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The Midnight Brigade
Harkening to classics such as Roald Dahl's The BFG , this heartwarming story highlights the power of friendship and the importance of finding your voice.
Carl Chesterfield wishes he could speak up—whether that means being honest with his father about the family's new (and failing) food truck, reaching out to a potential friend, or alerting others to the fact that monsters might be secretly overrunning his hometown of Pittsburgh. There's plenty to fret over. And plenty to question.
When a flyer about a mysterious monster-seeking group called the Midnight Brigade catches his eye, Carl sees an opportunity to find answers. Little does he know, his curiosity will lead him to find an incredible discovery under one of his city's magnificent bridges and to be bolder than he ever imagined. Chock-full of humor and heart, this is the quirky tale of three unexpected friends and the crankiest troll with a heart of gold.
Carl Chesterfield wishes he could speak up—whether that means being honest with his father about the family's new (and failing) food truck, reaching out to a potential friend, or alerting others to the fact that monsters might be secretly overrunning his hometown of Pittsburgh. There's plenty to fret over. And plenty to question.
When a flyer about a mysterious monster-seeking group called the Midnight Brigade catches his eye, Carl sees an opportunity to find answers. Little does he know, his curiosity will lead him to find an incredible discovery under one of his city's magnificent bridges and to be bolder than he ever imagined. Chock-full of humor and heart, this is the quirky tale of three unexpected friends and the crankiest troll with a heart of gold.
256 pages, Paperback
Published September 13, 2022
7 people are currently reading
1610 people want to read
About the author
Adam Borba
3 books28 followersADAM BORBA is the author of THIS AGAIN?, OUTSIDE NOWHERE, and THE MIDNIGHT BRIGADE. When he’s not writing, he develops and produces movies like PETE'S DRAGON and PETER PAN & WENDY with his friends. He is a graduate of Palm Springs High School, the University of Southern California, and the William Morris Agency mailroom. Adam lives in California with his family and can be found on the internet at adamborba.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
June 22, 2021
Half the little readers in my class remind me of quiet Carl Chesterfield, the protagonist of this book. Can’t wait to share it with them. Had such good time reading this at a friend’s recommendation. Pure fun!
January 8, 2023
As a former engineering student and forever lover of bridges and middle grade, I jumped at the chance to read an ARC. So glad I did. Delightful is the word that kept coming out of my mouth when talking to the fellow moms in my reading group. Wonderful characters and story.
June 19, 2021
Adorable and hilarious. Started reading this on a lazy Saturday afternoon and before I knew I had finished. Such a fun read. Can’t wait to recommend it to the kids at my library. This is one of those rare books that feels like a perfect fit for reluctant AND avid readers.
June 21, 2021
Laughed quite a bit and was surprised by the emotional connection I made with this story. Always nice to see my hometown represented in children’s literature. Will be proudly recommending this one for years to come.
July 14, 2021
My favorite stories are unpredictable ones. I can confidently say I didn't have a clue where this one was going, but I had fun the whole way.
August 9, 2022
So glad we found this book to share together. I read it with my son and the evenings spent learning about these characters, their families and their discoveries have now formed into a core memory for me. My son really connected with the characters and enjoyed the book so much that he's already started recommending it to family and friends. Heartwarming, funny, and poignant, The Midnight Brigade was a true treasure.
February 10, 2023
*2.5 stars
I just couldn't get into this strange fantastical story. I was looking for more of a mystery, but it's not that mysterious, and then it turned a bit fantasy but not very whimsical or fun. The writing was funny and bright enough, but something about this story just didn't really click for me.
I just couldn't get into this strange fantastical story. I was looking for more of a mystery, but it's not that mysterious, and then it turned a bit fantasy but not very whimsical or fun. The writing was funny and bright enough, but something about this story just didn't really click for me.
May 31, 2021
This book made me laugh out loud and my 11-year-old cackle with joy. 5 stars!
July 1, 2021
One of the better books I have read in 2021 (my year of reading!!).
October 5, 2022
What a fun middlegrade romp. Shy Carl enjoys observing the people and places around him, especially the many bridges of Pittsburgh, where he lives. He becomes increasing concerned when he notices deep gouges on some of the bridges. Is something biting them!? Together with two new friends, he just might find some answers, and grow a little in the process. The Midnight Brigade is a quick and enjoyable read about friendship and finding your voice.
September 9, 2021
I loved this book! Just about every book I’ve read this year was a bit predictable or fell into the cliche of its genre, but The Midnight Brigade really had me wondering where it was going to go and end up. It’s a book about adventure, being bold while facing your fears, standing up for what you believe in, family & friendships. It was a cute and funny read, I caught myself smiling a lot at the sarcasm and sense of humor of the the Three kiddos that made up The Midnight Brigade. This is one of the few books where I can say, there were no characters I disliked nor was there any thing about the book itself that I disliked. The Midnight Brigade was so wonderful and there is a favorite mythical creature of mine who makes an appearance, a Troll! If you have the opportunity, give The Midnight Brigade a read, it won’t disappoint!
May 6, 2021
Received an ARC from a friend. Adored this book.
July 5, 2021
Big smile!! Bravo!
April 3, 2022
Carl is incredibly average, but also very observant. He thinks he's the only one who has noticed the bridges in Philadelphia being slowly destroyed. When his father, a bridge repairer, decides to quit and open an average food truck, Carl discovers a troll living under the bridge where the food truck sits. Luckily for Carl, someone at his school has also noticed the bridge damage, and has invited Carl to join the Midnight Brigade to try to stop it.
This story was a little quirky, but more quiet and slow-placed than a book about trolls living under bridges should be. I never really connected to Carl - his friends Teddy and Bee were both much more interesting. Carl's father really annoyed me. I'm not sure I needed to learn as much as I did about bridges. This book has a little bit of a Roald Dahl feel to it, but just didn't capture me the way a Roald Dahl story does. Also the special ingredient was just so, so gross... maybe kids would like that, but it really grossed me out.
This story was a little quirky, but more quiet and slow-placed than a book about trolls living under bridges should be. I never really connected to Carl - his friends Teddy and Bee were both much more interesting. Carl's father really annoyed me. I'm not sure I needed to learn as much as I did about bridges. This book has a little bit of a Roald Dahl feel to it, but just didn't capture me the way a Roald Dahl story does. Also the special ingredient was just so, so gross... maybe kids would like that, but it really grossed me out.
July 4, 2021
Enjoyed the book very much. Really liked the kids.
June 26, 2021
Cute book. Appreciated the depth of the three main characters.
February 24, 2022
Loved, loved, loved. Strongly recommending to the kids at my library. So funny and cute.
October 13, 2022
If you write a book set in the Burgh and you don't reallllly know the city, check yourself. I could tell that the author was just throwing stuff out there after having looked up the names of some famous bridges and for me it detracted from the story. I had more trouble imagining the setting than the fact that there was a giant troll causing infrastructure issues.
Said troll was pretty funny though
Said troll was pretty funny though
October 11, 2021
One of my favorite parts of being a nanny is reading books to kids. I had such a blast with this one. So funny and sweet!
December 6, 2022
I received an ARC of this book courtesy of Little Brown Books for Young Readers through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.
The creativity expressed by Adam Borba in a difficult situation lived through by Carl Chesterfield struggling through life and finding out about a secret club called the Midnight Brigade showing a total act of desperation to be one of their elite members. The storyline of this book is similar to Fight Club where you imagine a society being something else in your mind but, it's totally different than expected and in the words of Edward Norton...THIS IS TOO MUCH! Written however for the middle grade-YA audience, Adam Borba did a marvelous job with the sentence structure, vocabulary use, and plot creation keeping my eyes glued to the page fighting the urge of desire to anxiously anticipate how this will end. The only way to fight the urge is to keep reading until you're done. I finished the book in four hours and loved every hour, minute, and second of this book. This book will also be a great nominee for next year's Battle of the Books competition.
A great title for any day, anytime of the week when you're in need of a getaway from the struggles of reality. This book deserves 5 stars.
The creativity expressed by Adam Borba in a difficult situation lived through by Carl Chesterfield struggling through life and finding out about a secret club called the Midnight Brigade showing a total act of desperation to be one of their elite members. The storyline of this book is similar to Fight Club where you imagine a society being something else in your mind but, it's totally different than expected and in the words of Edward Norton...THIS IS TOO MUCH! Written however for the middle grade-YA audience, Adam Borba did a marvelous job with the sentence structure, vocabulary use, and plot creation keeping my eyes glued to the page fighting the urge of desire to anxiously anticipate how this will end. The only way to fight the urge is to keep reading until you're done. I finished the book in four hours and loved every hour, minute, and second of this book. This book will also be a great nominee for next year's Battle of the Books competition.
A great title for any day, anytime of the week when you're in need of a getaway from the struggles of reality. This book deserves 5 stars.
October 29, 2021
This book was cute. It's such a fast read and adventurous enough that you have to turn pages to see what happens next. It follows three kids- a high-strung kinda weird one, a slightly rebellious kid and the one who wants to hide and fly under the radar, maybe forever. I think most of us will relate to one or the other. Each are trying to find their place in a world that can be lonely or mismatched at time. Something is messing with the bridges in their town and they might meet a mystical sage-like oversized friend... overall it's cute. I'll definitely pass this on to my 6th grader and see what she thinks.
December 15, 2021
Carl's dad has gotten into his head that he wants to open a food truck. Never mind that he has absolutely no food service experience, or that he's mortgaged the family home to buy a dilapidated food truck and the land to put it on... And not surprisingly, things aren't going well. When Carl discovers a real live troll living under the bridge by the food trick, all of a sudden his family's troubles don't seem so weighty. Magical and empowering too. Very Roald Dahl-ish.
October 21, 2025
This book was so freaking cute. I've been reading a lot of downers lately and this one was just absolutely a breath of fresh air. It was so innocently childlike and yet tackled really important problems that children really struggle with. I really loved it. It reminded me a lot of Monster Calls but without the throw yourself into lava ending. It was just really sweet. I really liked it.
December 5, 2021
#FirstLine - Carl's parents were fighting again the first night it happened.
I loved this book, cover to cover. It was a delightful read that made me feeling all the feels. I read it so quickly, but did not want it to end! A must read!!
I loved this book, cover to cover. It was a delightful read that made me feeling all the feels. I read it so quickly, but did not want it to end! A must read!!
February 23, 2022
Three loner kids become friends as they seek to discover what is slowly destroying the bridges of Pittsburgh. Slow. Randomly disgusting about halfway through. Face scratchingly obvious solution takes 120 pages to finally arrive.
July 14, 2022
Reading this book made me realize how little I know about Pittsburgh. Is it known for toppings? How many rivers run through it? Anyway besides needing to brush up on geography this book is a funny and thoughtful novel that made me smile.
August 31, 2021
DRC from Edelweiss and Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Fun adventure story about friendship, facing your fears, and family. Carl is shy and doesn't have any friends. His father has dreams and tries to follow through on them. When it doesn't work out, Carl learns he has to speak up. Thankfully, his new friends he met through the midnight club to hunt the monsters that are destroying the bridges in the city, help him out with this.
Adventure, trolls, friendship.
Fun adventure story about friendship, facing your fears, and family. Carl is shy and doesn't have any friends. His father has dreams and tries to follow through on them. When it doesn't work out, Carl learns he has to speak up. Thankfully, his new friends he met through the midnight club to hunt the monsters that are destroying the bridges in the city, help him out with this.
Adventure, trolls, friendship.
December 27, 2021
This story lagged a lot and the exposition was sluggish. The style of writing felt a lot like an American who enjoys British comedy and Terry Pratchett
February 13, 2022
3.5! It's not what I thought it was about, I was expecting more of a fantasy (I know, even a troll isn't enough fantasy) and this is...deeper! More thoughtful!
February 23, 2022
I hated this book it was so boring!!!!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews