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What We Saw at Night #1
What we see at night
Like the yearning, doomed young clones in Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go, three teenagers with XP (a life-threatening allergy to sunlight) are a species unto themselves. As seen through the eyes of 16-year-old Allie Kim, they roam the silent streets, looking for adventure, while others sleep. When Allie's best friend introduces the trio to Parkour, the stunt-sport of running and climbing off forest cliffs and tall buildings (risky in daylight and potentially deadly by darkness), they feel truly alive, equal to the "daytimers."
On a random summer night, while scaling a building like any other, the three happen to peer into an empty apartment and glimpse an older man with what looks like a dead girl. A game of cat-and-mouse ensues that escalates through the underground world of hospital confinement, off-the-grid sports, and forbidden love. Allie, who can never see the light of day, discovers she's the lone key to stopping a human monster.
On a random summer night, while scaling a building like any other, the three happen to peer into an empty apartment and glimpse an older man with what looks like a dead girl. A game of cat-and-mouse ensues that escalates through the underground world of hospital confinement, off-the-grid sports, and forbidden love. Allie, who can never see the light of day, discovers she's the lone key to stopping a human monster.
Hardcover
First published January 8, 2013
61 people are currently reading
1814 people want to read
About the author
Jacquelyn Mitchard
81 books1,241 followersJacquelyn Mitchard’s first novel, The Deep End of the Ocean, was named by USA Today as one of the ten most influential books of the past 25 years – second only to the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling (but second by a long shot, it must be said.)
The Deep End of the Ocean was chosen as the first novel in the book club made famous by the TV host Oprah Winfrey, and transformed into a feature film produced by and starring Michelle Pfeiffer.
Most of Mitchard’s novels have been greater or lesser bestsellers – and include The Most Wanted, A Theory of Relativity, Twelve Times Blessed, The Breakdown Lane, The Good Son, and Cage of Stars. Critics have praised them for their authentic humanity and command of story. Readers identify because they see reflected, in her characters – however extreme their circumstances – emotions they already understand.
Mitchard also has written four novels for young adults.
The first, Now You See Her, from HarperTeen, is the story of a pampered, driven young actress who fakes her own abduction.
All We Know of Heaven told the story of lifetime best friends Bridget and Maureen, who are just sixteen when a fatal crash on an icy road and a poignant case of mistaken identity divide their small Minnesota town forever.
The Midnight Twins was the first in a trilogy of teen mysteries about identical twin sisters born on New Year’s Eve – one a minute before and a minute after midnight – Meredith and Mallory Brynn learn on the night they turn thirteen that their psychic abilities will force them to intervene in dire events, although one twin can see only the future and one can see only the past. The Midnight Twins is in development as a TV series by Kaleidoscope Entertainment.
Mitchard's newest novel for adult, A Very Inconvenient Scandal, out in November 2023 from Mira/HarperCollins, is the story of an acclaimed young underwater photographer whose famed marine biologist father shatters their family by marrying her best friend., a woman 35 years his junior.
At the local coffee shop, Mitchard is best-known as the mother of Rob, Dan, Marty, Francie, Mia, Will and Atticus , as the grandma of Hank and Diana and the wife of handsome Chris Brent.
Her favorite color is periwinkle blue; her favorite holiday is Halloween; her favorite flower is freesia; her favorite word is "smite," and her second favorite is "Massachusetts"; her lucky number is 119 (anyone who can guess where that comes from wins free first editions of her novels for life). She lives in her favorite place on earth, Cape Cod, summering in a villa on the Amalfi Coast. (Guess which part of that sentence is fiction.)
Her essays have appeared in publications including the New York Times, Chicago Tribune Magazine and Reader's Digest, and are widely anthologized and used in school curricula. She has taught in MFA programs in Vermont, Ohio, and Massachusetts, and is part of the faculty at the Summer Writers Institute at Yale University. She is a member of the Tall Poppies Writers and has been a fellow at the MacDowell Colony, Yaddo, and the Ragdale Foundation.
Her pet peeves are known authors and editors who cannot and will not learn the difference between “lie” and “lay” and family signs pluralized with apostrophes.
She would love to appear on just ONE episode of any incarnation of ‘Law and Order,’ as has everyone else in America. She still is willing to play the role of a murder victim – except one found by earth-moving equipment in a landfill – though she would do that in a pinch.
Mitchard would like to have a swimming pool, because, although she lives near the ocean, she is afraid of the dark water and hates sand. She would love to have a clawfoot tub, or any tub.
She believes that stories are the ways that human beings make sense of life and that our stories will save us.
The Deep End of the Ocean was chosen as the first novel in the book club made famous by the TV host Oprah Winfrey, and transformed into a feature film produced by and starring Michelle Pfeiffer.
Most of Mitchard’s novels have been greater or lesser bestsellers – and include The Most Wanted, A Theory of Relativity, Twelve Times Blessed, The Breakdown Lane, The Good Son, and Cage of Stars. Critics have praised them for their authentic humanity and command of story. Readers identify because they see reflected, in her characters – however extreme their circumstances – emotions they already understand.
Mitchard also has written four novels for young adults.
The first, Now You See Her, from HarperTeen, is the story of a pampered, driven young actress who fakes her own abduction.
All We Know of Heaven told the story of lifetime best friends Bridget and Maureen, who are just sixteen when a fatal crash on an icy road and a poignant case of mistaken identity divide their small Minnesota town forever.
The Midnight Twins was the first in a trilogy of teen mysteries about identical twin sisters born on New Year’s Eve – one a minute before and a minute after midnight – Meredith and Mallory Brynn learn on the night they turn thirteen that their psychic abilities will force them to intervene in dire events, although one twin can see only the future and one can see only the past. The Midnight Twins is in development as a TV series by Kaleidoscope Entertainment.
Mitchard's newest novel for adult, A Very Inconvenient Scandal, out in November 2023 from Mira/HarperCollins, is the story of an acclaimed young underwater photographer whose famed marine biologist father shatters their family by marrying her best friend., a woman 35 years his junior.
At the local coffee shop, Mitchard is best-known as the mother of Rob, Dan, Marty, Francie, Mia, Will and Atticus , as the grandma of Hank and Diana and the wife of handsome Chris Brent.
Her favorite color is periwinkle blue; her favorite holiday is Halloween; her favorite flower is freesia; her favorite word is "smite," and her second favorite is "Massachusetts"; her lucky number is 119 (anyone who can guess where that comes from wins free first editions of her novels for life). She lives in her favorite place on earth, Cape Cod, summering in a villa on the Amalfi Coast. (Guess which part of that sentence is fiction.)
Her essays have appeared in publications including the New York Times, Chicago Tribune Magazine and Reader's Digest, and are widely anthologized and used in school curricula. She has taught in MFA programs in Vermont, Ohio, and Massachusetts, and is part of the faculty at the Summer Writers Institute at Yale University. She is a member of the Tall Poppies Writers and has been a fellow at the MacDowell Colony, Yaddo, and the Ragdale Foundation.
Her pet peeves are known authors and editors who cannot and will not learn the difference between “lie” and “lay” and family signs pluralized with apostrophes.
She would love to appear on just ONE episode of any incarnation of ‘Law and Order,’ as has everyone else in America. She still is willing to play the role of a murder victim – except one found by earth-moving equipment in a landfill – though she would do that in a pinch.
Mitchard would like to have a swimming pool, because, although she lives near the ocean, she is afraid of the dark water and hates sand. She would love to have a clawfoot tub, or any tub.
She believes that stories are the ways that human beings make sense of life and that our stories will save us.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 283 reviews
June 7, 2013
^My reaction after reading the ending of this book^
Three best friends, all with the same deadly disease that renders them unable to go out in the sunlight. They sleep by day and go out at night. Other kids have called them 'vampires' but it's really just a tragic condition.
Allie and her two best friends own the night. They learn Parkour, a sport involving using obstacles to your advantage, and stake out the most exciting places for a thrill.
One night, Allie sees what looks like a murder in a building window.
After that, everything changes. Allie is endlessly curious on what that was she saw while also dealing with her growing feelings for Rob and fading friendship with Juliet. But what Allie doesn't know is the connection to her friend and the man she saw. And how it can change their lives forever.
Wow. That ending begged for a second book, which pisses me off immensely. The author could have easily finished the story with another 80 pages or so. There was no need for a whole second book.
I felt nothing for these characters. Allie and Rob's 'romance' was underdeveloped and rushed. For me, none of the characters had good enough backgrounds. Rob just seemed like a prop, a pointless love interest and third to their shaky trio of friendship.
It had so much potential. Three kids who only go out at night and literally jump over buildings for fun and witness a murder? How cool is that?
It started out so good too. But it soon got boring. The 'murder scene' was lame, the writing was flat and mediocre, and as I said before, the characters were extremely undeveloped. You were given hardly any background to characters like Juliet and Rob, who really needed that.
Such an awesome concept that was horrible executed. Bleh.
June 5, 2013
I'm going to just half-ass this review, because Mitchard seems to have quarter-assed the book, and those are hours I'm not getting back. This is one of the worst books I've ever read. It's a really, really bad book.
Basically, it's...not competently written. The premise is strained, the characters are flat, the plot is baffling, there's no continuous emotional arc, the situations strain credulity, there are infodumps all over, attention is given to all the wrong things, dialogue is unrevealing, loose threads are left hanging. Nothing is interesting. Everything is boring.
Bad. Just bad.
This is a mystery novel that ends without solving the mystery, because JM wants you to buy book two. Seriously, there were teaser pages to the second book in the back of my ARC. It's as if JM has never heard of this "mystery" genre before. It's as if she doesn't understand the most basic rule: the reader is there for the story. In this case, to see the mystery get solved. You can't just stop short and point people toward book two. You can't do that. It's not done.
So bad.
Even the title is bad. I kept forgetting it, because it's a really bad sentence. Or phrase, I guess. It's poorly weighted, and the words are poorly chosen. Apparently book two will be called What We Lost in the Dark. Book three will be What the Hell Am I Reading?
I feel sorry for Mitchard's publishers, who have to smile and grit their teeth and pretend this is a great book and an exciting venture into YA, when in fact it's a gigantic mess that wouldn't make it past the transom if it weren't attached to a marketable author name. Or maybe I don't feel bad, since they'll make money off it? I guess? People seem to like it here on GR. (?)
What a bad book.
I read it, so I'm counting it.
But it's really bad.
Basically, it's...not competently written. The premise is strained, the characters are flat, the plot is baffling, there's no continuous emotional arc, the situations strain credulity, there are infodumps all over, attention is given to all the wrong things, dialogue is unrevealing, loose threads are left hanging. Nothing is interesting. Everything is boring.
Bad. Just bad.
This is a mystery novel that ends without solving the mystery, because JM wants you to buy book two. Seriously, there were teaser pages to the second book in the back of my ARC. It's as if JM has never heard of this "mystery" genre before. It's as if she doesn't understand the most basic rule: the reader is there for the story. In this case, to see the mystery get solved. You can't just stop short and point people toward book two. You can't do that. It's not done.
So bad.
Even the title is bad. I kept forgetting it, because it's a really bad sentence. Or phrase, I guess. It's poorly weighted, and the words are poorly chosen. Apparently book two will be called What We Lost in the Dark. Book three will be What the Hell Am I Reading?
I feel sorry for Mitchard's publishers, who have to smile and grit their teeth and pretend this is a great book and an exciting venture into YA, when in fact it's a gigantic mess that wouldn't make it past the transom if it weren't attached to a marketable author name. Or maybe I don't feel bad, since they'll make money off it? I guess? People seem to like it here on GR. (?)
What a bad book.
I read it, so I'm counting it.
But it's really bad.
January 8, 2013
What would your life be like if you were a teen, with a rare disorder that makes the sun lethal to you, knowing that your lifespan will be shortened significantly?
Three teens share their night time adventures, spitting in the eye of death with their daring! Allie, Rob and Juliet know their lives will never be normal, so when most kids are home asleep, they out living their lives as best they can, while they can in a small town, Iron Harbor. They dream of places they can never go, doing things they can never do like having careers, families, a walk on a sunny beach,normal things we take for granted.
They started competing in their own version of Parkour, a discipline based on strength, speed, skill, self-confidence and safety. They scaled buildings, dove off them, and on one of their nightly outings witnessed a crime they couldn't prove, and were seen by the criminal.
Throughout the story, this haunts Allie and she works to uncover what is going on. Meanwhile, their friendship triangle is strained with Juliet's instability and disappearances, Allie's crush on Rob, Rob's apparent crush on Juliet.
This story had me from the first page with its dark undertones, strong characters and the many subplots woven together beautifully. I can't describe how strongly this book got to me, reading about these brave kids, having to live outside society.
I recommend this to all readers looking for a book with extreme depth and feeling! Five stars are not enough!
This ARC edition was provided by NetGalley and Soho Press in exchange for an honest review. Publication Date: Jan 8 2013
Three teens share their night time adventures, spitting in the eye of death with their daring! Allie, Rob and Juliet know their lives will never be normal, so when most kids are home asleep, they out living their lives as best they can, while they can in a small town, Iron Harbor. They dream of places they can never go, doing things they can never do like having careers, families, a walk on a sunny beach,normal things we take for granted.
They started competing in their own version of Parkour, a discipline based on strength, speed, skill, self-confidence and safety. They scaled buildings, dove off them, and on one of their nightly outings witnessed a crime they couldn't prove, and were seen by the criminal.
Throughout the story, this haunts Allie and she works to uncover what is going on. Meanwhile, their friendship triangle is strained with Juliet's instability and disappearances, Allie's crush on Rob, Rob's apparent crush on Juliet.
This story had me from the first page with its dark undertones, strong characters and the many subplots woven together beautifully. I can't describe how strongly this book got to me, reading about these brave kids, having to live outside society.
I recommend this to all readers looking for a book with extreme depth and feeling! Five stars are not enough!
This ARC edition was provided by NetGalley and Soho Press in exchange for an honest review. Publication Date: Jan 8 2013
November 26, 2012
Occasionally, you pick up a book and get so involved that the rest of your life just gets in the way; this is how I felt while reading, Jaquelyn Mitchard's, What We Saw At Night.
I had no expectations when I started reading, What We Saw At Night, but quickly found myself involved with the three key characters, Allie, Rob, and Juliet. I learned as I read, about Xeroderma Pigmetosum, and Parkour, and for me, learning about new topics is always a plus. Although the reader is never given a complete picture of most of the characters and we often have to wait until after an event to understand the character's motive, we are given most of the information we need. This occasionally made the reading feel choppy. However, for me, What We Saw At Night was missing one crucial element, the need for one "wrap up all the loose ends" chapter. I still have reservations about the final scene, so, maybe I'll get lucky and there will be a sequel.
An enjoyable, fast read, worth your time.
I had no expectations when I started reading, What We Saw At Night, but quickly found myself involved with the three key characters, Allie, Rob, and Juliet. I learned as I read, about Xeroderma Pigmetosum, and Parkour, and for me, learning about new topics is always a plus. Although the reader is never given a complete picture of most of the characters and we often have to wait until after an event to understand the character's motive, we are given most of the information we need. This occasionally made the reading feel choppy. However, for me, What We Saw At Night was missing one crucial element, the need for one "wrap up all the loose ends" chapter. I still have reservations about the final scene, so, maybe I'll get lucky and there will be a sequel.
An enjoyable, fast read, worth your time.
February 13, 2013
Mitchard is a must read author of mine with Cage of Stars and The Deep End of the Ocean at the top of my personal favorites list. This is the first novel aimed at the Young Adult crowd I have read by this author. The plot is clever and original as she describes in first person the life of three teens with a medical condition which makes exposure to sunlight deadly so they spend their nights wandering the town while sleeping through the daylight hours. As a shift worker I can so relate! The kids take up the sport of parkour to kill time and add some excitement to their lives and in the tradition of Hitchcock's Rear Window, witness a murder, they think.
The chapters feel a bit choppy, almost over edited. The usual teen angst and first person navel gazing can be a bit much for anyone over the age of twelve. It has a cliffy ending which means a trilogy will be needed. There is a sense of danger but we do not get very well defined bad guys or a clear grasp of who or why people are dying. I may have reached my YA dystopian limit for 2013 and it's only February.
The chapters feel a bit choppy, almost over edited. The usual teen angst and first person navel gazing can be a bit much for anyone over the age of twelve. It has a cliffy ending which means a trilogy will be needed. There is a sense of danger but we do not get very well defined bad guys or a clear grasp of who or why people are dying. I may have reached my YA dystopian limit for 2013 and it's only February.
June 12, 2013
This book was so, so stupid. It's really a shame, since the premise is a great concept. Three teens have grown up together and all share Xeroderma pigmentosum (XP for short), a rare genetic disorder that prevents them from ever going outside in the daytime. Exposure to sunlight is fatal, and as such the friends own the town at night. They begin to experiment with parkour (or free running), something that you don't see pop up in YA lit too often. During one of their parkour runs, they maybe/kind of happen to witness a murder.
As I said: great premise. It's a sort of Rear Window set-up that has the promise of action and mystery. Unfortunately, the book doesn't live up to this at all. What We Saw at Night is only 245 pages or so. Nothing that happens in the book seems to carry any weight because of how clipped the book is. Literally a week would pass in a sentence. You'd spend a day with a character, and by the next page she's dead. There's a mention of a funeral but again, there's no weight. Why do I care that this character is dead? That's the only purpose she had anyway. Literally this character dies to serve the plot forward, and there's no emotional response achieved by it. And that's just a side character.
The protagonist, Allie, is rather annoying. She likes to think she's mature, but she's not. She lies about her experience as a babysitter and does no research on how to care for a baby. Fantastic. The way she treats her supposed friends is just childish. If they're giving you the cold shoulder, you should call them up and demand answers. Adults solve things by talking things out, not pouting like a little kid. Oh and the romance between Allie and Robb is a joke. The book starts off with Robb supposedly being in love with Juliet, the third friend in the group. There's no indication that Robb has any feelings towards Allie until he impulsively kisses her. The book even acknowledges this.
"Since when do you not want Juliet?"
"Since I kissed you just then." (79)
Really? Great build-up for a romance there. Allie and Robb do have sex, but only a sentence or two is spent thinking about it. Allie brushes away all contraceptive advice because she knows it all since her mom is a nurse. Arrogant much? Anyway, Allie and Robb's "romance" is a case of insta-love. And can we add insta-friendship to the list too? We're told these characters grew up together, but they spend a large amount of time ignoring each other or fighting with each other. Allie even spends time with an old friend, and you know she only does it because Juliet and Robb aren't available.
But the worst offenders in this book are the adults. "Oh our children have a medical problem that can kill them if exposed to the sun. Let's allow them to run around all night with no supervision and just hope they get back before sunlight." Sunrise is different every day you know. What if the kids were running late? They could die. And yes, a scenario like this does happen but there are no consequences. These kids (under 18 btw) trespass on other people's property and get away with is because they have a rare genetic disease. Also, one of their dad's is the sheriff. Oh and Allie and Juliet are pretty much rich. Which means all the expensive medical treatments aren't a problem. The worst adult offenders in this book are Allie's mom and Juliet's dad. First off, Allie calls her mom "Jack-Jack." Why? Who gives their parents nicknames? I thought she was talking about her younger sister at first! Oh and her mom is totally ok with her daughter having sex and even gives her birth control. I appreciate that the mom is sex-positive and making sure that her daughter is healthy. But wouldn't she be a little bit upset about her teenaged daughter having sex? Hell, Robb's dad even renovates his cabin as a kind of love nest for Robb and Allie. Ew. These characters are, what seventeen? And they act so irresponsibly.
When Juliet's sad story is revealed, her father laments that there wasn't anything he could have done. He says he never could stop her. Bullshit. You're the parent. If you even, for one moment, suspect that your daughter is being preyed upon by a child predator, wouldn't you try to stop it?! Don't tell me that Juliet is too willful. Her father is a sheriff. Surely he could man up and discipline his daughter and make an effort to catch a rapist/child predator.
That brings me to my last point. The villain in this is just plain ridiculous. He's not scary, and the amount of power the book gives him is just absurd. Child predator accusations are not taken lightly. I don't care that he's "charming" (he's not) or that he passed a lie detector's test. Those can be faked. Why are the officers in this book so ready to believe him? And why does he waste all this time taunting Allie and eventually trying to kill her? Wouldn't that be just a little suspicious if she died? How come nobody ever questions the pizza shop guy, who protects Allie from the villain in a pivotal scene? He would corroborate her claims. He witnessed the villain chasing and threatening Allie. In short, none of the adults in this book behave logically. The mystery is vague, flat, and feels tacked on when it should be the focus. The XP disease and parkour elements come off as cheap flavoring designed to make this book stand it. What a shame. Not recommended.
As I said: great premise. It's a sort of Rear Window set-up that has the promise of action and mystery. Unfortunately, the book doesn't live up to this at all. What We Saw at Night is only 245 pages or so. Nothing that happens in the book seems to carry any weight because of how clipped the book is. Literally a week would pass in a sentence. You'd spend a day with a character, and by the next page she's dead. There's a mention of a funeral but again, there's no weight. Why do I care that this character is dead? That's the only purpose she had anyway. Literally this character dies to serve the plot forward, and there's no emotional response achieved by it. And that's just a side character.
The protagonist, Allie, is rather annoying. She likes to think she's mature, but she's not. She lies about her experience as a babysitter and does no research on how to care for a baby. Fantastic. The way she treats her supposed friends is just childish. If they're giving you the cold shoulder, you should call them up and demand answers. Adults solve things by talking things out, not pouting like a little kid. Oh and the romance between Allie and Robb is a joke. The book starts off with Robb supposedly being in love with Juliet, the third friend in the group. There's no indication that Robb has any feelings towards Allie until he impulsively kisses her. The book even acknowledges this.
"Since when do you not want Juliet?"
"Since I kissed you just then." (79)
Really? Great build-up for a romance there. Allie and Robb do have sex, but only a sentence or two is spent thinking about it. Allie brushes away all contraceptive advice because she knows it all since her mom is a nurse. Arrogant much? Anyway, Allie and Robb's "romance" is a case of insta-love. And can we add insta-friendship to the list too? We're told these characters grew up together, but they spend a large amount of time ignoring each other or fighting with each other. Allie even spends time with an old friend, and you know she only does it because Juliet and Robb aren't available.
But the worst offenders in this book are the adults. "Oh our children have a medical problem that can kill them if exposed to the sun. Let's allow them to run around all night with no supervision and just hope they get back before sunlight." Sunrise is different every day you know. What if the kids were running late? They could die. And yes, a scenario like this does happen but there are no consequences. These kids (under 18 btw) trespass on other people's property and get away with is because they have a rare genetic disease. Also, one of their dad's is the sheriff. Oh and Allie and Juliet are pretty much rich. Which means all the expensive medical treatments aren't a problem. The worst adult offenders in this book are Allie's mom and Juliet's dad. First off, Allie calls her mom "Jack-Jack." Why? Who gives their parents nicknames? I thought she was talking about her younger sister at first! Oh and her mom is totally ok with her daughter having sex and even gives her birth control. I appreciate that the mom is sex-positive and making sure that her daughter is healthy. But wouldn't she be a little bit upset about her teenaged daughter having sex? Hell, Robb's dad even renovates his cabin as a kind of love nest for Robb and Allie. Ew. These characters are, what seventeen? And they act so irresponsibly.
When Juliet's sad story is revealed, her father laments that there wasn't anything he could have done. He says he never could stop her. Bullshit. You're the parent. If you even, for one moment, suspect that your daughter is being preyed upon by a child predator, wouldn't you try to stop it?! Don't tell me that Juliet is too willful. Her father is a sheriff. Surely he could man up and discipline his daughter and make an effort to catch a rapist/child predator.
That brings me to my last point. The villain in this is just plain ridiculous. He's not scary, and the amount of power the book gives him is just absurd. Child predator accusations are not taken lightly. I don't care that he's "charming" (he's not) or that he passed a lie detector's test. Those can be faked. Why are the officers in this book so ready to believe him? And why does he waste all this time taunting Allie and eventually trying to kill her? Wouldn't that be just a little suspicious if she died? How come nobody ever questions the pizza shop guy, who protects Allie from the villain in a pivotal scene? He would corroborate her claims. He witnessed the villain chasing and threatening Allie. In short, none of the adults in this book behave logically. The mystery is vague, flat, and feels tacked on when it should be the focus. The XP disease and parkour elements come off as cheap flavoring designed to make this book stand it. What a shame. Not recommended.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 11, 2014
I challenge you to go to a library, find a Dan Brown paperback knockoff, and read the back panel without finding the word "rollercoaster". This is not without reason. Good mystery-thrillers should share much in common with their amusement park counterparts. There should be mounting tension and suspense, followed by a shocking climax complete with gut-wrenching twists. If these books are roller coasters, What We Saw at Night by Jacquelyn Mitchard is more akin to a misplaced child. Lost and confused, meandering aimlessly from plot point to plot point before finally slumping on a bench and quietly crying to itself. It is a confusing, incoherent, mess of a book that I will look into in more detail in the following pages.
What We Saw at Night is mainly about Allie and her two friends Rob and Juliet. The three suffer from a terminal aversion to sunlight, meaning that they can only leave the protection of their homes at night. Juliet, recognizing that they will most likely die young from their disease, adopts a ver "carpe diem" attitude and convinces them to take up parkour. One night, from the top of a building, they witness what appears to be a murder. This is an awesome setup for a story, and was what initially drew me into the story. Add parkour and a murder mystery? How could anyone mess this up so badly? This book is yet another perfect example of a flawless setup, but more failed executions than Rasputin.
The biggest flaw is that the story lacks focus. There are so many different stories trying to get attention all at the same time that none of them fave the time to do anything interesting. Beyond that, it just makes the narrative feel jumbled and broken. Reading it feels like watching television with a broken remote that changes the channel whenever you start getting attached to what's going on. I know that this is the point where I'm supposed to tell you about what the story's about, but I honestly could not tell you. There are three books being read simultaneously, which I will attempt to dissect.
One part romance. I am discussing this first because it is the most boring and formulaic piece and I am a tired, jaded, cynic. Allie want's Rob's affection, even though he and Juliet have a thing, but then Juliet kind of disappears for a while, but if Allie and Rob got together their friendship would end, plot, plot, Allie cries about something. Allie can and will cry about anything. The sheer amount of fluids she must drink to replenish her ever-flowing tear glands must be astounding.
Another is about the friend's struggle with their illness and their desire to truly live. While not without it's flaws, this is probably the best part of the book. They are social outcasts, at odds with their neighbors (who they call "daytimers") and resent people's sympathy. At one point Allie finds friendship with a "normal" girl. Who promptly dies.
And this brings us to out final subject, the mystery. Typically with these kinds of stories have a guarantee of wrapping up nice and tight at the end, with everything that may have confused you being thoroughly explained in a kind of "Of course!" moment. This was my motivation to finish, to reach end where I may finally understand what the hell was going on, and it just ends. I have never felt so cheated in my life. This pretty much sums up my feelings.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=38tfhSYG...
Apparently there's a serial killer. We never see him murder anyone. There isn't even any evidence that anyone was murdered through the entire book. We see him with someone who may be dead, but that thought is never resolved. While doing parkour, Allie and co. see him in his penthouse with what appears to be a corpse. Allie suspects that she was murdered, while her friends theorize that she may have just passed out. The idea is never explored any further. We see him carry a large bundle to a place where there is a hidden door. No one explores his supposed lair, and the idea is explored no further. Allie and her soon-to-be dead friend see him at a festival the night before she is died. ed murderer arranges a meeting with Allie at her grave. She runs away, and the idea is never explored again. The worst flaw is that his story is never explained, explored, or even slightly resolved.
The most heinous crime this book commits, however, is that it has no resolution. It begins somewhere after any kind of introduction and ends before any kind of ending. Why? Why no tied up ends? It's the first in a series. Because what isn't. The second installment, What We Lost in the Dark, is already out, and I have the fullest intention of doing anything but read it. Few things in media piss me off more than "trilogy syndrome". No-one can write a stand alone book, it has to be trilogy. If you read one, you have to read the, all. It's a sleazy, dishonest, marketing strategy that I am not buying into. Where have all the good authors gone?
What We Saw at Night is mainly about Allie and her two friends Rob and Juliet. The three suffer from a terminal aversion to sunlight, meaning that they can only leave the protection of their homes at night. Juliet, recognizing that they will most likely die young from their disease, adopts a ver "carpe diem" attitude and convinces them to take up parkour. One night, from the top of a building, they witness what appears to be a murder. This is an awesome setup for a story, and was what initially drew me into the story. Add parkour and a murder mystery? How could anyone mess this up so badly? This book is yet another perfect example of a flawless setup, but more failed executions than Rasputin.
The biggest flaw is that the story lacks focus. There are so many different stories trying to get attention all at the same time that none of them fave the time to do anything interesting. Beyond that, it just makes the narrative feel jumbled and broken. Reading it feels like watching television with a broken remote that changes the channel whenever you start getting attached to what's going on. I know that this is the point where I'm supposed to tell you about what the story's about, but I honestly could not tell you. There are three books being read simultaneously, which I will attempt to dissect.
One part romance. I am discussing this first because it is the most boring and formulaic piece and I am a tired, jaded, cynic. Allie want's Rob's affection, even though he and Juliet have a thing, but then Juliet kind of disappears for a while, but if Allie and Rob got together their friendship would end, plot, plot, Allie cries about something. Allie can and will cry about anything. The sheer amount of fluids she must drink to replenish her ever-flowing tear glands must be astounding.
Another is about the friend's struggle with their illness and their desire to truly live. While not without it's flaws, this is probably the best part of the book. They are social outcasts, at odds with their neighbors (who they call "daytimers") and resent people's sympathy. At one point Allie finds friendship with a "normal" girl. Who promptly dies.
And this brings us to out final subject, the mystery. Typically with these kinds of stories have a guarantee of wrapping up nice and tight at the end, with everything that may have confused you being thoroughly explained in a kind of "Of course!" moment. This was my motivation to finish, to reach end where I may finally understand what the hell was going on, and it just ends. I have never felt so cheated in my life. This pretty much sums up my feelings.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=38tfhSYG...
Apparently there's a serial killer. We never see him murder anyone. There isn't even any evidence that anyone was murdered through the entire book. We see him with someone who may be dead, but that thought is never resolved. While doing parkour, Allie and co. see him in his penthouse with what appears to be a corpse. Allie suspects that she was murdered, while her friends theorize that she may have just passed out. The idea is never explored any further. We see him carry a large bundle to a place where there is a hidden door. No one explores his supposed lair, and the idea is explored no further. Allie and her soon-to-be dead friend see him at a festival the night before she is died. ed murderer arranges a meeting with Allie at her grave. She runs away, and the idea is never explored again. The worst flaw is that his story is never explained, explored, or even slightly resolved.
The most heinous crime this book commits, however, is that it has no resolution. It begins somewhere after any kind of introduction and ends before any kind of ending. Why? Why no tied up ends? It's the first in a series. Because what isn't. The second installment, What We Lost in the Dark, is already out, and I have the fullest intention of doing anything but read it. Few things in media piss me off more than "trilogy syndrome". No-one can write a stand alone book, it has to be trilogy. If you read one, you have to read the, all. It's a sleazy, dishonest, marketing strategy that I am not buying into. Where have all the good authors gone?
March 14, 2015
What We Saw at Night should never have made my favorites list. It probably shouldn’t even be on my “like” list, because it just had so many problems. I didn’t like two of the main characters for most of the book (and still didn’t like one of them after I finished the book), I had to find the answer to a couple of my questions via context clues, and even then it’s just me guessing, the narrator barely stood up for herself, plus there’s that dratted love triangle. *sigh*
Somehow, I wound up rating this book four stars. Logically, I know it probably shouldn’t rate four stars, but this was one of those reads that hooked me, even though my feelings for this book is so up and down. Perhaps it hooked me because I could relate to the characters’ desire to be more than their disease, but I literally read this 200+ page book in one setting (if you don’t count pee and tea breaks). And since my ratings are mostly based on how much I was entertained, the four star rating stands.
Out of all three main characters I had a soft spot for Allie. She of the three was most developed and grew as the book wore on. At first she was whinny and let the other two (especially Juliet) walk all over her. I was so proud of her when she finally learned to not take their shit and to stand up for herself. I just wish she communicated more – I wish they all communicated more. That was one of my major annoyances with What We Saw at Night.
Rob. I think I hated this kid more than I did the manipulative, lying Juliet. For one, he never really apologizes to Allie for treating her like crap, she just has her own epiphanies and grows past the several ways Rob broke her heart, but he never really says anything. I basically had to fill in my own reasons for why he would realize how important she is.
And what I really don’t understand is how either Allie or Rob could ever forgive Juliet – even though they finally learn the reasons for her weirdness and betraying ways, she still believes a bad, bad man (I want to say more but spoilers!) over her supposed best friend. Not only that, but she goes out of her way to make her best friend look crazy to their other best friend, just so Allie won’t accidentally uncover her secrets. Sure, I realized she’s “troubled” but she’s definitely not a good best friend.
What We Saw at Night turned out to be a surprisingly original read. I definitely didn’t see the ending coming, so that worked in the book's favor. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that Rob and Allie learn to communicate better and that the next book isn’t nearly so up and down with my emotions. If you like emotional, heartbreaking, mysterious reads, you might enjoy this one.
If you enjoyed this review, please thumbs up it on Amazon. Thank you, I appreciate it! ❤
This review was originally posted on One Curvy Blogger
January 18, 2013
An arc was provided via NetGalley. Thank you!
So, when I first read the blurb from Netgalley, I was really excited to read it. I've never heard of this particular disease before, so I thought it would be interesting to follow the lives of Allie, Rob and Juliet as they go on with their lives at night and how they cope with this and with each other. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this very much even though I desperately wanted to. I encountered a lot of problems, most of them subjective, that influenced my reading experience of the book. The characterization, the flow, the overall attitudes of the three main characters just made my head hurt.
My first complaint is that the pacing was really inconsistent. There would be chapters upon chapters where it felt a moment was really dragging, and then next thing you know, weeks and months have passed. It felt all-around choppy and confusing. It could have been good, but this kind of pace was very fragmented, and it didn't allow me to truly have a good grasp of the big picture. It didn't help that those dragging chapters were things that were unnecessary and didn't really move the story. Like at the beginning, the reader is suddenly thrown in the middle of everything and we're introduced to chapters upon chapters of parkour tutorials and jumping off of buildings, all of them with details so inessential that you'll want to just skim it all and get it over with. On the other hand, those chapters that happened after timeskips could have been okay, but all ended too soon. If the internal monologue was good, it could have worked, but Allie's narrative just made it worse because she's as inconsistent and disjointed as the pacing.
I don't know, I just couldn't connect to her at all. She felt bland and immature, even though the book tried to portray her as someone who was beyond her age. I did understand her feelings of jealousy and mistrust towards Julie, though. Those are human feelings, after all, and everyone have felt them at least once in their lives. But other than that, the character failed to captivate me, and the other characters (Rob and Julie) were even more frustrating and annoying. Rob just felt so invisible. He's the love interest, but it felt like he was only placed there just for that purpose and nothing else, and he even failed at it. The romance between them didn't even blossom or anything, it just appeared out of nowhere o_O Then it dims, and it appears again, dims and appears again... sigh —_— Everything is just so disjointed. Don't even get me started on Julie. Her characterization could have been great and developed into something more complex but... it just didn't work and it felt too forced. Everything felt too forced. =( The side characters were also non-existent, and the story could have moved with or without them. Sometimes, I question their being mentioned at all.
The mystery aspect of this book could have been better, that's for sure. It felt awkward and off, and the supposed to be moments of tension didn't feel like it at all. I wish I could be nicer about this, but it's really how I felt, and the worst part is we don't even get to a conclusion!!! The story ends and the mystery still haven't been solved. I guess we'll have to read the sequel to find out... but I'm not sure I want to anymore, because all loose ends could have been resolved in one book, but no... sigh
Overall, it's a 2.5/5 for me.
So, when I first read the blurb from Netgalley, I was really excited to read it. I've never heard of this particular disease before, so I thought it would be interesting to follow the lives of Allie, Rob and Juliet as they go on with their lives at night and how they cope with this and with each other. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this very much even though I desperately wanted to. I encountered a lot of problems, most of them subjective, that influenced my reading experience of the book. The characterization, the flow, the overall attitudes of the three main characters just made my head hurt.
My first complaint is that the pacing was really inconsistent. There would be chapters upon chapters where it felt a moment was really dragging, and then next thing you know, weeks and months have passed. It felt all-around choppy and confusing. It could have been good, but this kind of pace was very fragmented, and it didn't allow me to truly have a good grasp of the big picture. It didn't help that those dragging chapters were things that were unnecessary and didn't really move the story. Like at the beginning, the reader is suddenly thrown in the middle of everything and we're introduced to chapters upon chapters of parkour tutorials and jumping off of buildings, all of them with details so inessential that you'll want to just skim it all and get it over with. On the other hand, those chapters that happened after timeskips could have been okay, but all ended too soon. If the internal monologue was good, it could have worked, but Allie's narrative just made it worse because she's as inconsistent and disjointed as the pacing.
I don't know, I just couldn't connect to her at all. She felt bland and immature, even though the book tried to portray her as someone who was beyond her age. I did understand her feelings of jealousy and mistrust towards Julie, though. Those are human feelings, after all, and everyone have felt them at least once in their lives. But other than that, the character failed to captivate me, and the other characters (Rob and Julie) were even more frustrating and annoying. Rob just felt so invisible. He's the love interest, but it felt like he was only placed there just for that purpose and nothing else, and he even failed at it. The romance between them didn't even blossom or anything, it just appeared out of nowhere o_O Then it dims, and it appears again, dims and appears again... sigh —_— Everything is just so disjointed. Don't even get me started on Julie. Her characterization could have been great and developed into something more complex but... it just didn't work and it felt too forced. Everything felt too forced. =( The side characters were also non-existent, and the story could have moved with or without them. Sometimes, I question their being mentioned at all.
The mystery aspect of this book could have been better, that's for sure. It felt awkward and off, and the supposed to be moments of tension didn't feel like it at all. I wish I could be nicer about this, but it's really how I felt, and the worst part is we don't even get to a conclusion!!! The story ends and the mystery still haven't been solved. I guess we'll have to read the sequel to find out... but I'm not sure I want to anymore, because all loose ends could have been resolved in one book, but no... sigh
Overall, it's a 2.5/5 for me.
December 7, 2012
Allie, Juliet and Rob are “Children of the Moon”. No, don’t worry, you won’t find any creepy bloodsuckers or hairy fairytale creatures in this novel. The three teenagers suffer from Xeroderma Pigmentosum (XP), a very rare genetic disorder, a potentially lethal sun light allergy. They live like ghosts , in the same city as their families or other persons of their age but somehow in a parallel universe, a night universe, because they have to prevent any exposure to sunlight.
Most people with XP die before they are forty. This is a cruel fate, but Allie, Juliet and Rob stick together and try to make the most out of it. The three of them spend almost every night together, exploring the city when the rest of the world is asleep. One day, Juliet the daredevil in this group, comes up with the idea of training for Parkour, a quite challenging sport with running, climbing, crawling and jumping to traverse physical obstacles. Allie and Rob are all for it and soon they start reckless freerunning adventures, leaping from one tall building to another and exploring the rooftops all over the town. During one of their Parkour runs, Allie catches a glimpse into an illuminated window and sees something that seems to be a murder. Allie calls the police but they don’t find anything suspicious.
However, this is the turning point in Allies life. When she needed Parkour before to spice up her life, now the fun really starts because someone knows that Allie really saw something that she shouldn’t have seen. And this makes her life a spine chilling nightmare.
WHAT WE SAW AT NIGHT is a really great novel with an interesting plot and fascinating characters. I definitely liked the way the kids faced their fate and enjoyed their lives. The Parkour parts are exciting and absolutely cool.
But this isn’t everything. Mitchard had me right from the first page. There were so many things going on in this novel that kept me from putting down the book, so many mysteries and loose ends that needed to be tied together at the end of the book. Allies fear and mistrust were almost tangible. So, did I enjoy the novel? Yeah, I did, but then the end left me speechless and yes, sort of furious. I knew, WHAT WE SAW AT NIGHT, isn’t a stand alone novel, it is part of a trilogy (aren’t this all books today?). So, I also knew that the end might not tie all loose ends together. Yes, I was prepared for a cliffhanger, but I did not expect that the author might leave me hanging at the cliff on one single finger with not a clue where all this will end.
Up to the final chapter I would have been happy to give a five star recommendation for this novel because it was really engrossing. But the ending with no sense of resolution at all was too frustrating – so sorry, but I can give ‘only’ four stars. Now I can only hope for a more satisfying end of book two. Please, Ms. Mitchard, be nice to your readers!
Most people with XP die before they are forty. This is a cruel fate, but Allie, Juliet and Rob stick together and try to make the most out of it. The three of them spend almost every night together, exploring the city when the rest of the world is asleep. One day, Juliet the daredevil in this group, comes up with the idea of training for Parkour, a quite challenging sport with running, climbing, crawling and jumping to traverse physical obstacles. Allie and Rob are all for it and soon they start reckless freerunning adventures, leaping from one tall building to another and exploring the rooftops all over the town. During one of their Parkour runs, Allie catches a glimpse into an illuminated window and sees something that seems to be a murder. Allie calls the police but they don’t find anything suspicious.
However, this is the turning point in Allies life. When she needed Parkour before to spice up her life, now the fun really starts because someone knows that Allie really saw something that she shouldn’t have seen. And this makes her life a spine chilling nightmare.
WHAT WE SAW AT NIGHT is a really great novel with an interesting plot and fascinating characters. I definitely liked the way the kids faced their fate and enjoyed their lives. The Parkour parts are exciting and absolutely cool.
But this isn’t everything. Mitchard had me right from the first page. There were so many things going on in this novel that kept me from putting down the book, so many mysteries and loose ends that needed to be tied together at the end of the book. Allies fear and mistrust were almost tangible. So, did I enjoy the novel? Yeah, I did, but then the end left me speechless and yes, sort of furious. I knew, WHAT WE SAW AT NIGHT, isn’t a stand alone novel, it is part of a trilogy (aren’t this all books today?). So, I also knew that the end might not tie all loose ends together. Yes, I was prepared for a cliffhanger, but I did not expect that the author might leave me hanging at the cliff on one single finger with not a clue where all this will end.
Up to the final chapter I would have been happy to give a five star recommendation for this novel because it was really engrossing. But the ending with no sense of resolution at all was too frustrating – so sorry, but I can give ‘only’ four stars. Now I can only hope for a more satisfying end of book two. Please, Ms. Mitchard, be nice to your readers!
April 8, 2016
Quick review for a somewhat quick read. "What We Saw At Night" is an odd YA mystery. I don't know if I can say that my impression of it being "odd" is a good thing, because the oddity lies in its overarching presentation despite some pretty awesome/interesting elements. There were so many things about it that pulled me in - the depiction of three friends who have XP, a rare fatal allergy to sunlight; the Hitchcock "Rear Window" allusions when Allie thinks she's witnessed a murder; the attention to the sport of Parkour.
However, I had a hard time connecting to it the entire time I was reading. I kept waiting for it to strike well with me, to get better, but nothing really remained with me through the entire read. Allie's a difficult protagonist to follow - very judgmental, overly quirky to the point where it feels forced (though that accounts for some of the dark humor here, which is hit and miss). The whole "forbidden love" aspect is one-sided and mostly shaming of the friend-trio between Allie, Rob and Juliet. Rob is a really bland character, and Juliet is so over the top and at odds that I felt like there should've been more to her character than what was presented. I wish I could say that the story had characters that connected with me, but the only one I remembered the most was Allie. The overarching mystery kept weaving in and out of the narrative in tangents, to the point where the intention of the narrative would frequently be lost, taking away some of the more relevant points of tension.
The book ultimately ends with nothing really resolved (despite an emotional ending), even in the face of a major character death. I care enough to finish the mystery to see how it ends, but I can't say that it was a very memorable experience and it wouldn't be a novel I'd read more than once. Hopefully the second book provides a little more connection, but the presentation of this gives me low expectations.
Overall score: 2/5 stars.
Note: I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, from the publisher.
However, I had a hard time connecting to it the entire time I was reading. I kept waiting for it to strike well with me, to get better, but nothing really remained with me through the entire read. Allie's a difficult protagonist to follow - very judgmental, overly quirky to the point where it feels forced (though that accounts for some of the dark humor here, which is hit and miss). The whole "forbidden love" aspect is one-sided and mostly shaming of the friend-trio between Allie, Rob and Juliet. Rob is a really bland character, and Juliet is so over the top and at odds that I felt like there should've been more to her character than what was presented. I wish I could say that the story had characters that connected with me, but the only one I remembered the most was Allie. The overarching mystery kept weaving in and out of the narrative in tangents, to the point where the intention of the narrative would frequently be lost, taking away some of the more relevant points of tension.
The book ultimately ends with nothing really resolved (despite an emotional ending), even in the face of a major character death. I care enough to finish the mystery to see how it ends, but I can't say that it was a very memorable experience and it wouldn't be a novel I'd read more than once. Hopefully the second book provides a little more connection, but the presentation of this gives me low expectations.
Overall score: 2/5 stars.
Note: I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, from the publisher.
February 6, 2013
I don't normally do reviews, but this book frustrated me enough that I feel like I have to.
Before I go any farther I should mention that the copy I read was provided by the publisher to the store I work at.
The premise was very intriguing, which only increased my frustration as I read. The idea was solid, but the execution was lacking. It wasn't bad. It was mediocre, and in some ways that's worse than bad.
I had multiple problems with the story (pacing, choppiness, Rob's one dimensional portrayal, overly permissive parents, etc.) and ultimately they all contributed to my overall impression of it. But if I had to pick one thing that bothered me the most, that most hampered my ability to buy into and enjoy the story, I would have to pick Juliet. She seemed so trope riddled that I would almost be tempted to label her a Mary Sue.
I don't mean to imply that she was a self-insert character, and I don't think that she was. But she sure ticks a lot of boxes otherwise. She's so beautiful, she's so talented, she's insanely brave, she's a jerk but everyone loves her, her eyes change color when she's angry, and so on. I found myself wondering why Allie would remain friends with Juliet, beyond their shared medical background and limitations. I felt so disconnected from the character that the ensuing drama and revelations just didn't affect me to any real extent. I don't want to go into any more detail than this, because I'm trying to avoid spoilers.
All of that said, the mystery was intriguing enough to keep me reading until the end. There I hit another problem. I knew that this book had a sequel in the works, but I didn't expect the story to end so abruptly, without any real resolution. It left me feeling like the mystery was stretched out over multiple books when one would have been sufficient. I don't know if I'll pick up the sequel when it is published or not. If I do, I will probably wait until the story (trilogy? series?) is complete, and read the rest of it then.
Before I go any farther I should mention that the copy I read was provided by the publisher to the store I work at.
The premise was very intriguing, which only increased my frustration as I read. The idea was solid, but the execution was lacking. It wasn't bad. It was mediocre, and in some ways that's worse than bad.
I had multiple problems with the story (pacing, choppiness, Rob's one dimensional portrayal, overly permissive parents, etc.) and ultimately they all contributed to my overall impression of it. But if I had to pick one thing that bothered me the most, that most hampered my ability to buy into and enjoy the story, I would have to pick Juliet. She seemed so trope riddled that I would almost be tempted to label her a Mary Sue.
I don't mean to imply that she was a self-insert character, and I don't think that she was. But she sure ticks a lot of boxes otherwise. She's so beautiful, she's so talented, she's insanely brave, she's a jerk but everyone loves her, her eyes change color when she's angry, and so on. I found myself wondering why Allie would remain friends with Juliet, beyond their shared medical background and limitations. I felt so disconnected from the character that the ensuing drama and revelations just didn't affect me to any real extent. I don't want to go into any more detail than this, because I'm trying to avoid spoilers.
All of that said, the mystery was intriguing enough to keep me reading until the end. There I hit another problem. I knew that this book had a sequel in the works, but I didn't expect the story to end so abruptly, without any real resolution. It left me feeling like the mystery was stretched out over multiple books when one would have been sufficient. I don't know if I'll pick up the sequel when it is published or not. If I do, I will probably wait until the story (trilogy? series?) is complete, and read the rest of it then.
January 12, 2013
A book about Xeroderma Pigmentosum. Alright that is something different for a chance. And teenagers doing building jumping. Sounds exciting.
Uhm.
No...
What a strange, weird and ow so boring book! After an elaboration about XP and a jumping-of-buildings manual and the most unromantic kiss I ever read, I got uhm let me think... Ow yeah, an attempt to create some kind of suspense and mystery-murder story that might've worked if Mitchard had left all the othercrap unnecessarily stuff out that made it just extremely tedious.
The 3 teenagers are supposed to be lifetime long friends but I didn't had that impression at all. Especially the two girls. Since the book is written from Allie's POV, I only know for sure how she feels. And that's jealousy, suspicion, mistrust. I don't even know why they're friends. Only when something happens near the end, it's back on. And the guy? I don't really have a lot to say about him, so lets keep it at he was in the story. Hmm.
I'm not going to waste more time in writing a rant about this book cause I already wasted enough time with reading it :(
And the best part? There's going to be a sequel!!! (Of course there is because standalone books seem to be a crime lately).
Uhm.
No...
What a strange, weird and ow so boring book! After an elaboration about XP and a jumping-of-buildings manual and the most unromantic kiss I ever read, I got uhm let me think... Ow yeah, an attempt to create some kind of suspense and mystery-murder story that might've worked if Mitchard had left all the other
The 3 teenagers are supposed to be lifetime long friends but I didn't had that impression at all. Especially the two girls. Since the book is written from Allie's POV, I only know for sure how she feels. And that's jealousy, suspicion, mistrust. I don't even know why they're friends. Only when something happens near the end, it's back on. And the guy? I don't really have a lot to say about him, so lets keep it at he was in the story. Hmm.
I'm not going to waste more time in writing a rant about this book cause I already wasted enough time with reading it :(
And the best part? There's going to be a sequel!!! (Of course there is because standalone books seem to be a crime lately).
January 15, 2013
Jacquelyn Mitchard rules. If you like books about kids with diseases, as I do, you will love this. A lot of really cool scenes with Parkour too.
January 17, 2013
Thea’s Take:
Juliet kept smiling. “Everybody dies,” she said, turning her face so it was out of the light. “But not everybody really lives.”
Sixteen year old Allie Kim has Xeroderma Pigmentosum (XD), a genetic disorder resulting in deficient repair of DNA damage caused by UV light. In other words, Allie has a fatal reaction to sunlight and sleeps away her daytime hours safely indoors, leaving the house only at night. With her two best friends, Juliet and Rob – who also have XD – the trio rules the small town of Iron Harbor, Minnesota under the cover of darkness. One summer night Juliet – the beautiful, daring, thrill-seeker of the group – convinces Allie and Rob to start doing Parkour with her, forming a tribe of three ‘Dark Stars’ performing impossible acrobatic stunts on the buildings and fixtures around Iron Harbor. But as their skills improve and they “trace” the upscale apartment complex of Tabor Oaks in the early, dark hours of the morning, Allie and her friends see something. A man, faceless in the dark but with dark hair streaked by a distinctive blonde lightning bolt, leans over the slack, gray body of a young woman in the supposedly unoccupied penthouse. Instead of telling anyone, the group decides to keep it secret, not sure exactly what they’ve seen – but Allie cannot shake the image from her mind, nor can she get rid of the feeling that something is very, very wrong. And then, Allie sees the same man again and the accidents start – tinged with threats, deaths, and secrets. It is up to Allie to figure out the identity of the man, and to save those she loves from a terrible end.
What We Saw at Night is the first book I’ve read from Jacquelyn Mitchard, and also the first book in a planned trilogy (I think?). And, for the most part with a few reservations, I enjoyed this book very much.
While What We Saw at Night is a thriller and mystery novel, involving a manipulative and powerful villain, it is (to me) actually much more of a character piece – a story of friendship and relationships between three friends as they strive to carpe that effing diem. I’ll admit, when I first started the book, I made a few jokes: What We Saw at Night, or, three kids with a terminal genetic disorder who run around at night doing Parkour – the youtube sensation of 2005, and most memorably conjures this scene in my mind:
But once you get past that little hump of initial ridiculousness, the parkour is actually an integral part of the story, and the characters’ various rationales for getting so caught up in the discipline (the rush of intensity and danger for Juliet, the intense focus and feeling of power for Allie, for example) makes sense. And in that vein, the strongest draw for What We Saw at Night is its characters, particularly its lead character, Allie. I loved the maturity of her character, her steely quiet resolve, and her truthfulness regarding her feelings. As our narrator, Allie’s voice defines the novel with her frank tone and observant manner – and I love that she never backs down from what she knows as true, even when others pressure her.
I also loved the relationship that unfolds between Allie and Rob, a friendship that turns into a crush that turns into a convincing and kind of beautiful first love story. (Also, can I just say how much I love the relationship between Allie and her mother, and their openness about sex and love and how AWESOME it is to see such a positive relationship, especially in YA fiction?!) But really, the defining relationship in this book is the one between Allie and her true best friend, Juliet. We all have known a Juliet. She’s someone beautiful and vivacious and daring, who you can’t help but love – but at the same time, she’s selfish and even cruelly dismissive at the same time. Juliet is an enigma and at times a bad friend, but…there are reasons and secrets for the things she does, and when we finally understand her full story, my goodness. You can’t help but feel for her.
But, for all of these things that are done well, there are a number of negatives, too. The identity of the villain is a great reveal, as are the secrets that define Juliet’s young life, but the mystery itself isn’t particularly well-plotted. The story starts to drag just when it should be building to a dramatic climax, and the novel’s last act is heartbreaking but also…muddled. It’s not clear what exactly has happened, or what the villain has done, or WHY the villain has acted so carelessly. In short, while this book sounds like a YA Rear Window Witness story, its execution decidedly is not Hitchcock-grade material.
AND THEN there’s the big fat cliffhanger ending, which is frustrating because obviously we want more – and to be honest, I expected the mystery would wrap up in a single volume. Because of this, the storyline feels protracted and the cliffhanger exploitative rather than inspired.
And yet. All these things said, I enjoyed the characters so much that I’ll definitely be back for book 2 – I just hope the plotting and writing is a little tighter the next time around.
Ana’s Take:
We learn something new every day: I had no idea what Parkour was before reading What We Saw at Night. Yes, I seem to have missed the entire thing online and I don’t even remember that Office episode. With that aside out of the way: I will echo some of Thea’s thoughts on what works about What We Saw at Night.
The premise itself of fatally ill teenagers taking up Parkour as well as the rationale behind their dedication to the practice, were both engaging and believable, especially with regards to the latter. Allie is an interesting protagonist and a strong lead in terms of narrative voice – I loved her resolve to take up Parkour as a means to do something more active with her life, her loyalty to her friends and family and the eventual life-altering decision she makes. Above all, her narrative portrays really how she feels about living at night, the positives and negatives of living outside hours (what it means for her school life, as well as her possible future) and living on the brink of death. She is indeed observant and frank and just like Thea, I loved her open relationship with her mother and with her best friend turned love interest, Rob. That said, the character that truly shines for me is Juliet – vivacious and daring, experiencing the disease she shares with Rob and Allie in a wholly different way. Especially when mysterious ways, which at first felt forced and frustrating, is eventually revealed to be a terrible, heartbreaking secret she has been keeping and which is connected to the main mystery of the novel and makes one look at the character under a different light.
Beyond those positives: well, colour me mostly unimpressed with the execution of the story. As Thea said, the mystery itself isn’t particularly well-plotted in terms of its believability factor. The villain turns out to be a sociopathic predator, someone who is supposedly smart and schooled enough to have kept his activities a secret for a long time so it was really hard for me to buy how he let himself become involved in a game of teasing with a bunch of kids who, on their turn, acted/reacted in really frustratingly dangerous ways. Although it added an overall sense of danger and suspense to the story, it also felt forced. I concur with Thea that the last act, although heartbreaking, is also muddled and protracted and the surprising cliff-hanger was exploitative and unwelcomed because really and truly, the mystery is simply too thin to be spread over three books.
Another thing that stretched the limits of credulity is how, these three kids led a night-life mostly unaffected by anything: they navigated the town every night and the streets always seem to be empty; all three of their parental units seemed EQUALLY cool and unconcerned about what their kids were doing up all night. Even considering that theirs is not exactly a regular way of life, and even considering the emotional background of their disease and the adapting all families had to do for the sake of their kids, I thought almost unimaginable that all three sets of family would react equally to their children’s plight allowing them all the freedom in the world. That seemed extremely plot-convenient to me.
Finally, one of the main focus of the novel is how strong the friendship between the three characters was but I never truly felt their bond was as strong as I told it was – and this resulted in an absent of investment in this particular side of the story.
All things considered, although there are definitely positives aspects to What We Saw at Night, I am not really interested in learning what happens next.
Juliet kept smiling. “Everybody dies,” she said, turning her face so it was out of the light. “But not everybody really lives.”
Sixteen year old Allie Kim has Xeroderma Pigmentosum (XD), a genetic disorder resulting in deficient repair of DNA damage caused by UV light. In other words, Allie has a fatal reaction to sunlight and sleeps away her daytime hours safely indoors, leaving the house only at night. With her two best friends, Juliet and Rob – who also have XD – the trio rules the small town of Iron Harbor, Minnesota under the cover of darkness. One summer night Juliet – the beautiful, daring, thrill-seeker of the group – convinces Allie and Rob to start doing Parkour with her, forming a tribe of three ‘Dark Stars’ performing impossible acrobatic stunts on the buildings and fixtures around Iron Harbor. But as their skills improve and they “trace” the upscale apartment complex of Tabor Oaks in the early, dark hours of the morning, Allie and her friends see something. A man, faceless in the dark but with dark hair streaked by a distinctive blonde lightning bolt, leans over the slack, gray body of a young woman in the supposedly unoccupied penthouse. Instead of telling anyone, the group decides to keep it secret, not sure exactly what they’ve seen – but Allie cannot shake the image from her mind, nor can she get rid of the feeling that something is very, very wrong. And then, Allie sees the same man again and the accidents start – tinged with threats, deaths, and secrets. It is up to Allie to figure out the identity of the man, and to save those she loves from a terrible end.
What We Saw at Night is the first book I’ve read from Jacquelyn Mitchard, and also the first book in a planned trilogy (I think?). And, for the most part with a few reservations, I enjoyed this book very much.
While What We Saw at Night is a thriller and mystery novel, involving a manipulative and powerful villain, it is (to me) actually much more of a character piece – a story of friendship and relationships between three friends as they strive to carpe that effing diem. I’ll admit, when I first started the book, I made a few jokes: What We Saw at Night, or, three kids with a terminal genetic disorder who run around at night doing Parkour – the youtube sensation of 2005, and most memorably conjures this scene in my mind:
But once you get past that little hump of initial ridiculousness, the parkour is actually an integral part of the story, and the characters’ various rationales for getting so caught up in the discipline (the rush of intensity and danger for Juliet, the intense focus and feeling of power for Allie, for example) makes sense. And in that vein, the strongest draw for What We Saw at Night is its characters, particularly its lead character, Allie. I loved the maturity of her character, her steely quiet resolve, and her truthfulness regarding her feelings. As our narrator, Allie’s voice defines the novel with her frank tone and observant manner – and I love that she never backs down from what she knows as true, even when others pressure her.
I also loved the relationship that unfolds between Allie and Rob, a friendship that turns into a crush that turns into a convincing and kind of beautiful first love story. (Also, can I just say how much I love the relationship between Allie and her mother, and their openness about sex and love and how AWESOME it is to see such a positive relationship, especially in YA fiction?!) But really, the defining relationship in this book is the one between Allie and her true best friend, Juliet. We all have known a Juliet. She’s someone beautiful and vivacious and daring, who you can’t help but love – but at the same time, she’s selfish and even cruelly dismissive at the same time. Juliet is an enigma and at times a bad friend, but…there are reasons and secrets for the things she does, and when we finally understand her full story, my goodness. You can’t help but feel for her.
But, for all of these things that are done well, there are a number of negatives, too. The identity of the villain is a great reveal, as are the secrets that define Juliet’s young life, but the mystery itself isn’t particularly well-plotted. The story starts to drag just when it should be building to a dramatic climax, and the novel’s last act is heartbreaking but also…muddled. It’s not clear what exactly has happened, or what the villain has done, or WHY the villain has acted so carelessly. In short, while this book sounds like a YA Rear Window Witness story, its execution decidedly is not Hitchcock-grade material.
AND THEN there’s the big fat cliffhanger ending, which is frustrating because obviously we want more – and to be honest, I expected the mystery would wrap up in a single volume. Because of this, the storyline feels protracted and the cliffhanger exploitative rather than inspired.
And yet. All these things said, I enjoyed the characters so much that I’ll definitely be back for book 2 – I just hope the plotting and writing is a little tighter the next time around.
Ana’s Take:
We learn something new every day: I had no idea what Parkour was before reading What We Saw at Night. Yes, I seem to have missed the entire thing online and I don’t even remember that Office episode. With that aside out of the way: I will echo some of Thea’s thoughts on what works about What We Saw at Night.
The premise itself of fatally ill teenagers taking up Parkour as well as the rationale behind their dedication to the practice, were both engaging and believable, especially with regards to the latter. Allie is an interesting protagonist and a strong lead in terms of narrative voice – I loved her resolve to take up Parkour as a means to do something more active with her life, her loyalty to her friends and family and the eventual life-altering decision she makes. Above all, her narrative portrays really how she feels about living at night, the positives and negatives of living outside hours (what it means for her school life, as well as her possible future) and living on the brink of death. She is indeed observant and frank and just like Thea, I loved her open relationship with her mother and with her best friend turned love interest, Rob. That said, the character that truly shines for me is Juliet – vivacious and daring, experiencing the disease she shares with Rob and Allie in a wholly different way. Especially when mysterious ways, which at first felt forced and frustrating, is eventually revealed to be a terrible, heartbreaking secret she has been keeping and which is connected to the main mystery of the novel and makes one look at the character under a different light.
Beyond those positives: well, colour me mostly unimpressed with the execution of the story. As Thea said, the mystery itself isn’t particularly well-plotted in terms of its believability factor. The villain turns out to be a sociopathic predator, someone who is supposedly smart and schooled enough to have kept his activities a secret for a long time so it was really hard for me to buy how he let himself become involved in a game of teasing with a bunch of kids who, on their turn, acted/reacted in really frustratingly dangerous ways. Although it added an overall sense of danger and suspense to the story, it also felt forced. I concur with Thea that the last act, although heartbreaking, is also muddled and protracted and the surprising cliff-hanger was exploitative and unwelcomed because really and truly, the mystery is simply too thin to be spread over three books.
Another thing that stretched the limits of credulity is how, these three kids led a night-life mostly unaffected by anything: they navigated the town every night and the streets always seem to be empty; all three of their parental units seemed EQUALLY cool and unconcerned about what their kids were doing up all night. Even considering that theirs is not exactly a regular way of life, and even considering the emotional background of their disease and the adapting all families had to do for the sake of their kids, I thought almost unimaginable that all three sets of family would react equally to their children’s plight allowing them all the freedom in the world. That seemed extremely plot-convenient to me.
Finally, one of the main focus of the novel is how strong the friendship between the three characters was but I never truly felt their bond was as strong as I told it was – and this resulted in an absent of investment in this particular side of the story.
All things considered, although there are definitely positives aspects to What We Saw at Night, I am not really interested in learning what happens next.
February 15, 2019
I liked this book, but it was not my favorite. I usually really like mysteries, but this one was kind of odd. At first when I started reading, I liked it and it seemed interesting, but as I got into the book I thought it was kind of weird. I could not get interested during the book because I thought it was weird and boring, so it took me a while to get through. The ending also didn’t resolve any of the book.
January 3, 2023
The plot could have been very interesting had it not been so poorly executed. I finished the book because I wanted to like it, but the writing style, grammatical errors, and typos distract from the story. It was hard to follow and hard to finish.
December 12, 2018
This book was although entertaining felt as if I went back to 5th grade. Although it had some more mature content the over way the story was told just felt so rehearsed. I did not even enjoy the book but would have liked to know how it ended in the first book and not have to read more books to understand the bleak ending.
May 19, 2019
What we saw at Night was an okay book for me. Personally I think I liked the idea of the story more than the story itself. Kids who do parkour at night because they can’t go outside in the day? Super cool, interesting concept, love it. Kid sees murder while doing parkour? That’s cool too. The story itself just wasn’t as interesting as the idea. In all honesty the only reason why I finished the book was because of my English class so overall it was okay, maybe 5/10, probably wouldn’t read again.
December 11, 2012
We got this in at work from the publisher and I decided to give it a read, as the cover copy sounded intriguing. Unfortunately, while the cover copy sold me, the rest of the book really failed to live up to my expectations. It’s not a horrible book, but the majority of the plot dragged on and I felt myself losing interest.
The first quarter of the book was good. I liked these teens, and how they live with Xeroderma Pigmentosum (XP). I kinda wished that Mitchard would really get into the mindset of how the nighttime is so fundamentally different from the day, especially from a teen’s perspective, but all she does is throw around a few vampire jokes. (Which is a shame, because I’ve seen it done before, with Scott Westerfeld’s Midnighters series.) I even liked Allie really trying to have what could pass as a normal life, with a babysitting job and even discussing the potential of going to college. There was a lot in the beginning that could have lead to a really solid book with good characters and atmosphere.
However, one of the biggest problems of the book is that elements drop in and out of the plot at random, and don’t really add up to a compelling story. And I have to start by mentioning Rob and Juliet—they felt more like friends of convenience for Allie, and I never got the sense that the three of them were as close as they said they were. Allie’s whole fantasy about marrying Rob even feels like a child’s fantasy, marrying the only boy she’s ever been close to. I never got the sense that any of these kids would be willing to fight for each other, much less jump off buildings for each. Juliet was especially frustrating—it felt like Mitchard was forcing to make her character more ‘mysterious’ by randomly running away for long stretches of time. Rob doesn’t really add anything to the story, and it does not help that a love triangle is actually forced in here—and it doesn’t even feel like a love triangle! I felt no chemistry between Rob and Allie, much less Rob and Juliet.
The mystery is incredibly weak, and the revelations feel too unconnected. By the end of the book, part of me felt that Allie’s guesses were wrong and she was trying to desperately pin the blame on someone who wasn’t responsible for the original crime. And that isn’t good when I’m calling the heroine’s conclusions into question and I’m not supposed to be doing that. The mystery only came up when it was convenient to the plot, so it had a tendency to randomly drop in and out of Allie’s life. (I have to give this one point to the plot—it actually takes place over the course of a year.) The climax and ending are incredibly weak, and it feels like Mitchard stretched a very thin plot to work the book into an unnecessary series.
And the parkour element—it’s another thing that felt forced into this book. Again, there’s already a solid hook of having teens wander around at night, because it’s the only time they can go outside. I wouldn’t mind the parkour even if it was Juliet’s idea of “HEY LET’S DO SOMETHING COOL.” What I can’t get is that all of their parents are okay with this? I’m all for good relationships between teens and parents, but it feels way too plot-convenient that all three sets of parents would be okay with their teenagers jumping off of buildings with very little training.
The more I thought about this book after finishing it, the less I liked it and the more problematic elements began to pop up. My biggest disappointment was that there could have been a great, creepy atmosphere and nice exploration to living the “night life” (if you will), but Mitchard doesn’t quite grasp this, and the other elements—like the mystery and the parkour—feel tacked on to make the book more interesting, but they ultimately fail. It is very unlikely that I will recommend this book, much less pick up the follow-up.
The first quarter of the book was good. I liked these teens, and how they live with Xeroderma Pigmentosum (XP). I kinda wished that Mitchard would really get into the mindset of how the nighttime is so fundamentally different from the day, especially from a teen’s perspective, but all she does is throw around a few vampire jokes. (Which is a shame, because I’ve seen it done before, with Scott Westerfeld’s Midnighters series.) I even liked Allie really trying to have what could pass as a normal life, with a babysitting job and even discussing the potential of going to college. There was a lot in the beginning that could have lead to a really solid book with good characters and atmosphere.
However, one of the biggest problems of the book is that elements drop in and out of the plot at random, and don’t really add up to a compelling story. And I have to start by mentioning Rob and Juliet—they felt more like friends of convenience for Allie, and I never got the sense that the three of them were as close as they said they were. Allie’s whole fantasy about marrying Rob even feels like a child’s fantasy, marrying the only boy she’s ever been close to. I never got the sense that any of these kids would be willing to fight for each other, much less jump off buildings for each. Juliet was especially frustrating—it felt like Mitchard was forcing to make her character more ‘mysterious’ by randomly running away for long stretches of time. Rob doesn’t really add anything to the story, and it does not help that a love triangle is actually forced in here—and it doesn’t even feel like a love triangle! I felt no chemistry between Rob and Allie, much less Rob and Juliet.
The mystery is incredibly weak, and the revelations feel too unconnected. By the end of the book, part of me felt that Allie’s guesses were wrong and she was trying to desperately pin the blame on someone who wasn’t responsible for the original crime. And that isn’t good when I’m calling the heroine’s conclusions into question and I’m not supposed to be doing that. The mystery only came up when it was convenient to the plot, so it had a tendency to randomly drop in and out of Allie’s life. (I have to give this one point to the plot—it actually takes place over the course of a year.) The climax and ending are incredibly weak, and it feels like Mitchard stretched a very thin plot to work the book into an unnecessary series.
And the parkour element—it’s another thing that felt forced into this book. Again, there’s already a solid hook of having teens wander around at night, because it’s the only time they can go outside. I wouldn’t mind the parkour even if it was Juliet’s idea of “HEY LET’S DO SOMETHING COOL.” What I can’t get is that all of their parents are okay with this? I’m all for good relationships between teens and parents, but it feels way too plot-convenient that all three sets of parents would be okay with their teenagers jumping off of buildings with very little training.
The more I thought about this book after finishing it, the less I liked it and the more problematic elements began to pop up. My biggest disappointment was that there could have been a great, creepy atmosphere and nice exploration to living the “night life” (if you will), but Mitchard doesn’t quite grasp this, and the other elements—like the mystery and the parkour—feel tacked on to make the book more interesting, but they ultimately fail. It is very unlikely that I will recommend this book, much less pick up the follow-up.
January 18, 2013
Jacquelyn Mitchard is best known for her 1999 best seller THE DEEP END OF THE OCEAN, a gripping story about kidnapping and loss. Her latest novel, WHAT WE SAW AT NIGHT, is part murder mystery, part love story, part coming-of-age tale, aimed at the YA market. Seventeen-year-old Allie Kim and her friends Juliet and Rob suffer from Xeroderma Pigmentosum (XP), a genetic disorder that keeps them prisoners of the night – any exposure to sunlight could kill them. So Allie, Juliet, and Rob spend their nights together, exploring the world that exists when all the “Daytimers” (those free to go out during the day) are asleep. When Juliet suggests they start training for Parkour, a dangerous but exhilarating sport in which participants defy gravity and leap tall buildings at a single bound, Allie and Rob are all for it. But during one of their jumps, Allie sees what might very well be a murder. And after that, nothing is ever the same again.
Mitchard is a good writer, and Allie is a great character. She’s real and believable and very, very interesting. The challenges she has faced living with XP are both fascinating and poignant, and her relationships with best friend Juliet and true love Rob make for a very compelling story. There’s plenty of mystery in this novel – it’s suggested right from the start that Juliet knows more than she’s saying about the supposed murder, as well as the supposed murderer. And when something terrifying happens when Allie and Rob are jumping buildings alone, we begin to suspect that it isn’t exactly an accident.
So I liked WHAT WE SAW AT NIGHT. I couldn’t put it down. Mitchard had me from the first page, and I couldn’t wait to find out what was really going on. Because a lot was really going on! But let me warn you – this is not a stand-alone novel. It’s the first of a series – probably a trilogy (aren’t they all?) – and as such there is no ending. Now, I’m not saying there are some loose ends hanging around, making way for the next book. No, these aren’t loose ends – there are no ends at all! In fact, WHAT WE SAW AT NIGHT ends with a cliffhanger. It ends right in the middle of yet another mysterious threat to Allie. It ends almost in mid-sentence. And it was downright infuriating!
I’m not a fan of this obsession with trilogies that has gripped the publishing industry of late. And I’m especially not a fan of books that leave the reader with little or no resolution. A good novel – whether it’s the first of a series or a stand-alone book – needs some sense of resolution, even as it’s setting things in motion for the next book. This one doesn’t do that. It doesn’t even come close. I got to the last page, fully expecting another chapter (since there were still about twelve pages remaining in the book). But lo and behold, what Mitchard has given us are twelve pages of WHAT WE LOST IN THE DARK, the apparent sequel to WHAT WE SAW AT NIGHT. I shouldn’t have been surprised. But I was. And I wanted to throw the book across the room! Really.
Do I recommend this? Sure. It’s a good novel – up until that ridiculous final chapter. But just be prepared to be frustrated when you get to the end. It’s a lousy way to end a novel, no matter how many sequels are being planned. Authors owe their readers more than that. And it’s the one thing I’ll always remember about WHAT WE SAW AT NIGHT. Not good, Ms. Mitchard. And not fair.
Mitchard is a good writer, and Allie is a great character. She’s real and believable and very, very interesting. The challenges she has faced living with XP are both fascinating and poignant, and her relationships with best friend Juliet and true love Rob make for a very compelling story. There’s plenty of mystery in this novel – it’s suggested right from the start that Juliet knows more than she’s saying about the supposed murder, as well as the supposed murderer. And when something terrifying happens when Allie and Rob are jumping buildings alone, we begin to suspect that it isn’t exactly an accident.
So I liked WHAT WE SAW AT NIGHT. I couldn’t put it down. Mitchard had me from the first page, and I couldn’t wait to find out what was really going on. Because a lot was really going on! But let me warn you – this is not a stand-alone novel. It’s the first of a series – probably a trilogy (aren’t they all?) – and as such there is no ending. Now, I’m not saying there are some loose ends hanging around, making way for the next book. No, these aren’t loose ends – there are no ends at all! In fact, WHAT WE SAW AT NIGHT ends with a cliffhanger. It ends right in the middle of yet another mysterious threat to Allie. It ends almost in mid-sentence. And it was downright infuriating!
I’m not a fan of this obsession with trilogies that has gripped the publishing industry of late. And I’m especially not a fan of books that leave the reader with little or no resolution. A good novel – whether it’s the first of a series or a stand-alone book – needs some sense of resolution, even as it’s setting things in motion for the next book. This one doesn’t do that. It doesn’t even come close. I got to the last page, fully expecting another chapter (since there were still about twelve pages remaining in the book). But lo and behold, what Mitchard has given us are twelve pages of WHAT WE LOST IN THE DARK, the apparent sequel to WHAT WE SAW AT NIGHT. I shouldn’t have been surprised. But I was. And I wanted to throw the book across the room! Really.
Do I recommend this? Sure. It’s a good novel – up until that ridiculous final chapter. But just be prepared to be frustrated when you get to the end. It’s a lousy way to end a novel, no matter how many sequels are being planned. Authors owe their readers more than that. And it’s the one thing I’ll always remember about WHAT WE SAW AT NIGHT. Not good, Ms. Mitchard. And not fair.
November 30, 2012
2-2.5 Stars/5
Note: I received an eARC from NetGalley.
I really, really wanted to like this book. I loved the concept - three teens with an exotic disease roam the streets and inadvertently see something wrong in an apartment while doing Parkour. It has so much potential to be an incredibly fun read, with the teenagers investigating, but being hampered by their XP.
However, I had a lot of trouble getting into the book. I positively slogged through and could never really relate to the characters or to their problems or inhabit their world. My favorite books pull me into the story and refuse to let me go, even if I have to go and get actual work done. I think about the book long after it's put away and can't wait to get back to it. With this book, I found excuses to not pick it up.
Allie and Juliet are reasonably well-drawn characters. Rob seemed to be little more than a cardboard cutout, placed there solely so Allie could angst over him. The mini love triangle that devolves into an odd romance between Allie and Rob just didn't work for me - one moment Rob's in love with Juliet and the next with Allie? It just seemed unnecessary to me. I have never been a teenage boy, so maybe I just don't get it, but Rob never made sense to me as a character and this was one large reason why. Furthermore, many of the motivations for characters' actions were complete mysteries to me - I could not relate to them at all, let along figure out their thinking process.
Anyway, the supporting characters were practically non-existent - they were there but showed little substance. Allie's little sister, her mother, her mother's friend, the pizza man, even the murderer himself never really came alive for me. They could have just as easily not been in the book at all. And while I can understand why and how a teenage character might be slightly self-centered and so other characters might suffer in an unreliable narrator-type situation, when the book ends and I don't have much sense or opinion about the main antagonist, I feel like that's a failure on the writer's part.
The pacing and the writing itself bothered me as well. The pacing of the mystery and the suspense seemed off, for some reason, for the entire book. Nothing that I can put my finger on, but the actions would have these periods where it slowed almost to a crawl; maybe the reason the read was hard for me to get through? On a side note: I'm not an expert in Parkour, but it seems unlikely that three teenagers could become so very good at the discipline in about three months - that stretched the bounds of my willing suspension of disbelief. Back to the point, the writing seems to twist back on and almost repeat itself - I had a couple of deja vu-like moments. The book itself had too many loose ends at the end; I would have loved some resolution, even with the cliff-hanger ending.
The stars I did give to it were for the concept and for Allie. Sometimes she and her actions didn't make a whit of sense to me, but I genuinely liked the character and her spunkiness. I'm giving it two stars, rather than rounding up to three because I was disappointed in the execution of this interesting and different premise.
Unfortunately, I do not think I can recommend this book, and I will likely not pick up what appears the intended sequel.
Note: I received an eARC from NetGalley.
I really, really wanted to like this book. I loved the concept - three teens with an exotic disease roam the streets and inadvertently see something wrong in an apartment while doing Parkour. It has so much potential to be an incredibly fun read, with the teenagers investigating, but being hampered by their XP.
However, I had a lot of trouble getting into the book. I positively slogged through and could never really relate to the characters or to their problems or inhabit their world. My favorite books pull me into the story and refuse to let me go, even if I have to go and get actual work done. I think about the book long after it's put away and can't wait to get back to it. With this book, I found excuses to not pick it up.
Allie and Juliet are reasonably well-drawn characters. Rob seemed to be little more than a cardboard cutout, placed there solely so Allie could angst over him. The mini love triangle that devolves into an odd romance between Allie and Rob just didn't work for me - one moment Rob's in love with Juliet and the next with Allie? It just seemed unnecessary to me. I have never been a teenage boy, so maybe I just don't get it, but Rob never made sense to me as a character and this was one large reason why. Furthermore, many of the motivations for characters' actions were complete mysteries to me - I could not relate to them at all, let along figure out their thinking process.
Anyway, the supporting characters were practically non-existent - they were there but showed little substance. Allie's little sister, her mother, her mother's friend, the pizza man, even the murderer himself never really came alive for me. They could have just as easily not been in the book at all. And while I can understand why and how a teenage character might be slightly self-centered and so other characters might suffer in an unreliable narrator-type situation, when the book ends and I don't have much sense or opinion about the main antagonist, I feel like that's a failure on the writer's part.
The pacing and the writing itself bothered me as well. The pacing of the mystery and the suspense seemed off, for some reason, for the entire book. Nothing that I can put my finger on, but the actions would have these periods where it slowed almost to a crawl; maybe the reason the read was hard for me to get through? On a side note: I'm not an expert in Parkour, but it seems unlikely that three teenagers could become so very good at the discipline in about three months - that stretched the bounds of my willing suspension of disbelief. Back to the point, the writing seems to twist back on and almost repeat itself - I had a couple of deja vu-like moments. The book itself had too many loose ends at the end; I would have loved some resolution, even with the cliff-hanger ending.
The stars I did give to it were for the concept and for Allie. Sometimes she and her actions didn't make a whit of sense to me, but I genuinely liked the character and her spunkiness. I'm giving it two stars, rather than rounding up to three because I was disappointed in the execution of this interesting and different premise.
Unfortunately, I do not think I can recommend this book, and I will likely not pick up what appears the intended sequel.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 7, 2013
Note: This is an ARC copy I received from Netgalley. However, this does not in any way influence my review.
What We Saw at Night
By: Jacquelyn Mitchard
Expected publication: 8th January 2013
Publisher: SoHo Teen
When I first saw the title “What We Saw at Night”, I was intrigued. And after the blurb and a few pages in, I was hooked.
This book does live up to its claim of being like Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me go, only better. Hey, I’m not kidding!
What We Saw at Night features Allie, Rob and Juliet living their lives as children of the moon. But you don’t have to worry; you wouldn’t be sucked into a world of vampires and whatnots. The trio have Xeroderma Pigmentosum (XP), or also known as allergy to sunlight. This forces the children into a nocturnal schedule, where they do their own activities in the dark.
Being children of the moon were never easy, what with being alone and playing in the dark, but things become more complicated when Allie witnesses a murder. And worse, no one believes her. (Well, except for Rob.)
I loved how the story had so many layers. At the start I thought this book was just going to be about Allie solving the murder case or something like that. I was taken aback when I realised this was not what was going to happen, not easily, at least. It was a nice surprise when I felt everything unravel into a complicated mess. A complicated mess, but a highly interesting one.
I enjoyed how the plot unfolded, doused in mystery and surprise and thrills. I simply could not put down the book. This one is definitely a page turner.
Needless to say, I liked Jacquelyn’s style of writing. Description, but not overly done. Jacquelyn has a knack to insert humour in intense situations, and that’s not an easy thing to do. This is a very big bonus for me – any author who can be dark but funny at the same time, you’ve got me.
There were many cool parkour scenes were I thoroughly enjoyed. Oh, and the romance it worth mentioning too (so sweet!).
Character development in the story was stunning, especially Allie’s best friend, Juliet.
At first, I thought Juliet was kind of a bitch, treating Allie and Rob like garbage. But after, I realised there was so much hidden under the cool façade. It was not until the end, when I contemplated how to write this review, when I realised I admired Juliet. I admired her for her bravery, her selflessness, her strong belief in doing what she wanted to.
“Everybody dies,” she said, turning her face so that it was out of the light. “But not everybody really lives.”
Most importantly, she thought me the meaning of living.
My love for this book far exceeds my writing capabilities, so let me say that this was not an ordinary book. It touched my heart to see that even though these children were living with life-threatening disease, they still dared to live. They dared to dream. This was not easy at first, but they did it, eventually. It made me realise that as an able-bodied person, who was I not to live life to the fullest and chase my dreams?
What We Saw at Night truly inspired me. Maybe it was not supposed to, but it did. In any way, it’s always good to have a little takeaway :)
What We Saw at Night
By: Jacquelyn Mitchard
Expected publication: 8th January 2013
Publisher: SoHo Teen
When I first saw the title “What We Saw at Night”, I was intrigued. And after the blurb and a few pages in, I was hooked.
This book does live up to its claim of being like Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me go, only better. Hey, I’m not kidding!
What We Saw at Night features Allie, Rob and Juliet living their lives as children of the moon. But you don’t have to worry; you wouldn’t be sucked into a world of vampires and whatnots. The trio have Xeroderma Pigmentosum (XP), or also known as allergy to sunlight. This forces the children into a nocturnal schedule, where they do their own activities in the dark.
Being children of the moon were never easy, what with being alone and playing in the dark, but things become more complicated when Allie witnesses a murder. And worse, no one believes her. (Well, except for Rob.)
I loved how the story had so many layers. At the start I thought this book was just going to be about Allie solving the murder case or something like that. I was taken aback when I realised this was not what was going to happen, not easily, at least. It was a nice surprise when I felt everything unravel into a complicated mess. A complicated mess, but a highly interesting one.
I enjoyed how the plot unfolded, doused in mystery and surprise and thrills. I simply could not put down the book. This one is definitely a page turner.
Needless to say, I liked Jacquelyn’s style of writing. Description, but not overly done. Jacquelyn has a knack to insert humour in intense situations, and that’s not an easy thing to do. This is a very big bonus for me – any author who can be dark but funny at the same time, you’ve got me.
There were many cool parkour scenes were I thoroughly enjoyed. Oh, and the romance it worth mentioning too (so sweet!).
Character development in the story was stunning, especially Allie’s best friend, Juliet.
At first, I thought Juliet was kind of a bitch, treating Allie and Rob like garbage. But after, I realised there was so much hidden under the cool façade. It was not until the end, when I contemplated how to write this review, when I realised I admired Juliet. I admired her for her bravery, her selflessness, her strong belief in doing what she wanted to.
“Everybody dies,” she said, turning her face so that it was out of the light. “But not everybody really lives.”
Most importantly, she thought me the meaning of living.
My love for this book far exceeds my writing capabilities, so let me say that this was not an ordinary book. It touched my heart to see that even though these children were living with life-threatening disease, they still dared to live. They dared to dream. This was not easy at first, but they did it, eventually. It made me realise that as an able-bodied person, who was I not to live life to the fullest and chase my dreams?
What We Saw at Night truly inspired me. Maybe it was not supposed to, but it did. In any way, it’s always good to have a little takeaway :)
January 16, 2013
Allie Kim and her friend Rob take up Parkour in order to keep up with Juliet, the other kid their age in town with Xeroderma Pigmentosum. One night, they see something suspicious in an apartment. Then Allie sees it again, and the other two have only her word to go on.
WHAT WE SAW AT NIGHT is gripping. The potential murders often fade into the background of Allie's relationships, but so much of her life is driven by Rob and Juliet that its understandable. Without them, she's close to alone in the night. And if there is a murderer, then that's when you want your friends by your side.
I liked the characters and how their relationships developed. Allie and Rob tend to follow Juliet's lead, since she's more worldly and bolder. But there's something wrong beneath the surface, driving her wild actions, as Allie begins to discover. And while Allie might crush on Rob since he's the main guy in her life, he's definitely a crushable sort. He's reliable, trusts Allie to take care of herself, and has a car. (Big deal when you can't drive, a significant other with a car.)
But there were a couple of things that bothered me about WHAT WE SAW AT NIGHT. Why is there so little night life? The three kids are often alone in the night. But their town is supposedly the center of XP research. There's a hospital people move from all over the world to go to. Allie refers to an older XP guy who died and there are other patients in the hospital when she goes for a check up. There are also references to medical trials, which need a decent number of patients for significance. I'd assume there are at least twenty-five to fifty people with XP in the town. Why are none of them ever out at night? They can't go out in day without great difficulty and staying in all night every night would probably drive them nuts. And if the town's main industry is this research, why aren't there shops open at night? I don't just accept that it's a small town. I live in a small town. The tattoo parlor is open late and the farmers wake up early.
The other thing is the ending. I expect many people will complain about the ending. That's because it sucks. Just when things are getting really good, the story suddenly spins its wheels for a chapter then ends. There's no resolution. Not to the mystery, not to the relationships, not to Allie's character growth, nothing. I don't even want to read the next book, WE LOST IN THE DARK, because WHAT WE SAW AT NIGHT's ending is so lame. It's not a cliffhanger; there's not enough momentum for that.
WHAT WE SAW AT NIGHT has an excellent beginning, an interesting protagonist, and the XP and Parkour add some nifty atmosphere to what could be a standard mystery. But as it goes on the plot gets ridiculous and hard to follow until it just ends. It's disappointing and I had very high hopes for this book.
WHAT WE SAW AT NIGHT is gripping. The potential murders often fade into the background of Allie's relationships, but so much of her life is driven by Rob and Juliet that its understandable. Without them, she's close to alone in the night. And if there is a murderer, then that's when you want your friends by your side.
I liked the characters and how their relationships developed. Allie and Rob tend to follow Juliet's lead, since she's more worldly and bolder. But there's something wrong beneath the surface, driving her wild actions, as Allie begins to discover. And while Allie might crush on Rob since he's the main guy in her life, he's definitely a crushable sort. He's reliable, trusts Allie to take care of herself, and has a car. (Big deal when you can't drive, a significant other with a car.)
But there were a couple of things that bothered me about WHAT WE SAW AT NIGHT. Why is there so little night life? The three kids are often alone in the night. But their town is supposedly the center of XP research. There's a hospital people move from all over the world to go to. Allie refers to an older XP guy who died and there are other patients in the hospital when she goes for a check up. There are also references to medical trials, which need a decent number of patients for significance. I'd assume there are at least twenty-five to fifty people with XP in the town. Why are none of them ever out at night? They can't go out in day without great difficulty and staying in all night every night would probably drive them nuts. And if the town's main industry is this research, why aren't there shops open at night? I don't just accept that it's a small town. I live in a small town. The tattoo parlor is open late and the farmers wake up early.
The other thing is the ending. I expect many people will complain about the ending. That's because it sucks. Just when things are getting really good, the story suddenly spins its wheels for a chapter then ends. There's no resolution. Not to the mystery, not to the relationships, not to Allie's character growth, nothing. I don't even want to read the next book, WE LOST IN THE DARK, because WHAT WE SAW AT NIGHT's ending is so lame. It's not a cliffhanger; there's not enough momentum for that.
WHAT WE SAW AT NIGHT has an excellent beginning, an interesting protagonist, and the XP and Parkour add some nifty atmosphere to what could be a standard mystery. But as it goes on the plot gets ridiculous and hard to follow until it just ends. It's disappointing and I had very high hopes for this book.
January 21, 2013
What appealed to me about this particular book was learning about two things I never heard of before, mainly: Xeroderma Pigmentosum and Parkour. Mitchard takes you into another world where kids with a lethal allergy to sunlight live. The loneliness and fatalism of this infliction are as isolating as the darkness. A commonality of existence bonds the three teens and their families in a unique place, a town that provides a clinic specializing in research. Besides that, there is not much else to do in the town, so the trio takes up stunt-sporting to fill the hours.
We all know that weird things happen at night and our imaginations can get the better of us. During one of their outings, Allie is witness to something terrible. Here is where the mystery and murkiness begin. If you're hoping for a light to shine through to illuminate what is going on, you're going to be disappointed. From here on out I felt like I was feeling my way through the pages blindfolded. Now, this is an interesting style and concept, and I've given a lot of thought to my appreciation or hope of its purposeful intention. With that said, I was uncomfortably lost at times and felt like too much was hidden from me as the reader. I kept thinking I was missing pages or paragraphs. Nevertheless, I read along hoping that I'd be rewarded with a tight wrap-up or 'a-ha' moment. As I neared the end, I was left with missing pieces, more questions and not really sure of what the hell happened. In reflection, this story reminds me a bit of The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. If you enjoyed that style and mysterious story-telling, you'll probably also like Mitchard's approach. Lastly, the story ends, but the mystery doesn't. The reader is left with a confrontation, a bold exclamation followed by the lead-in to the next story in the series.
All in all, I wandered around a bit too much in the dark for my liking, but I do appreciate the creative concept and reflection the story provoked. I keep going back, wondering how much was intentional by the author. I'm going to lean toward the optimistic side of this one and chalk it up to creative license and experimentation. However, some readers may feel frustrated with the lack of insight provided, feeling as I did at many points in the story, that either I totally missed something, or pieces and connections were neglected.
We all know that weird things happen at night and our imaginations can get the better of us. During one of their outings, Allie is witness to something terrible. Here is where the mystery and murkiness begin. If you're hoping for a light to shine through to illuminate what is going on, you're going to be disappointed. From here on out I felt like I was feeling my way through the pages blindfolded. Now, this is an interesting style and concept, and I've given a lot of thought to my appreciation or hope of its purposeful intention. With that said, I was uncomfortably lost at times and felt like too much was hidden from me as the reader. I kept thinking I was missing pages or paragraphs. Nevertheless, I read along hoping that I'd be rewarded with a tight wrap-up or 'a-ha' moment. As I neared the end, I was left with missing pieces, more questions and not really sure of what the hell happened. In reflection, this story reminds me a bit of The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. If you enjoyed that style and mysterious story-telling, you'll probably also like Mitchard's approach. Lastly, the story ends, but the mystery doesn't. The reader is left with a confrontation, a bold exclamation followed by the lead-in to the next story in the series.
All in all, I wandered around a bit too much in the dark for my liking, but I do appreciate the creative concept and reflection the story provoked. I keep going back, wondering how much was intentional by the author. I'm going to lean toward the optimistic side of this one and chalk it up to creative license and experimentation. However, some readers may feel frustrated with the lack of insight provided, feeling as I did at many points in the story, that either I totally missed something, or pieces and connections were neglected.
May 9, 2013
Summary (contains some spoilers):
Allie, Rob, and Juliet have XP (allergy to sunlight), so they live their lives at night. Between doctor appointments, the three friends begin Parkour to make them feel alive. This discipline allows someone to fly through the night, jump from buildings, and become more in-tune with nature. One stunt they want to do involves a large apartment building. They begin at the Penthouse level which is supposed to be empty, but it's not. Does Allie witness a crime? After that night, Allie becomes obsessed with investigating what she believes is a series of murders happening in her small town. What is worse is that Juliet seems to have some involvement with the main suspect. What happened that night? What did Allie really see? How far is Juliet involved?
Review:
Honestly, there is a huge build-up to absolutely nothing in this book. I enjoyed the suspense and following the mystery, but as I was nearing the end of the book, I knew that it wasn't going to be resolved. I was right. This almost makes me dislike the book enough not to recommend it to my students. There are several little ways part of the storyline could have been wrapped up. Unfortunately, I'm left with more questions than answers. I can't stress how unsatisfactory that is. There is the possibility of having a series and cliffhanger ending while still making sure to close off some loose ends.
Other than that, I really like Allie. She is intelligent, a great example of a true friend, and very insightful when it comes to family. I also like how goal oriented she is. The fact that she is very clear about her future and the fact that she will do what she can to be successful is a good lesson for young adults. I do not like the casual sex between teenagers though. I could do without parents, teens, and doctors being alright with and almost encouraging of sex. Allie mentions that her mother is a nurse and they have had "the talk" several times before, so this is why her mother is alright with her engaging in sexual activity. Since that talk does not happen within the book, I feel that everything is too casual.
I will be reading the next book, but if I don't have some answers within the first 50 pages or so, I will probably put it down. I don't want to go through two books without any resolutions.
Allie, Rob, and Juliet have XP (allergy to sunlight), so they live their lives at night. Between doctor appointments, the three friends begin Parkour to make them feel alive. This discipline allows someone to fly through the night, jump from buildings, and become more in-tune with nature. One stunt they want to do involves a large apartment building. They begin at the Penthouse level which is supposed to be empty, but it's not. Does Allie witness a crime? After that night, Allie becomes obsessed with investigating what she believes is a series of murders happening in her small town. What is worse is that Juliet seems to have some involvement with the main suspect. What happened that night? What did Allie really see? How far is Juliet involved?
Review:
Honestly, there is a huge build-up to absolutely nothing in this book. I enjoyed the suspense and following the mystery, but as I was nearing the end of the book, I knew that it wasn't going to be resolved. I was right. This almost makes me dislike the book enough not to recommend it to my students. There are several little ways part of the storyline could have been wrapped up. Unfortunately, I'm left with more questions than answers. I can't stress how unsatisfactory that is. There is the possibility of having a series and cliffhanger ending while still making sure to close off some loose ends.
Other than that, I really like Allie. She is intelligent, a great example of a true friend, and very insightful when it comes to family. I also like how goal oriented she is. The fact that she is very clear about her future and the fact that she will do what she can to be successful is a good lesson for young adults. I do not like the casual sex between teenagers though. I could do without parents, teens, and doctors being alright with and almost encouraging of sex. Allie mentions that her mother is a nurse and they have had "the talk" several times before, so this is why her mother is alright with her engaging in sexual activity. Since that talk does not happen within the book, I feel that everything is too casual.
I will be reading the next book, but if I don't have some answers within the first 50 pages or so, I will probably put it down. I don't want to go through two books without any resolutions.
January 14, 2016
17 year old Allie and her two best friends, Rob and Juliet, are not like other kids their age. They have XP, a severe allergy to sunlight, and cannot go out in the daytime unless seriously wrapped up and sometimes even under an umbrella. Therefore, their lives are confined to the night-time hours, and they have always felt cut off from the 'real' world of the people they call 'Daytimers'. Their condition means that their future is limited, and that they could die young, which leaves them feeling frustrated and trapped. Then daring Juliet introduces them to Parkour, and they spend their nights traversing the landscape of their small town in new, exhilarating ways. Finally, Allie feels a sense of real freedom. But one night, she witnesses what seems to be the aftermath of a murder. However, even Juliet isn't sure that what Allie saw was a crime, so how can they hope to prove that it was to anyone else? As Allie tries to discover just what she saw that night, she makes a dangerous enemy in the man who she witnessed committing the crime (or at least, who she *thinks* she saw committing a crime...), and even those closest to her may not be as innocent as they seem....
I sped through this book in a day. The characters were so engaging, especially Allie. Their illness added a really interesting twist to the whole book, because the world they live in is both the same and so different to that of 'normal' teenagers. Juliet and Rob were fantastic too, and the secondary adult characters were actually interesting and sympathetic, particularly Allie's mom. The 'bad guy' was really interesting, very scary precisely because despite the fact that we and Allie know he's bad, he's very, very good at appearing to be normal. A truly frightening bad guy is unusual in both YA and adult fiction, and he actually made me both question the extent of his guilt at times and at others shudder with deep mistrust.
As well as the crime/mystery aspect though, 'What We Saw At Night' is a coming of age novel that explores all the normal highs and lows of being a teenager, and then adds a whole new twist and set of issues with the three main characters' rare condition.
I've previously read a couple of Mitchard's adult fiction books, also superb. Her YA books (there's a second one after this which continues the story) seem to be every bit as good.
I sped through this book in a day. The characters were so engaging, especially Allie. Their illness added a really interesting twist to the whole book, because the world they live in is both the same and so different to that of 'normal' teenagers. Juliet and Rob were fantastic too, and the secondary adult characters were actually interesting and sympathetic, particularly Allie's mom. The 'bad guy' was really interesting, very scary precisely because despite the fact that we and Allie know he's bad, he's very, very good at appearing to be normal. A truly frightening bad guy is unusual in both YA and adult fiction, and he actually made me both question the extent of his guilt at times and at others shudder with deep mistrust.
As well as the crime/mystery aspect though, 'What We Saw At Night' is a coming of age novel that explores all the normal highs and lows of being a teenager, and then adds a whole new twist and set of issues with the three main characters' rare condition.
I've previously read a couple of Mitchard's adult fiction books, also superb. Her YA books (there's a second one after this which continues the story) seem to be every bit as good.
November 3, 2014
SOHO launched their new teen line this week with the release of Jacquelyn Mitchard's latest, WHAT WE SAW AT NIGHT.
Allie, Rob, and Juliet are best friends. They grew up together in their small town of Iron Harbor, home to the renowned Tabor Clinic, and a facility dedicated to the study of Xeroderma Pigmentosum, a rare genetic disorder that results in a deadly sun allergy. All three teens suffer from the disorder leaving their activity confined to the dark. With XP also comes a relatively short life expectancy, but the three of them have embraced their situations and their lives, vowing to live to the fullest. And so it seems natural that they take up parkour, a potentially dangerous sport that involves skill, dedication, and concentration using the environment around them as a means to get around. But their new sport turns dangerous in ways they couldn't imagine when they witness something they never should have seen. Allie knows that they're all in danger but no one believes her. Now it's up to her to prove what they saw and hopefully keep all three of them safe.
Mitchard is no stranger to the YA world. In fact, she's the author of a number of titles for all ages. With WHAT WE SAW AT NIGHT, she definitely succeeds in creating a suspenseful and serious teen mystery. Each of the characters is believable as teens -- never once coming across as teens from an adult perspective. Their issues are mostly typical of teens but the addition of XP makes the story even more interesting. What's more, the mystery is well plotted and leads directly into a follow up title readers will no doubt be clamoring for. I know I'm looking forward to continuing Allie's story in WHAT WE LOST IN THE DARK.
Allie, Rob, and Juliet are best friends. They grew up together in their small town of Iron Harbor, home to the renowned Tabor Clinic, and a facility dedicated to the study of Xeroderma Pigmentosum, a rare genetic disorder that results in a deadly sun allergy. All three teens suffer from the disorder leaving their activity confined to the dark. With XP also comes a relatively short life expectancy, but the three of them have embraced their situations and their lives, vowing to live to the fullest. And so it seems natural that they take up parkour, a potentially dangerous sport that involves skill, dedication, and concentration using the environment around them as a means to get around. But their new sport turns dangerous in ways they couldn't imagine when they witness something they never should have seen. Allie knows that they're all in danger but no one believes her. Now it's up to her to prove what they saw and hopefully keep all three of them safe.
Mitchard is no stranger to the YA world. In fact, she's the author of a number of titles for all ages. With WHAT WE SAW AT NIGHT, she definitely succeeds in creating a suspenseful and serious teen mystery. Each of the characters is believable as teens -- never once coming across as teens from an adult perspective. Their issues are mostly typical of teens but the addition of XP makes the story even more interesting. What's more, the mystery is well plotted and leads directly into a follow up title readers will no doubt be clamoring for. I know I'm looking forward to continuing Allie's story in WHAT WE LOST IN THE DARK.
May 9, 2013
The author’s purpose for writing the novel What we Saw at Night was to entertain through suspense and thrilling the reader. The novel is about three best friends, Allie, Rob, and Juliet, who all have Xeroderma Pigmentosum or as they called it, XP. XP is a fatal allergy to the sun only allowing them to go outside during the late night hours. In order to make themselves feel like they were ‘living” they would jump off tall buildings and towers. One night during their adventurous routine, they witnessed something that no one would ever want to see.
The theme of the novel is some relationships may not be what you think. In some cases your relationship may be stronger than ever, but there may be true obstacles that will test it and realize that it wasn’t as strong as you may think. For example in the book when they witness something unbelievable, the three friends are put to the test and are starting to show their real colors. The book became more interesting at this point.
The style of the book was narration. Throughout the novel, the author told a story about the kids through a short period of time in their lives.
I thought that the book was ok. I would rate it 2.5 stars out of 5. I thought that that the plot was good and as far as thrillers go, it did include mystery and suspense. What I didn’t really like about it was that the book was geared towards older teens to adults but it seemed like the writing was more on kid-level. I just didn’t connect with the characters very much.
Though it was a good thriller but didn’t tell that good of story behind it with the characters
The theme of the novel is some relationships may not be what you think. In some cases your relationship may be stronger than ever, but there may be true obstacles that will test it and realize that it wasn’t as strong as you may think. For example in the book when they witness something unbelievable, the three friends are put to the test and are starting to show their real colors. The book became more interesting at this point.
The style of the book was narration. Throughout the novel, the author told a story about the kids through a short period of time in their lives.
I thought that the book was ok. I would rate it 2.5 stars out of 5. I thought that that the plot was good and as far as thrillers go, it did include mystery and suspense. What I didn’t really like about it was that the book was geared towards older teens to adults but it seemed like the writing was more on kid-level. I just didn’t connect with the characters very much.
Though it was a good thriller but didn’t tell that good of story behind it with the characters
November 20, 2012
What We Saw at Night byJacquelyn Mitchardwas something of a mystery to me when I started reading it. I was sitting in my deer stand (hunting, yes) with no luck and decided a good murder mystery might bring me some good fortune. It took me a while to get into the story and I was thoroughly confused when the gymnastic-blackbelt-building-hopping showed up, but it all worked in its own way. The pace was a little slow (even for someone who was just passing time between deer sightings) and I found that the story spent a lot of time emphasizing elements that I just didn't care about i.e. Juliet's total self-absorption and Allie's secret lifelong love of Rob. I didn't ruin anything for you. This is YA we're talking about. If the lead character is a gal, there's going to be a guy - that's just where YA is stuck right now. The murder mystery itself was OK. For a while, the reader gets no insight into the events, which makes it frustrating if you are trying to outwit the writer, but eventually you are given a quick chance to guess the culprit before the reveal. AND THEN COMES A PLOT TWIST! That part, me likey. Then a totally abrupt ending. Me no likey. I didn't feel compelled to read a sequel, hoping for some stand-alone fun, but I may look it up on Wikipedia later just to see how things turned out. I give it 3 out of 5 glow stars.
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