The Secret Hour

Westerfeld, Scott. The Secret Hour. Harper Teen (2004). ISBN 978-0-0605-1951-3

Plot Summary

                Jessica moves to Bixby, Oklahoma when her mother gets a new job there.  Things soon become strange when Jessica wakes at midnight and sees the rain frozen in place.  She walks through her house to find her whole family frozen in place.  After an adventure where she is chased by an evil creature called a Darkling and its minions, slithers, Jessica meets three kids from school – Dess, Rex and Melissa.  It turns out that all of these are kids are midnighters.  They were born exactly at midnight and, because of this, they are able to inhabit the secret 25^th hour that no one else knows exists.

                Each kid has some sort of power that aids them in the midnight hour but they aren’t sure what Jessica’s is yet.  The next night, Jessica meets a 5^th midnighter – Jonathon.  A romance quickly starts between the two of them but their happiness is not to last.   The darklings, the creatures who live in the midnight hour, are starting to stir and the midnighters think it has something to do with Jessica’s power.   The midnighters must now learn to survive the increasing attacks from the creatures and figure out a way to take back midnight.

Critical Evaluation

                Scott Westerfeld creates a world unlike any other.  The midnight hour goes from being something kind of dark and creepy to a world of magical possibilities.  At least that’s the case in the beginning of the book.  Later on it takes back those qualities of dark and creepy.  The midnighters themselves encompass many types/personalities of teens so there is someone that every reader can relate to.  Jonathon’s ability to jump very far distances gives an element to the midnight hour that would have been missed had it been left out. 

                The darklings live up to their names.  They are super creepy and very powerful.  Dess, Rex, and Melissa have a very hard time living during the other 24 hours of the day.  This seems very saddening to the reader but understandable as they aren’t quite themselves without that part of themselves that only exists during midnight.  Westerfeld does a good job of showing the reader how these five cope with the stress of what’s happening at midnight and still having to maintain their lives during the other hours of the day. 

Reader’s Annotation

Find out what it would be like to be the only one awake during the midnight hour.

Author’s Information

Scott Westerfeld was born in Texas and has written many sci-fi books.  His most well-known series is the Uglies series, which is being made into a film.  Scott’s blog can be found here, along with lots of other information: http://scottwesterfeld.com/.

Genre

Single Series

Book Talking Ideas

There is plenty in this book to attract both male and female teens.  There are darklings in the form of spiders, panthers, and any other frightening creature.  There are frozen raindrops that look like diamonds.  There is teenage romance.  There are quasi-flying and other super abilities.  If readers like Uglies they will like this book.

Reading Level/Interest

13/15

Challenge Issues

This book isn’t too bad.  There are a few curse words and some frightening villains but other than that, I see no reason that this book will be challenged.

Why Include This Title?

Midnighters is a lesser known series that is written by a well-known sci-fi author.  It is a really good series and should be mentioned as such.  The premise is very unique and probably one that most sci-fi/fantasy readers will enjoy.