. Midnighters have special powers and do not freeze like everyone else during the 25th hour of the day when strange ancient creatures appear and everything has a blue tint. Their abilities are used, combined with numbers and metal, to battle the increasingly aggressive creatures.
At certain axis points around the world this hour appears to Midnighters, one of those places is Bixby. In Jessica’s old home nothing happened out of the ordinary, but then she moved to Bixby and everything changed. She is accompanied by four other teenage Midnighters in the 25th hour and eventually joins their group, they teach her how to survive during the 25th hour and deal with her new reality. At the end of the book, Jessica discovers her power only to realize she does not know how to use it.


* Critical Evaluation
An easy read for most teens because of the reading level but the story captures readers because of the action and excitement. The characters are relatable and entertaining making this book fun for readers of any genre. Westerfeld does a good job of making the science explainable if not always feasible. Teens who read this book will want to read the whole trilogy because they want to know what happens to Jessica and the other Midnighters. Will Jessica get a special power? If so, what will it be? These are the questions every reader wants to know when they finish this book. With all of the action and personal moments this would make a great movie that many teens would flock to see. Westerfeld has created such a vivid world in this book it is easy to visual the characters alive on screen battling Darklings.


* Reader’s Annotation
Jessica has always been a normal girl, but then she moves to Bixby, Oklahoma and finds out she is a Midnighter. She now moves through the 25th hour of the day with her Midnighter friends as well as violent ancient creatures that want to stop her from realizing she has a special power.


* Information about the author
Westerfeld grew up in Texas, California and Connecticut because his family moved around. Him and his wife move back and forth between their two homes in New York City and Sydney, Australia. Westerfeld says he grew up in a large family that valued storytelling and he has always written, even as a child. He has written five science fiction novels for adults but his young adult science fiction novels are what he is best known for. He continues to write young adult novels because he loves the people involved. Midnighters: The Secret Hour was his first young adult novel to be published. For more information about Scott Westerfeld and his other novels check out his website at http://scottwesterfeld.com/blog/.


* Genre
Teen Fiction; Science Fiction


* Curriculum Ties, if any
N/A


* Booktalking Ideas
1) At the end of the book, they discover Jessica's power. How do you think they can use it in defeating the darklings?
2) Discuss the tactics the Midnighters use to battle the Darklings, why do they work?
3) Talk about what you would do if you suddenly found yourself awake in an hour of the day where everyone else was frozen, including your family.


* Reading Level/Interest Age
Grade 6 and Up/ 14 and Up


* Challenge Issues and Defense
N/A


* Why did you include this book in your titles you selected?
I chose to put this book on my blog because I loved reading these books and the Midnighters series has become one of my favorite series to date. The first book in the series is vital because it introduces the characters and the 25th hour. This is where readers get sucked into the trilogy. The story and the characters are so much fun to follow. I wish he would add more to the series just so I could revisit the 25th hour and all of its mystery. The reading level is a bit low for the age range of 15-18 but I think there need to be easy books for older teens, ones they can love and enjoy at times when they just want to explore another world and have fun doing it. The characters are in high school so teens will not feel like they are reading about little kids.