Midnight

by Jacqueline Wilson

A wonderful tale of family and fairies from the phenomenally successful Jacqueline Wilson.Violet has always been in the shadow of her mesmerizing, controlling brother Will -- by turns delightful and terrifying. Now that Will has learned a shocking secret about his own past, things seem to be getting worse. Violet retreats further into her fantasy world built around the fairy characters created by her favourite author, Casper Dream. The arrival of Jasmine, a new girl at school who immediately befriends Violet, seems like it might change Violet’s life for the better and allow her to break free of Will’s spell. But is Jasmine a true friend?This is a magical and atmospheric novel, with fascinating insight into the world of a writer.

Genres: Childrens, Fiction, Young Adult, Middle Grade, Contemporary, Fantasy, Teen

229 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Jacqueline Wilson was born in Bath in 1945, but spent most of her childhood in Kingston-on-Thames. She always wanted to be a writer and wrote her first ‘novel’ when she was nine, filling in countless Woolworths’ exercise books as she grew up. As a teenager she started work for a magazine publishing company and then went on to work as a journalist on Jackie magazine (which she was told was named after her!) before turning to writing novels full-time.

One of Jacqueline’s most successful and enduring creations has been the famous Tracy Beaker, who first appeared in 1991 in The Story of Tracy Beaker. This was also the first of her books to be illustrated by Nick Sharratt. Since then Jacqueline has been on countless awards shortlists and has gone on to win many awards. The Illustrated Mum won the Guardian Children’s Fiction Award, the 1999 Children’s Book of the Year at the British Book Awards and was also shortlisted for the 1999 Whitbread Children’s Book Award.

Double Act won the prestigious Smarties Medal and the Children’s Book Award as well as being highly commended for the Carnegie Medal. The Story of Tracy Beaker won the 2002 Blue Peter People’s Choice Award.

Jacqueline is one of the nation’s favourite authors, and her books are loved and cherished by young readers not only in the UK but all over the world. She has sold millions of books and in the UK alone the total now stands at over 35 million!

In 2002 Jacqueline was awarded the OBE for services to literacy in schools and from 2005 to 2007 she was the Children’s Laureate. In 2008 she became Dame Jacqueline Wilson.

Reviews

[Kerri · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always loved this one. Nick Sharratt's fairy drawings are lovely. If only Casper Dream was real -- I'd love to read his books!🌙

[RamS · Rating 2 out of 5]

What the actual hell did i just read? Like how is this even a childrens book?

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I heard a clock chime far away. It was striking midnight. I looked out into the night and made my wish. Violet has got plenty to wish for. She wishes that she and her brother, Will could still be close, like they had been, before he had discovered he was adopted and she was not. She wishes she could hide the terrible secret she has found out about him. She wishes she had a real friend to confide in. But most of all she wishes she could meet her favourite author, Casper Dream. Violet can’t help thinking that someone who has created such a beautiful fairyland, would easily be able to conjure up a solution to all her problems. Violet’s hope lies in Casper Dream. I think she secretly believes that he can fix everything. I also think that this is why she thinks he can fix everything, because she thinks fixing her problems is about as likely as meeting an extremely famous, reclusive author.

I decided to read this book because of it's title, Midnight,(It all seemed rather exciting and mysterious), the author, Jacqueline Wilson and its fantastic blurb.

The category midnight falls into is a book with a female main character.

There were only a few characters in 'Midnight' and I think it would be highly unfair to choose one as they are so complex. Wilson has created characters that can only be described with one word, perfect. They each have their own intricate past, stories and lives, though we see the world through the eyes of our main character, Violet. Jacqueline Wilson gives us a slight taste of each, a delicious whiff that keeps readers attentive and held captive throughout the whole ride. However since I must choose one, I pick Will, Violet's adopted older brother. His world is overturned when 'his' grandmother lets slip he is adopted. He changes drastically, maybe not in the best way. However he carries on living to the best of his ability despite the obvious rejection he is showed by his adoptive father and realisation that the only people in the world he loved had lied to him. Will has such a Strong, wild spirit, cheeky attitude and way of seeing the world. Wilson describes his brilliant snapping green eyes in such a way that the reader really has no choice except to fall in love with him.

My favourite quote from 'Midnight' is "Mum tried to play teddies with me, a trite game of "'this is Big Growl and this is Little Growl"'. They stayed shabby toys, their glass eyes glazed, their mouths stitched. But the moment Will was back they would lift their snouts in the air and growl welcome. It was obvious. Will was magic." This shows just how much her brother means to her, despite the person he has become, despite his constant torments and despite the fact he is not even her real brother. It also shows how magical she finds him. The way she has adored him from the time she was a baby and how important he is to her.

Midnight is one of my favourite books. It contains so much pain and beauty. It takes everything we can relate to, hardships of fitting in, family problems and adds magic to every moment.

[Summer · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is my very first book review (surprisingly - as I'm such a keen reader). I was a huge fan of Jacqueline Wilson as a child. I am now 24, and with having a 10 year old sister, I often find myself re-reading her books. I have fallen in love with the work of Jacqueline Wilson all over again, however when I came to read 'Midnight' as a 24 year old, I was totally freaked out!
I started reading this book in bed, looking forward to unwinding and tiring out my eyes for a good nights kip, however, within pages I was rigid, on edge and terrified for the safety of main character, Violet. I could not stop reading. Literally. I had to keep going just to make sure that Jacqueline Wilson hadn't experienced some kind of mix up with her publishers. As somebody else has noted in a review here (which I was glad to see, knowing that I don't feel alone in this), at one point I was sure that Violets brother Will was going to sexually assult her. I'm usually pretty good at guessing endings, and all that was coming to me is 'she's going to be brutally murdered by her own brother, WHY CANT HER FAMILY SEE THIS?! WHY ISN'T HER BROTHER SEEKING PROFESSIONAL HELP?!' More importantly 'Why is she writing this for children?!'
To be honest, if it was intended for adults and panned out the disturbing way that I imagined, it would probably be a pretty decent book (I'd read it). But with it being intended for kids, I just didn't really get it. As an adult, it was frightening to read, and that's what kept me hooked, but for kids, it's not one of Jacqueline's best unfortunately.
My 10 year old sister read it and described it as 'alright'.
Which I could have quoted for this review rather than the essay I have typed!

[Mario · Rating 2 out of 5]

The weirdest book I've ever read.

RTC

[Marina Schulz · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't know why, but out of all of the Jacqueline Wilson books this one is the one I remember the experience of reading being the most vivid. I just remember feeling... Spooked. Eeirie is how I'd described it. Which is odd, because the author has much more intense books that I read around the same time.

I rated this two stars, but maybe I should give it five, I just remember feeling this book so much, even if I don't remember it too well. It is the story of two siblings, who, as the eldest grows up, begin to feel more distance between them. Secrets unfold.

[Iain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Given to me by my daughter (9) after she had read it. Aimed at early teens, this deals with some big life topics in a gentle and simple form and is very well written. The plot is basic, but nice to read a book aimed at teens that isn't fantasy, magic, wizards, werewolf based. Just family and friend life in all it's complexities, at a level that younger readers will understand.

[Oumiie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book. I loved reading it. I loved the words and the way it was written. I could read it over and over again and I would never get bored of it. In it there's a girl called Violet, who has hardly any friends, apart from two girls. They are only her friends because they fancy her older brother called Will. Then a new girl called Jasmine comes to school. They become best friends and have great times together until Jasmine comes over one day and they play Truth or Dare with Will. Jasmine and Will dare Violet to go and sit in the loft for ten minutes. When the timer goes off, she comes down and finds her best friend and her brother kissing in his room.
Terribly upset, she runs away to find someone to help her and make her wishes come true.

NICE BOOK

[Mairéad · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a very weird read... creepy and ominous throughout it felt like a YA not a children's book to me. The relationship between Violet and her brothers is bizarre and abusive, her parents marriage is problematic, and yet the story ends with a 'happily ever after vibe?! I'm seriously confused and definitely will not be recommending this to any of the (under 13) kids I teach! As an adult I enjoyed how effective the ominous atmosphere was, likes the illustrations and thought the changeling idea was really interesting & well handled but I feel I have to rate it as a kids book 🤷‍♀️

[Artemis Crescent · Rating 3 out of 5]

2021 EDIT: Less an atmospheric and dark yet sweet fantasy, and more of a disturbing reality now.

'Midnight''s spell over me has been broken, and I am disappointed.

Violet's brother Will is a psychopath and a serial killer in the making. Even when they were little kids he didn't merely tease her and be nasty, he possibly tried to murder her - he gave her multiple Chinese burns, took her to the very edge of a top stair when he blindfolded her, and he tried to suffocate her in her bed with a teddy! This is not normal behaviour!

Will is an evil, selfish, unstable, demented little shit. I don't know why Violet never stands up to him, why she sticks up for him, why she wants to remain close to him, and why she's so obsessed with him after everything he puts her through. He bullies her, abuses her, and tortures her. He continuously forces her through traumatising situations, frightening her and taking advantage of her PTSD (his fault and he knows it!), just because he feels like it, and is never sorry in the least (he never actually says sorry to her once in the entire book). It's sickening to read about.

But throughout young Violet's story, Will remains her number one person, when he torments her for fun. Even if he is her big brother, it's still suspect.

The parents aren't much better people. Their marriage is clearly falling apart, and Violet does compare her mother being a spineless doormat to her authoritative father to her own toxic relationship with her brother, but the parents remain together at the end. Just like Violet carries on worshipping Will like an abused puppy.

Making things worse is that the female friendship between Violet and Jasmine - which takes up most of the book and is developed beautifully, with definite queer vibes - is sidelined and dropped unceremoniously at the end in favour of the sibling abuse dynamic, where apparently everything is fine and sorted, in a rush. What bollocks.

I hate how pathetic Violet is. But I don't want to hate her because it'd feel like I was blaming the victim, and I admire her creative streak and love of fantasy and fairy tales. She deserves better. She deserves a happy and healthy Sapphic relationship when she's older.

The fairy tale book elements and fantasy illustrations in 'Midnight' are very nice. And there is a slight fluttering of queer details throughout; not just with Violet's interpretative feelings towards her new friend Jasmine, but she also mentions that boys as well as girls are in love with Will, and that campy men play in the pantomimes she's been to, and then there's Jasmine's dad's versatile theatre and TV acting career. I appreciate the message that boys and men can do and like whatever they please. Masculinity and femininity, and gender, are societal constructs, after all.

It's a shame about Violet and Will's toxic relationship, and the dangerous message in that that could influence young readers and give them the wrong idea of how happy families should be like.

Abuse can happen anywhere. Anyone can be an abuser, and it doesn't matter how you're related to them or how dependent you may be on them, you don't owe them anything.

There goes my final Jacqueline Wilson read and review. It's been a mixed bag overall. Oh well, I like at least ten of her books, and I'll be keeping them on my shelf.

Final Score: 3/5

P.S. Continuity error: Near the end of the book Violet accidently cuts Will right across the face, bad enough to bleed. This is never mentioned again afterwards. Their parents don't even notice it.

P.P.S. WTF error: Another great message to send children: it's okay to hop in a taxi when the driver insists, free of charge, especially in a dodgy, rundown area. You can totally trust him. *sigh*





Original Review:



I'm on a nostalgic high.

Yeah, I read Jacqueline Wilson books in my childhood. I'm English, and they were my primary reading material outside of 'Harry Potter' and other fantasy books. They were my first experience reading slice-of-life or contemporary YA material. I didn't like all of them, and I did eventually outgrow them; I'd realized even back then that a lot of Wilson's books are rather samey. Most glaringly, they often star the worst adults ever to appear in children's entertainment. I mean, it's good to show that adults are not perfect or saints, but jeez even Homer Simpson is a better parent than these childish, borderline-abusive and unstable train wrecks. Why is the mum always off with a new boyfriend or husband, practically abandoning her young daughter?

But recently, I've come to remember and appreciate some of these strangely charming and cute books. They were not always realistic, or morally sound, but they were a part of my life growing up in the world, after all.

This month I've decided that I'll review the Jacqueline Wilson books that I liked the most as a child. And as a further test to see if they've held up, I'll be reading a few of her more recent books as an adult. Her children's books tend to look cute, even today, thanks to Nick Sharratt's illustrations, and are almost always female-led, told from a girl's perspective of family, friends, school, and adults in general.

So to start, here is a favourite of mine from when I was a creative, shy and lonely girl fantasy bookworm with an older brother. 'Midnight' stars a creative, shy and lonely girl fantasy bookworm with an older brother. However my brother is not adopted. Or psychotic.

Even the title enchanted me. Plus the cover with the purple and the crescent moon. I've always loved the mixture of gothic, darkness, creepiness and pretty things, like fairies. Dark fairies.

Violet is a fan of Casper Dream (yeah, totally not a pseudonym)'s fairy books, which she is embarrassed by because she thinks she is too old for them (she's thirteen). She lives in the shadow of her disturbed brother, Will, who likes to play twisted games with her. She sees him as "magical". In a way, he is. Will is like Puck, or any other mischievous Shakespearean character. He's a mystery even to himself. As a kid I was convinced that he would grow up to be a serial killer. Not much has changed now.

Introverted Violet has no friends, until the colourful manic pixie dream girl Jasmine attends her school. It is fascination and possible sexual awakening at first sight (nothing comes of it, then again this was published as children's lit in the early 2000s), and the two become instant friends.

Fantasy and complex reality intertwine like a dewy, silky spiderweb in a mist, and not in a way that Violet expects or likes.

'Midnight' has secrets and lies, dreams and nightmares, smoke and mirrors, and general eeriness. I adored it. It was quite different from other Jacqueline Wilson books I'd read. It is for a slightly older audience than the other books. It highlights creativity and artistry. And it features meeting your hero by chance and coming back disillusioned yet wiser. Typical contrivance.

The parents are together in this, and Violet's family, despite certain issues (but what family isn't complicated?), is loving and supportive, especially her mum.

Dark and soft and comforting, cloudy and dreamy and twinkly, 'Midnight' is an opal. An obsidian lite YA. An almost gorgeous read.

Final Score: 4/5

[Sujata · Rating 3 out of 5]

The protagonist of Midnight is Violet a naive 13 year old. The book was published in 2003 and that’s got something to do with it, I think. It was the time when cellphones weren’t ubiquitous yet and people still wrote letters to authors instead of stalking them or talking about/to them online. Violet adores reclusive author Casper Dream, the author of the beautifully illustrated fairy books. She loves the fictitious universe created by him. She draws inspiration from it and sews fairy dolls. As you can see she isn’t your boisterous teen but quiet and artistic. Midnight offers interesting insights into the mind of a writer and on creating imaginary worlds which appealed to me greatly.

Violet has two ‘friends’ but she can’t identify with them. Whereas her brother Will is good looking and the entire school thinks he is cool. She looks up to him and adores him in spite of his snide comments and rudeness. Violet and Will are only a few years apart. It is apparent he cares for Violet but he never let’s a chance to take the Mickey out of her go.

Their father doesn’t like Will’s choices, and he in turn is constantly at loggerheads with him. We see Will after he knows a distrubing secret so there could be something to Will’s recklessness. Will is an intriguing character but I was always wary of him. Their mother is a docile woman and allows her husband to run roughshod over her. He has a bit of a drinking problem and issues with anger management. The wife is verbally abused in front of the children. In short a MCP.

Violet’s life changes when the new girl in the school, Jasmine, who cares two hoots about fitting in, takes a shine to her. Violet is an oddball whereas Jasmine is a popular kid. Is Jasmine truly her friend or something else is going on?

As I read I felt uneasy about certain things and I can hazard a guess as to how my teenage self would have reacted. The writing is good and the author is magnificent at building an atmosphere. Though at the heart of the story is Violet, a girl obsessed with fairies and fairy stories and the author who writes them, it’s not for younger readers. People expecting fantasy would be disappointed.

I like the quirky illustrations by Nick Sharratt which match the dark tone of Midnight.

I read the following paragraph and did a double take.

You’d look at a picture of an ugly old witch and a group of screaming children and first you’d think she was working evil magic and threatening them so they were yelling in terror. But then you’d look again and wonder if the witch was simply a sad old woman cowering away from taunting children intent on playing tricks on her. A painting of a beautiful nymph cradling a little rabbit could also be a hungry girl with her fingers clasped tightly round the rabbit’s neck, ready to strangle it for a stew. A picture of a desperate princess in the clutches of an immensely scaly serpent seemed easy enough to understand, but perhaps she was entwining the serpent willingly, her head thrown back in rapture.

Jacqueline Wilson tackles tough themes but I can’t help thinking children aren’t the intended audience for Midnight and it could be too kiddish for young adults. Depends on the maturity of the reader.

Please don’t give away the plot of the book at the beginning in the introduction or author’s note. Thanks!

The ending of Midnight felt rushed and we weren’t left with delicious ambiguity but it’s still far from being fairytalish. I honestly wouldn’t mind (I would love it!) if the author decides to write a sequel.

For a more detailed review visit my blog https://eternaloxymoron.wordpress.com...

[Lör K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Original Rating: 5 / 5
Reread Rating: 4 / 5

I remember reading this when I was much, much younger and I adored it so much. Reading it back now, I’m a little surprised this is classed as a children’s book. It seems much more like a young adult (more to the younger age range of “young adult”) book. This could be quite upsetting for a lot of younger readers, and honestly, I’m a little shocked that I adored this so much as such a tender age.

That being said, I still love this. This deals a lot with adoption, although I feel like there was no wrap up on it, and it could easily be extended into a second book, or maybe a series, focusing more on Will. It deals with not fitting in and find solace in books. It deals with a relationship issue, very possible abuse, definite verbal abuse towards wife and kids, in my personal opinion.

Wilson did really well on this. Reading it again though, I don’t feel like I connected as much as I used to. I still love Violet, I still remember connecting to her so much, she made me feel so much better about being such a book lover – reading books was my escape from the world, and connecting to Violet made that so much more enjoyable. I just feel like she could have done more. There were a few loose ends not wrapped up, which are gonna bug me for a little while. I feel a second instalment in the Midnight bookverse would help a lot with that.

I need to know more about Will, I need to know his thoughts, what he thinks on everything we discover at the end, I need more on him, the poor baby. I need to hug him.

This being said, I still really did enjoy this. It was a little bit of a shock reading it back though, especially with the truth behind Will (no spoilers, but if you have read it, if I say the attic, you’ll get what I mean). It was much darker than what I remember it being, and I was taken aback twice. I still thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, however, and fell in love with it all over again. The star being knocked off is due to the loose ends that are still bugging me hours after finishing it and whilst I read other books.

Other than the loose ends, this is a beautiful story, and definitely deserves recognition. More people should read this, in my opinion, especially with the things covered in it.

[Katrina · Rating 2 out of 5]

read this book years ago when i was like 10 and THIS BOOK IS WEIRD.

hey, it's always fun to rant about books you just DON'T GET

(SPOILERS)

basically:
violet is 13 and quite immature and a but weedy. sorry she annoyed me quite a lot
violet loves fairies and has sewed many fairy masterpieces, inspired by her hero, author Caspar Dream.
violet has a slight obsession with her big brother will (who turns out not to be her brother but it's still weird)
big brother will is not always very nice to violet but she still worships him (practically)
violet becomes a bit obsessed with her new BFF Jasmine because she's PRETTY and COOL etc etc
Jasmine and will get off, leaving violet feeling v upset
so - what does any normal person do in this situation? - GO TRACK DOWN YOUR FAVOURITE AUTHOR
and yep
(I have no idea why I just reviewed this)

[abi · Rating 1 out of 5]

guys what the hell

[Enny Larok · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sinceramente no me esperaba esto, a medida que he ido leyendo he flipado más xDD

Llevo arrastrando el querer leer este libro desde que estaba en secundaria (al final nunca me decidí a comprarlo y el otro día lo vi en la biblioteca y tuve que llevármelo). Y no se que pensaba que iba a leer, pero esto no.
Me ha gustado mucho, pero debería haber sido más largo. Siento que hay algunas cosillas por cerrar todavía (y me jode no saber como avanzarán).

Sobre los personajes, odio el comportamiento bipolar y sádico que tiene Will, y me da igual las escusas que el libro le quiera dar para justificar ese comportamiento de mierda que tiene. También es verdad que sus momentos "tiernos" me gustan, pero el no saber por donde me iba a salir el puto mocoso me ha puesto de los nervios solo de pensar que mierdas estaría planeando.
Al padre le odio por cosas parecidas, de Will puedo esperarme la mierda porque tiene 15 años y esta en una edad en que todo es asqueroso, pero ese padre se merece una colleja con una mesa, y lo digo más por su comportamiento con su esposa que por otra cosa.
La madre me da lastima.
Violeta en general me cae bien y siento que es un personaje con el que es fácil sentirse identificado, yo por lo menos lo he sentido así en varias ocasiones. Y tengo ganas de dibujarla.
Jasmine me ha caído muy bien al principio, pero a mi gusto la ha cagado de forma monumental en pocas horas, así que mentalmente haré ver que todo eso no ha pasado y simplemente recordaré y dibujaré las escenas preciosas que ha vivido con Vio.

Debo decir que una de las cosas que más me han "perturbado" al leer el libro ha sido la relación que tienen Vio y Will, y es que no se si soy yo que estoy mal o que, pero bueno... esperaba que el final me aclarara cosas, pero no.

Me gusta la obsesión que tiene Vio con las hadas y con Casper. Es una de las cosas que me ha hecho identificarme con ella y me gusta ver como los fragmentos de los libros y las ilustraciones tienen esas coincidencias (que dan bastante mal rollo) con su realidad.

Si el libro fuera más largo para haber podido ver más evolución de los personajes y un final más cerrado creo que le habría puesto 5 estrellas, pero me han faltado cosas para quedarme contenta.

[Hannah · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is... weird. It is extremely well written in establishing an eerie and uncomfortable atmosphere which had me wide-eyed and eager to read on to make sure everything turned out okay. That being said, the characters (whilst each having deep, individual narratives that are in themselves quite capturing) and their relationships with one another are very poorly established.

An example of this is Violet's father, who is referred to most of the time as a borderline abusive pig who is horrible to most of his family. However, there are numerous occasions of him being extremely kind and fatherly towards Violet, who seems to reciprocate this until the storyline decides to go back to remembering he's supposed to be abusive. However, this dwells in importance when compared to the most unsettling dynamic: Violet and Will.

It is indicated at the start of the book that whilst Violet and her adopted brother Will were once very close, he began to pull away and was pretty harsh in doing so. However this is completely flipped almost immediately and instead shows an extremely close sibling relationship, in which Will cares deeply about Violet and knows her inside and out. This happens multiple times within the book, with several quotes of Violet speaking about how distanced they are now and how happy she is the rare times they are "back to normal" when hanging out together, despite the fact that the entire book is them being close hanging out together.

However, this relationship goes down a rather darker avenue when it is revealed just how abusive Will is to his sister, who can turn from being the sweetest and most caring towards her in an instant to extremely cruel, forcing her to play dark and twisted games (such as leading her, blindfolded, into an abandoned house), creeping into her room at midnight to terrify her, forcing her to drink 10 cups of water and then refusing to allow her to go to the bathroom, etc. It appears as though Jacqueline Wilson was trying to go for a "caring but rivalled" sibling dynamic, but went completely over the top and cast Will as downright sociopathic. It is mentioned at several points that Violet feels completely dominated by Will and always makes resolutions to free herself from him- but it never happens. This relationship had me feeling nauseous at many times within the story, and nearly led to me abandoning the book altogether- which would be an amazing accomplishment if Jaqueline Wilson was writing for a disturbing, YA approach. However, this is a childrens book requiring a happy ending. This creates a pretty disgusting story arc in forgiving the unforgivable and attempting to redeem a character written to be irredeemable, which gives that "happy ending" such an off-putting feeling.

Near the end of the book, Will invites Violet's only true friend Jasmine over despite her protests. Being surrounded by only her argumentative parents, sociopathic brother, school bullies and condescending "friends" who alienate her, Jasmine is extremely important to Violet. She is her only lifeline, and does not want Will scaring her off. Unfortunately, the two instead get along a little too well intead, and begin alienating and ganging up on her within a game of truth and dare.

Here, Jasmine is written very sympathetically. I would say this is the only part of Violet's troubles that is written well, as it is not overexaggerated to the point of sociopathy like Will's antagonism. You can see Jasmine's dilemma between wanting to impress and have alone time with her crush but feeling bad for mistreating her friend, and tries to rationalise the behaviour in her head and play somewhere in the middle. Will, however, is still abusive, and "dares" (forces) her into the attic for ten minutes as forfeit for not saying a truth. This goes through a pretty rough number of pages, where she is pleading with all her heart to not go up there, but neither relent.

Unshockingly, after she's served her time, she goes back to find the two making out, and there is a very painful scene of them both making fun of Violet's fairy obsession and laughing at her expense. Whilst it could be argued Jasmine is uncomfortably going along with it just so she can keep hooking up with Will, I personally found this to cross a line into downright bullying and Violet has a very understandable breakdown, leading her to running away for a few hours.

Whilst it was obvious this mess was going to be badly redeemed, the entire "making up" scene was handled TERRIBLY. Will seemed genuinely remorseful, however the apology was only a paragraph long and Violet entirely forgave him, no hard feelings with just a hug. After... everything. Just a hug. I feel as though if this had to be redeemed, there could have at least been a few days of grovelling, parents finding out and punishing Will, Jasmine showing up to the house and begging for forgiveness. But no. A hug and a phonecall with about seven lines of dialogue, and it was all swept under the rug to make way for Will's guilt-trip story that was- whilst kinda interesting- not even slightly effective in either justifying his crimes nor making the reader feel bad for him. Seriously, adoption isnt that bad, and definitely isnt a reason to traumatise your sister.

Overall, Midnight is an extremely captivating, and very disturbing book with interesting characters and a terrible misplacement from a YA novel to the kids section. There are highs and lows in the writing quality, but the lows are below the floor. If Will's antagonism had been calmed down, this would have been one of Jacquelines best works. But as it wasn't, it remains just this. An abuse-sympathiser story.


And yes, I did take this children's book about a girl who likes fairies way too seriously. Whaddaya gonna do about it? Force feed me water so I piss myself? Your name isn't Will, dammit.

[Fariha · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about a lonely girl called Violet who loves to spend time with her brother Will. Will cares about her but he tends to scare her with some of the games they play, for instance, telling Violet to go up in the dark loft even though Violet's afraid that there may be bats. Violet especially loves to read books by her favourite author Casper Dream who she hopes to meet one day. Will seems to humour Violet when it comes to Casper Dream but generally confuses Violet with his behaviour since he found out about a family secret regarding himself.

Meanwhile, Violet befriends the new cool girl at school who she enjoys hanging out with, to Violet life seems better with her new friend Jasmine around until Violet feels she has been used and betrayed by her in the middle of a game with her and Will. Violet, appalled, uses this as an opportunity to escape and go search for her favourite author Casper Dream.

This book is about the ups and downs Violet faces and how she doesn't quite enjoy her life unless Will or Jasmine are a part of it. The downside of this book is that Violet's character doesn't seem to be able to do things independently in life and it appears she's bullied in school most of the time making you feel a little sorry for her even when she holds her own, to me personally the book doesn't develop Violet's life much apart from her gaining a new friend but I guess that may be the point.

This book could be read independently though it could also be read to a class. It could be used as part of childrens creative writing to help them come up with ideas or new plots that would help a character like Violet to have a better life; it gives them a chance to be more imaginative. This book would be suited to children between the ages of 9-14 years or even to older readers depending on their area of interest.

[Allison Floyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful, wonderful book, absolutely enchanting, and a must-read for anyone who's ever been weird, lonely, and/or fascinated by the beautiful butterflies pinned to the corkboard of life. The GoodReads synopsis makes it sound boring and doesn't do it justice. The moralism-free candor is refreshing (i.e. at one point characters, aged 13-15, share a bottle of wine and The World Does Not End), as is the fact that while the book takes an optimistic tack, it doesn't necessarily promise that Everything Will Be Just Fine, Always. Violet, the protagonist, is a bit of a ninny, but she comes into her own, if you give her time.

This book manages to be a delightful, magical escape while being so, so true at the same time.

As a belated preteen, I really appreciate that.

[Emily B · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my favourite JW so far. I found it difficult to get into the story and was mostly disturbed by Will. I couldn't work out whether there was something more sinister being implied in his strange behaviour towards Violet or whether it was just typical big brother stuff. Violet is the most reflective of JW's characters though; the way she observes her mother's relationship to her father and compares it to her own relationship with her brother is very sad and very astute. The plotline with Caspar Dream was lovely though and I feel this story could have been expanded on more, rather than focusing on Violet and Will's relationship (and Jasmine too).

[Sophie Crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was mainly sad. Violet is the main character and she is a little lovely character. I feel so bad for her but you will have to read the book to find out why. Jacqueline made this book so good I really like it because this is the first book from Jacqueline. It really is a good book.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember reading this book when I was a teen - I LOVED it back then. I dreamt of Casper Dream's books and fairies, I wanted to be a part of that magical world (hugely because I did feel like Violet in many ways, minus the brother). Now, spending many weeks in bed I decided to re-read some of Jacqueline's books and Midnight is the one I thought of as first. And I have to say that I was not disappointed.

The first thing I have to say, though - this is not a children's book! At least in my opinion Midnight should be marked as a young-adult one, as it is rather dark, eerie and even spooky at times (or all the time in between the lines).

[Dinnu Reads Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, I could not unsee the weird tension between Violet and Will....It should not be like that :D
Wilson tends to write children's books about difficult subjects, she could have some seriously deep YA books :)

[ThatBookGal · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was….weird. I didn’t really understand the point of it at all. It felt like more was implied under the surface, but those implied issues definitely wouldn’t belong in a book for younger readers.

[EmmieLouDraws · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rereading a childhood favourite

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

✨️ 3.5 🌟

I am in my childhood faves reading
✨️ ERA ✨️

As an adult, this was class! definitely one of Jaqueline's tamer books. I enjoyed where the story went.

I loved that Violet was a bit of a loner & struggled to find people to connect with. As a child and even now, as an adult. This is so relatable, which makes the book much more enjoyable, for me.

I do want to address some of the absolutely horrific reviews I have seen on this platform about the book.

Amazon has rated this book from ages 9 - 13, I do agree with that rating and people out there insinuating that Will, (Violet's brother) gave SA vibes are sick & need therapy.

Your unreliable and unhinged reviews not only affect the author, but the children who ask for these books as gifts.

[PridefulNess · Rating 5 out of 5]

As per usual, All of jacqueline books gives me a sense of life. I am always in awe in just how she manages to breath into all these characters with all their own set of complicated personalities.

This was definitely another favorite book on my list and i wish i could just buy and collect all her books on my shelf.

The small little story about casper dream gave it a nice little knot on one end that really lifted this book's rating even higher. Just lovely lovely lovely

[matilda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easiest 5 stars I’ve ever given

[Katie Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

So dreamy and twisty and raw. I love it.

[lucinda]

the insatiable desire to reread all my favourite childhood books has risen within me again

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

comfort read - easily my favourite jw book