Touching+Darkness

Secrets of Midnight

Review for: __Touching Darkness__

Author: Scott Westerfeld

Review by: Mia

“You definitely should read this book to continue the saga. It just gets better.” remarks Debbie on amazon.com. __Touching Darkness__  by Scott Westerfeld is exactly as it sounds. This is an intriguing adventure intended for ages 13-17. The main characters in the book, also know as Midnighters, each portray exhilarating roles throughout __Touching Darkness__ . These roles taken on by the Midnighters embrace their extraordinary talents, that they mainly use during the extra midnight hour. Furthermore, the Midnighters- Jessica, Dess, Jonathan, Rex, and Melissa- embark on their toughest challenge yet, to protect something they love from their enemies, the darklings. To sum up, I believe Scott Westerfeld is doubtlessly worthy of the award he won.

For starters, Rex’s nerdy and shy personality really made me fall in love with his character. Rex always seemed to know everything, even when the other Midnighters asked the most ridiculous questions. “Last, but not least, Rex… He is a history nut and reads all the time about Bixby,” Chelsea R. states about the Bixby wiz. Rex has a great sense of humor around the other Midnighters, but around everyone else he is insecure and self-conscious. I believe Dess’s persistence to discover the new midnight hour secret made her admirable. She was researching information and calculating coordinates 24/7. Dess revealed something that none of the other Midnighters would have even been close to detecting, which helped her calculations more. I would also enjoy being friends with the characters because they are all so astonishing. During this book each character had their own “project” they were working on. Dess’s project was my favorite. She had uncovered the most shocking secret of her life due to the coordinates she’s been calculating. Every Midnighter has their own midnight ability; Dess the polymath, Melissa the mind caster, Rex the seer, Jonathan the acrobat, and Jessica the flame-bringer. All of these abilities have their own advantage to verifying the secret hour.

Moreover, it was easy to connect to the plot because the imagery in the story was very detailed and provided me with multiple images of the scenes occurring. The technique in which Bixby, Oklahoma was described reminds me of modern day, how people are very desolate and keep to themselves. I think the finding of a new secret about the midnight hour made the book enjoyable to read. Dess had been calculating the town of Bixby for years and never once came across these new coordinates until she discovered one of her dad’s tools. The new revelations by Dess are thrilling and want me reading more. The engaging part in the book was unquestionably the climax. The darklings in the midnight hour were in need of something from the group. The group had decided to meet somewhere and discuss this matter of contention, but an even bigger challenge prevailed before the meeting occurred. I think because of this twist of events, the book became extremely compelling and I couldn’t let the book fall from my hands. The conflict of __Touching Darknes__ s was man vs. creature. This was the conflict because the Midnighters were fighting against the darklings to keep them from retrieving the object they were after. Likewise, the conflict was also man vs. man because Dess was working hard to keep information from Melissa. If Dess didn’t defend her thoughts, Melissa could reach into her mind and snatch the information she wanted. If this happened, the darklings would be able to accomplish their mission and destroy the midnight secrets.

In addition, __Touching Darkness__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> was declared “suspenseful,” a “powerful page-turner,” and “compelling” by Kirkus Reviews. Scott Westerfeld won New York Times bestselling American-born author of YA sci-fi literature. “So many twists and turns I could hardly stop reading. I can’t wait to read the next book, <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">__Blue Noon__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">,” comments Patrick Deham on amazon.com. Scott Westerfeld claims,”Not everything made you stronger. It was possible to survive, yet still be crippled for your trouble. Sometimes it was okay to run away, to skip the test, or chicken out. Or at least get some help.”

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Ultimately, the next book to be in your grasp should be the remarkable <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">__Touching Darkness__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">, for you won’t be able to let go. The characters seemed to become more knowledgeable and enlightened of their actions. They’ve all learned to grow as a family and that's what makes this book exquisite. The spiraling plot kept me hooked from start to finish. The illustrations described granted me vivid pictures in my mind to help the story flow. Veronica Morfi testifies, ”A great continuation of the first book. It sets the stage for the final one!” Follow up on the Midnight cliffhangers, and pursue the Midnighters’ progressed talents in the final book of the series, <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">__Blue Noon__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">.