Overnight: A novel

by Matthew Smith

Originally published in 1949, Matthew Smith writes with the brilliance of an Arlen and the sophistication of a Maugham in this vintage tale of high-fashioned passion that bares the souls and appetites of mid-century old money.Nestled in rolling fields on the eastern Connecticut shore stands Cragie, the sumptuous estate of George Ridgley. Passersby admire its sprawling luxury and envy its owner his many acres with their tenant farms, luxurious buildings, and natural beauty.Here Eros launches five arrows that find their mark at once, filling five cultivated and refined people with passions that even the expansive rooms of Cragie can’t contain.First George Ridgley falls in love with Lesley, a beautiful guest much his junior. Then Reggie, the playboy forgets his selfishness to lose his heart to Audrey, a wealthy and sensuous vixen. When Peter Drake, our tale’s hero, flies back from Europe and enters the scene, scandal erupts. These people woo in the same sophisticated, pleasure guided way they live. They play at passion as they play at backgammon—to win.

Genres: Mystery, Young Adult, Teen, Fiction

288 pages, Hardcover

First published March 10, 2003

Reviews

[Jacque P. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. Mainly because I love mysteries. I also loved how the author had many points of view. I loved how she wrote it in the third-person, but she talked about different friends in the book and how each friend reacted differently. Another thing I liked was the imagery she used. I felt the intensity come out as I was reading the book especially when the friends started to leak their secrets out to cops to help find Gray. I think my favorite character in the book would be Zoe. She almost reminds me of me around my friends. Her concern towards Gray is something I would do if I didn’t know where my friend went.
I highly recommend reading this book. Especially if you are a young teenager, I think this definitely reflects the struggle of a young teenager trying to fit into a popular group. Also this books shows love for the ones that you care about. All of Grays friends cared about her, but she didn’t know that til all of them started to panic and find out to what happen to their friend. Also this is a good book to read just to get lost in. I am one of those people that like to read because I can leave the real world behind and get lost in a fantasy, or in this case, a mystery. If you are one of those people, then this book would be great because one of the reason, the book is short enough that the book can be read in about a week. And the second reason is it is one of those books that have lots of details in them, and it feels like you are part of the book. Like I said before, this is a great book and I would read it again.

[Carlos Woods · Rating 3 out of 5]

The ending was absolute butt. It kept on switching perspectives throughout the book, and the main character is literally so freaking stupid I can't. Why does this friend group have so many problems, too, and why are they so dramatic about EVERYTHINGGGG. I'm mostly mad at the Martha kid, the "leader" of the friend group, because she fed the dog a mothball inside of chocolate. WHY!? WHY IS YOUR REPUTATION IN MIDDLE SCHOOL SO IMPORTANT 😭😭😭

[Zulma Calvo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lo leí para ver evaluar si funcionaba para las adolescentes de mi escuela y sí, es una novela tranqui para que los que quieran tenga algo extra en inglés para leer.

[Madalyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overnight
“Where is gray?” What kind of books are you interested in? If you're interested in mystery this is the book for you! This book “Overnight” is written by Adele Griffin. The main characters are Gray, Zoe, Martha, Leticia, and Caitlin. They were all in the group called “The lucky seven”. Gray is like the shy quiet person in the group she reminds me of me I'm the one that just listens to what's going on. Zoe is the one that wants to know everything and she cares about everyone. Leticia is just that annoying one she just doesn't stop talking. Caitlin was like that one girl who like ran the whole squad who “slays” everyone else as people say.
This story takes place at Caitlin's house. She's having a slumber party for her 12th birthday. Gray’s mom brought Gray the wrong thing so, Gray called home and left a message for her mom. I can't relate to this at all because, Gray ends up meeting a stranger that night. Then she ends up missing for 2-4+ hours. She ends up making everyone stress/worry about her because she told no one that she left. Like if I was going to leave my friend's party I would at least tell someone so they don't freak out. Like nowadays some parents won't even let them go out walking around the streets in their subdivision because it's so dangerous nowadays. Like theirs robbers on the loose, murders on the run.
My mom doesn't even let me walk to the park by myself so I end up taking my sister. So I wouldn't end up like Gray. Something terrible happens to her but I can't spoil it. This book makes me not even wanna go by myself anywhere. But, then again i wasn't that smart in fifth grade so I probably would've done the same thing she did because, you know the saying “Young and Dumb”. My mom always told me that.
I feel like this book inspires people not to leave anywhere without someone knowing where you are going. You also wanna tell them who you're going with. I think this author was trying to send a message to not do what Gray did. I'd recommend this book to you if, you like mystery books because this book is full of them. Like sometimes during this book I was questioning myself for if I read that right. This is a book about 5th grade girls so if you don't like books with little girls in this book then, this isn't the book for you. I'd rate this book like a 4.5/5 stars this the kind of books that I like to read!
Do you like mystery books? This is the book for you! Just to remind you this book is written by Adele Griffin, and it's called Overnight. “Have you seen Gray?” “Do you know where she went?” Sometimes you may never know what may happen to you when you make the wrong decision...

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mini-Review

While it’s listed in the young adult genre, Overnight is a middle grade read. I can see why some might not like this story. Some of the girls are a bit cliche and can make some terrible decisions, but I think it’s rather an enjoyable read. It was surprisingly scary for a middle grade book. Though it may not be for some. It was for me because one of my fears when I was little was what happened to Gray. There were plenty of moments of yelling at the characters to do something and then being frustrated when they didn’t do it. The characterization is interesting because while there are cliches such as the shy girl, mean girl, spoiled girl and so on, it doesn’t take away from the story. It’s interesting to see how everyone reacts in this situation. At first, they don’t think much about what happens, but as time progresses and no one has found Gray, they begin to worry about what happened to her. Overall, it’s an engaging story and a page-turner, and I would recommend it.

For more reviews, check out my blog at Cook's Reviews

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a terrific thriller, especially for middle school girls. Told from the seven points of view of the sixth graders on a birthday sleepover, we learn about their group – they like to call themselves The Lucky Seven.

But when one of the girls leaves with a strange woman she thinks has been sent by her mother, we learn just how ‘lucky’ each girl really is.
The girl who leaves realizes she isn’t being taken home and finds herself in a strange house with strange people, and we learn that each of the other six secretly have thoughts about their little group.

Far from being the coolest, some feel intimidated and insulted by the so called leader, Martha, and Martha herself worries about what would happen if her group dissolved and no one liked her anymore.

Intriguing, fraught with tension, this is a terrific thriller for middle school girls and reveals how uncool these so called cool groups can be.

[Julie (Bookish.Intoxication) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I Recieved this novel from NetGalley.

This novel was engaging and thoughful. The characters were strong and true to life.
The novel takes us on a journey, one we all remember from our younger schooling days, reminds us of the hardships we went through with our friends when we were young and at school, just with one awful twist.

The novel seems to have no real sense of time, it is, as the title suggests done over the period of one night, however it seems to drag on for much longer than that. Also some of the plot seems rushed or added breifly.
The novel itself is engaging and easy to read, the characters are multi-dimensional and typical to girls of their age, however the ending was un-satisfying, I am finding this with most Adele Griffin novels. They all start fantastically and then the ending appears to be rushed, almost abrupt.

all in all, a great novel, just the ending and imagery were lacking for me.

[Annabella · Rating 2 out of 5]

i would give this book a two or maybe a three out of five stars. i read it for the women history month assignment. the person who wrote it tries to make it scary, but it actually isnt that scary and a little boring and bad.
"overnight" is about a popular group called the lucky seven. they all have a sleepover, when gray, one of the most picked on people in the group, goes missing. she gets taken/kidnapped by a woman named katrina, and gray goes with her because she thinks katrina will take her back and get her sleeping bag that she left at home. when i read the description for this book i thought it was going to be good, but i think the author could have turned it into a much better and more interesting story.

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this in one sitting, and at first I could not get into it. But as it went on, I found myself wanting to know what happened next. Without giving the storyline away, here is how I viewed the girls:

Caitlin: snob
Martha: liar, snob
Gray: dumb, too-trusting, insensitive
Leticia: got into the group and then realized it wasn't fun anymore...duh
Zoe: super competitive, lying snob
Kristy: puppet, snob
Serena: might be the one girl who had great parents, otherwise no opinion on her.


I would have given this book 5 stars, but it was an abrupt ending and too many question left unanswered. I actually wondered if it was part of a series, but no, so I gather we were supposed to guess what happened next, but I felt cheated.

[Jessie Aljets · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the third book i read and its called overnight by adele griffin.It is a mystery. Well its about a girl named gray and she gets kidnapped/taken by this lady. I recommand this book to kids. i dont think this is a very good book its confusing it doesnt really have a point to it in my opinion. I think the author tried to make it scary. It was but then when it got to the end it was just kind of lame. Its not a book i would recommand to teenagers and adults. I think if the ending was different it would have been a better book

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Caitlin's sleepover was supposed to be perfect, just like all the Lucky Seven's events. The most popular girls in school are going to have a great time, right? Wrong. Gray's mother has been ill, and she is on the fringes of the Lucky Seven. She leaves with a strange woman and can't escape. Martha saw the woman, but it's her secret to maintaining power. Will Gray escape and the Lucky Seven survive?

[Melanie T · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely recommend this book to others and especially girls from 8 to 14 years old. I suggest this age range because the main characters in the book are eleven years old. While I was reading it, I felt like a book addict. Before reading this book, I have never read a book from start to finish in one day. It was almost like the book hypnotized me to continue reading until I read every last word. Adele Griffin is a talented author who knows how to keep the reader engaged.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can't tell if I'm satisfied or dissatisfied with that ending.

I understand this book is for elementary school kids but there were some serious grammar issues that would make it hard for them to understand. Which might have been the case since I got this book from the withdrawn bin at the local library.

[Suzy-Q · Rating 4 out of 5]

A group of girls from school get together for what is supposed to be a fun-filled night, but when one disappears, friendships and family begin to collapse. An alarmingly realistic and almost frightening story about the truth about young friendships.

[Mary Adamowski]

good for booktalking to grades 6 and up

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

it was pretty good.

[Lisa · Rating 1 out of 5]

horrible.

[Maureen]

Exciting story for tweens to read.