The Midnighters Trilogy by Scott Westerfeld
Series: The Midnighters Trilogy
Author: Scott Westerfeld
Perma-Bound Catalogue Series #: 792968
Titles:
Book 1 - The Secret Hour
Description: Upon moving to Bixby, Oklahoma, fifteen-year-old Jessica Day learns that she is one of a group of people who have special abilities that help them fight ancient creatures living in an hour hidden at midnight; creatures that seem determined to destroy Jess.
Perma-Bound Catalogue #: 263910
Book 2 - Touching Darkness
Description: As they continue to battle evil creatures living in an hour hidden at midnight, Jessica and her new friends learn about Bixby, Oklahoma's shadowy past and uncover a deadly conspiracy that reaches beyond the secret hour.
Perma-Bound Catalogue #: 1796
Book 3 - Blue Noon
Description: The five midnighters from Bixby discover that the secret hour is starting to invade the daylight world, and if they cannot stop it, the darklings will soon be free to hunt again.
Perma-Bound Catalogue #: 2383
Rubric Rating: Level 2 - Like It
Why I Read this Series: The descriptions of each book made them sound quite interesting so I thought I would try it out.
Lori's Notes: I don't usually review an entire series at once but I read these awhile ago and thought I would forgo individual reviews for an overall look at the series. Bixby, Oklahoma is a special place. Not just because it's Jess' new home, but because there is a special secret hour in Bixby. An extra hour for anyone who was born precisely on the stroke of midnight. While everyone else is suspended in time, Jess and her friends, Rex, Dess, Johnathon and Melissa can move about in a blue-hued Bixby, using their super human abilities. However, it's also the hour when the darklings rise, and for some reason Jess has become their target. Defeating the darklings isn't the group of teens only concern, they also need to discover the history of Bixby and overcome the humans who have discovered the secret hour and want to release the darklings. As the darklings' power grows so does the hour in which they live making it occur at any time of the day. If Jessica and her friends can't figure out how to stop them, all of humanity may be at risk. While the premise of this series was really interesting, I just found I didn't connect enough to the characters. I liked some of the elements of the series - ex. using 13 letter words to combat the darklings, and the use of math as a plot element, I felt that the writing was slow and I was disappointed by the ending.
Recommended Readers: Grade 9 and Up. I would recommend this series to anyone who is interested in the supernatural and/or teens with superpowers.
Themes: Trilogies, Relationships, Special Powers, Sisters, Families, Protection, Safety, Mother/Child relationships.
Cross-Genre Links:
Music: Moondance performed by Van Morrison
Music: Midnight performed by Coldplay
Poem: A Clear Midnight by Walt Whitman
Post-Reading Discussion Questions and Activities:
Author: Scott Westerfeld
Perma-Bound Catalogue Series #: 792968
Titles:
Description: Upon moving to Bixby, Oklahoma, fifteen-year-old Jessica Day learns that she is one of a group of people who have special abilities that help them fight ancient creatures living in an hour hidden at midnight; creatures that seem determined to destroy Jess.
Perma-Bound Catalogue #: 263910
Description: As they continue to battle evil creatures living in an hour hidden at midnight, Jessica and her new friends learn about Bixby, Oklahoma's shadowy past and uncover a deadly conspiracy that reaches beyond the secret hour.
Perma-Bound Catalogue #: 1796
Description: The five midnighters from Bixby discover that the secret hour is starting to invade the daylight world, and if they cannot stop it, the darklings will soon be free to hunt again.
Perma-Bound Catalogue #: 2383
Rubric Rating: Level 2 - Like It
Why I Read this Series: The descriptions of each book made them sound quite interesting so I thought I would try it out.
Lori's Notes: I don't usually review an entire series at once but I read these awhile ago and thought I would forgo individual reviews for an overall look at the series. Bixby, Oklahoma is a special place. Not just because it's Jess' new home, but because there is a special secret hour in Bixby. An extra hour for anyone who was born precisely on the stroke of midnight. While everyone else is suspended in time, Jess and her friends, Rex, Dess, Johnathon and Melissa can move about in a blue-hued Bixby, using their super human abilities. However, it's also the hour when the darklings rise, and for some reason Jess has become their target. Defeating the darklings isn't the group of teens only concern, they also need to discover the history of Bixby and overcome the humans who have discovered the secret hour and want to release the darklings. As the darklings' power grows so does the hour in which they live making it occur at any time of the day. If Jessica and her friends can't figure out how to stop them, all of humanity may be at risk. While the premise of this series was really interesting, I just found I didn't connect enough to the characters. I liked some of the elements of the series - ex. using 13 letter words to combat the darklings, and the use of math as a plot element, I felt that the writing was slow and I was disappointed by the ending.
Recommended Readers: Grade 9 and Up. I would recommend this series to anyone who is interested in the supernatural and/or teens with superpowers.
Themes: Trilogies, Relationships, Special Powers, Sisters, Families, Protection, Safety, Mother/Child relationships.
Cross-Genre Links:
Music: Moondance performed by Van Morrison
Music: Midnight performed by Coldplay
Poem: A Clear Midnight by Walt Whitman
Post-Reading Discussion Questions and Activities:
- If you had a secret hour and a secret power what would you do, what power would you have, and why?
- What makes Jessica's power so threatening to the Darklings?
- What powers do Dess, Melissa, Rex and Jonathon all have. How do their powers affect them during regular time and how does it change in the secret hour?
- What happens when Rex becomes a "Halfling"?
- What is the importance of the number 13?
- Create a map of Bixby, Oklahoma. Label at least five locations that are important to the story.
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