Wake Me at Midnight

by Barthe DeClements

While investigating the strange digging sounds that have awakened her in the middle of the night, Caitlin discovers a few things about her family and neighbors.

Genres: Mystery, Young Adult, Childrens, Fiction

160 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1991

Reviews

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the type of book that we need more of today. The publishing industry has tried so hard to make children's books unrealistic... and yet, truly real books like this resonate far more with children.
In this story, we meet Caitlin, an average girl going to an average school with mainly average problems. However, one night she hears digging in her neighbor's yard and this opens up several mysteries, eventually revealing some shocking truths about her neighbors.
I liked that these were real people. Everything in this story could happen in real life and the characters are like people that everyone knows. Barthe DeClements is a talented writer and this one doesn't disappoint.

[Ann Levine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wake Me at Midnight is good yet disturbing.

To start with, this book is an average tween mystery, so expect average tween things: some romantic notions and rude characters. The main character commonly refers to her friend as fat, and it's implied that she goes off on a cursing spree. Also, the book has a spooky undertone and some potentially upsetting things like strangers digging at night, characters not having enough to eat, and hypnotism. This book is actually fairly disturbing. I would say that it's best for kids 12 and up but that 10 and 11 year-olds would be the ones who would enjoy it most.

This book centers around 12-year-old Caitlin who has a lot going on in her life. There's her little brother who doesn't get enough attention, her neighbor, Bones, who is way too thin, her new friend who's too pushy for anyone's good, and the weird person who keeps digging in the middle of the night. But, as the temperature warms, it seems that Caitlin might have a lot more on her hands than she thought.

Unfortunately, this book never really goes anywhere. It really feels like someone took some semi-interesting tidbits from a person's life and weaved them together into a 150-page book. Also, Wake Me at Midnight was the kind of story where you never really feel pulled to read more.

Overall, this is a fine book, just nothing special.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an old book I’d read as a kid that I revisited while home for the holidays. Some minor suspense and teenage drama.

[Books Kids Like · Rating 4 out of 5]

Caitlin thinks her biggest problems are getting up during the night to take care of her baby brother when their mother ignores his cries and protecting him from the negligent baby sitter. Then, she wakes one night to the sound of digging in Paul Redding's backyard. Caitlin thinks she sees Mrs. Redding digging. On another night, Caitlin is convinced that Bones (Paul) is digging. Another mystery revolves around the locked toolshed and night visitors in the Dorman’s back yard. When Bones starts carrying a new set of clothes in a paperbag and changing at the gas station before and after school, Caitlin gets suspicious. Bones also shares his meager lunch with a dog down the street and buys lunch at school. Caitlin sees him talking to the Dorman brothers and wonders if his new-found wealth is tied to them somehow. But, is there a connection between the Dorman’s toolshed and the digging in the Redding’s backyard? Caitlin and her friend, Melissa, are determined to find out.
©2024 Kathy Maxwell at https://bookskidslike.com

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this in one of my old book boxes and thought I would see if I could figure out why I had saved it since my tween years. I am sad to say I was pretty disappointed. Caitlin swears, cheats on her spelling tests, breaks into the neighbor's shed, lies to her mom, and continually mentions how fat her friend is. Don't think I will be passing this one down to my daughters. Not the role model we need around here! And now that I think about it the other Barthe deClements book I had saved- Nothing's Fair in Fifth Grade-has a main character with a lot of these same traits including talking all the time about the girl in her class who is struggling with her weight.

[Karen Lagunowich · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pulled this one out of my old bin of books from when I was a kid looking for something for my kids to read now. It's a pretty empty read. Something about the tone it's written in is just not the way I want my kids to think. Nothing super objectionable, just lots of little nuances. The storyline was cute.

[Elise · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was okay. It was really easy to read and short, but the plot wasn't all that interesting to me. The character development was interesting. I felt like the characters could have had a lot more story, but the plot introduced was juvenile (per the age group of the book).

[Cws]

JEAR3-DeC

[Sarah]

I really liked this book. I loved the descreption and detail the author has put into this book. This is really going to help me when i write stories to add lot of details

[Michelle]

Listed as Q3 = A good story with some faults, P3 = A booktalk on this title will excite most people’s interest

[Paco Aguilera · Rating 5 out of 5]

Apenas voy en el capituló 10 pero me a parecido muy interesante...