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Thirteen Days to Midnight
You are indestructible . These are the words that transfer an astonishing power to Jacob Fielding... and it changes everything. After all, there's something addictive about testing the limits of fear, experiencing the thrill of walking through fire, or saving your friend from a beating in front of the whole school.
Then Ophelia James, the beautiful and daring new girl in town, suggests that they use the power to do good, to save others at risk of death. But with every heroic act, the power grows into the specter of a curse. How to decide who lives and who dies? And why does darkness seem to be chasing them? Jacob only has thirteen days to figure out how to harness this terrifying power... and the answer is What if he has to kill the one he loves to save her?
In the context of a dark, unconventional superhero story, Patrick Carman has envisioned a high concept tale of intrigue, romance, friendship and adventure that probes deep into what teens face as they enter young adult navigating increasingly complex choices with greater consequences, as well as the gray areas blurring the definitions of right and wrong.
Then Ophelia James, the beautiful and daring new girl in town, suggests that they use the power to do good, to save others at risk of death. But with every heroic act, the power grows into the specter of a curse. How to decide who lives and who dies? And why does darkness seem to be chasing them? Jacob only has thirteen days to figure out how to harness this terrifying power... and the answer is What if he has to kill the one he loves to save her?
In the context of a dark, unconventional superhero story, Patrick Carman has envisioned a high concept tale of intrigue, romance, friendship and adventure that probes deep into what teens face as they enter young adult navigating increasingly complex choices with greater consequences, as well as the gray areas blurring the definitions of right and wrong.
304 pages, Paperback
First published April 12, 2010
161 people are currently reading
3997 people want to read
About the author
Patrick Carman
91 books1,602 followersI have been a lifelong writer and storyteller. Salem, Oregon is where I spent my formative years and I graduated from Willamette University. After college, I spent a decade living in Portland, Oregon where I worked in advertising, game design, and technology.
I've written young adult and children's books for Scholastic, Little Brown Books For Young Readers and Katherine Tegen Books/ HarperCollins Publishers.
I've been fortunate enough to have had some bestselling series work: The Land of Elyon, Atherton, Elliot’s Park, 39 Clues, and Skeleton Creek. Here's a fun note...the books have been translated into approximately two dozen languages. Currently I'm developing a few new-media projects. Check out DARK EDEN to experience this type of cross-platform project.
When I'm not writing or creating a story, I spend my free time supporting literacy campaigns and community organizations, fly fishing, playing basketball and tennis, doing crosswords, watching movies, dabbling in video games, reading (lots), and (more than anything else) spending time with my wife and two daughters.
I've written young adult and children's books for Scholastic, Little Brown Books For Young Readers and Katherine Tegen Books/ HarperCollins Publishers.
I've been fortunate enough to have had some bestselling series work: The Land of Elyon, Atherton, Elliot’s Park, 39 Clues, and Skeleton Creek. Here's a fun note...the books have been translated into approximately two dozen languages. Currently I'm developing a few new-media projects. Check out DARK EDEN to experience this type of cross-platform project.
When I'm not writing or creating a story, I spend my free time supporting literacy campaigns and community organizations, fly fishing, playing basketball and tennis, doing crosswords, watching movies, dabbling in video games, reading (lots), and (more than anything else) spending time with my wife and two daughters.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 598 reviews
April 23, 2021
This book was clearly not my usual style but it was a gift so I read it. It started really slow. It was really boring. The writing was okay most of the time, but the characters were a disaster.
And I'll tell you why. See we have this 3 kids immature teenagers with this supernatural power. Jacob, a boy, who preferred a girl over his best friend. He only knows her like for twelve days and he's falling for her. Funny I know. And she's crazy.
I didn't like Oh (Ophelia) at all. Maybe she kinda made sense toward the end of the book, but still.
Milo was alright I guess.
Anyway, they started trying to hurt themselves. They are trying to make sure that nothing can kill the power holder. This *diamond* (power) makes you indestructible. Like literally.
Jacob wasn't planning to tell anyone what his adopted father, Mr Fielding, passed him before he died. But he didn't want Oh to die at this accident either. She shouldn't have made it. So something was strange and wrong therefore he had to confess.
I have to give Jacob some credits tho. He wasn't convinced by their actions. Because Oh wanted to save lives now. And death Doesn't go away, right? It has to be satisfied. Still he couldn't say no to his girlfriend.
After many secrets been relieved, Jacob realises the dangers and consequences of fooling around.
August 23, 2015
If you could have only one superpower, what would it be?
This is how the novel started. And it grabbed my attention there, at the very first sentence. And it didn't let go until the very last.
This is a story about Jacob Fielding, a guy who finds out that he has a superpower(s): invincibility and immortality. Cool, right? Well, not so much. After some time he finds out that having a superpower isn't as cool as it seems. And that is because... wait for it...
(so cheesy, I know)
But, all jokes aside, I didn't expect to like this book as much as I did. It was a thrilling read and it kept me on the edge of my seat 'til the very end. I also really enjoyed the way it ended and how bittersweet the ending was. If you like quick fantasy/thriller books, I suggest giving this a try. It might just surprise you, 'cause it sure as hell did surprise me.
This is how the novel started. And it grabbed my attention there, at the very first sentence. And it didn't let go until the very last.
This is a story about Jacob Fielding, a guy who finds out that he has a superpower(s): invincibility and immortality. Cool, right? Well, not so much. After some time he finds out that having a superpower isn't as cool as it seems. And that is because... wait for it...
(so cheesy, I know)
But, all jokes aside, I didn't expect to like this book as much as I did. It was a thrilling read and it kept me on the edge of my seat 'til the very end. I also really enjoyed the way it ended and how bittersweet the ending was. If you like quick fantasy/thriller books, I suggest giving this a try. It might just surprise you, 'cause it sure as hell did surprise me.
March 22, 2017
The premise behind this was super interesting, but the writing style was a little hard to get into, and the characters were hard to connect with. Overall, the pacing was a little slow, and I feel like I only understood tidbits of the actual story because of how detached everything seemed.
July 11, 2011
In A Nutshell:
This book is not the type I normally read, but I picked it up on the recommendation of a good friend. I am so glad I read Thirteen Days To Midnight. It had action and suspense—I could not put it down. When I was done, I stared at the book and felt as though I had just stepped off a roller coaster.
Review:
“If you could have only one superpower, what would it be?” (p. 3).
This intriguing question frames this story where three words whispered between friends can change every aspect of their lives.
For the first time in his life, Jacob who grew up in the foster system, feels like he is part of something permanent. He feels like Mr. Fielding really cares about him. But then Mr. Fielding dies in a car crash, and Jacob has to contend with guilt, grief, and loss.
Jacob returns to school where his best friend, Milo, who introduces Jacob to the new girl, Ophelia (goes by Oh). Jacob and Milo have to figure out how to deal with Oh, their mutual interest in her, and her choice between the two of them.
Patrick Carmen handles the relationships within Thirteen Days To Midnight with mastery and finesse. Milo is Jacob’s first true best-friend relationship, while Oh is Jacob’s first love. Patrick Carmen has to balance the fragility of these firsts with the steadfastness that make these relationships seem likely to last. The secrets that the friends share serve both the test their relationships and make their relationships stronger.
But this book is more than a coming-of-age or first-love story because with those three whispered words something passes between Jacob, Milo, and Oh that none of them truly understand. They must unravel the secret of what is passing between them, but in order for them to do that Jacob must start to face his fear, guilt, and grief over losing Mr. Fielding.
There is a lot of action packed into thirteen days, which made reading this book both a pleasure and a challenge. A pleasure because it moves fast and there is not a lot of wasted time or words. But a challenge because of some dark topics addressed that leave the characters with a lot to think about and not a lot of time to process.
This book is not the type I normally read, but I picked it up on the recommendation of a good friend. I am so glad I read Thirteen Days To Midnight. It had action and suspense—I could not put it down. When I was done, I stared at the book and felt as though I had just stepped off a roller coaster.
Review:
“If you could have only one superpower, what would it be?” (p. 3).
This intriguing question frames this story where three words whispered between friends can change every aspect of their lives.
For the first time in his life, Jacob who grew up in the foster system, feels like he is part of something permanent. He feels like Mr. Fielding really cares about him. But then Mr. Fielding dies in a car crash, and Jacob has to contend with guilt, grief, and loss.
Jacob returns to school where his best friend, Milo, who introduces Jacob to the new girl, Ophelia (goes by Oh). Jacob and Milo have to figure out how to deal with Oh, their mutual interest in her, and her choice between the two of them.
Patrick Carmen handles the relationships within Thirteen Days To Midnight with mastery and finesse. Milo is Jacob’s first true best-friend relationship, while Oh is Jacob’s first love. Patrick Carmen has to balance the fragility of these firsts with the steadfastness that make these relationships seem likely to last. The secrets that the friends share serve both the test their relationships and make their relationships stronger.
But this book is more than a coming-of-age or first-love story because with those three whispered words something passes between Jacob, Milo, and Oh that none of them truly understand. They must unravel the secret of what is passing between them, but in order for them to do that Jacob must start to face his fear, guilt, and grief over losing Mr. Fielding.
There is a lot of action packed into thirteen days, which made reading this book both a pleasure and a challenge. A pleasure because it moves fast and there is not a lot of wasted time or words. But a challenge because of some dark topics addressed that leave the characters with a lot to think about and not a lot of time to process.
October 2, 2011
I was so disappointed with this book. The whole thing seemed a little unfocused and a bit random. The whole book just dragged on from start to finish. Jacob finds out that he has a superpower and so he and his two friends, Milo and Ophelia (Oh), decide to play with it and see how far it can take them. Pretty much the whole book consisted of these teenagers harming themselves to see if they can become injured whilst they have the power. After that, they decide to try and save a couple of people by giving them the power and so they come out of danger unscathed - with nobody seriously asking how or why. The characters weren't believable or endearing. Milo and Oh seemed like pretty bad 'best friends' and Jacob treated Milo appallingly, favouring a girl he'd only met a few days ago. The reasonably random run-ins with the school bully, Ethan, didn't work - its as though Carman didn't really know what Ethan was like at all, saying that he was tolerable one moment but frightening the next. None of the characters felt very distinct. The characters, dialog and plot were lacking and so this is not one that I'd recommend.
August 31, 2010
Ugh. I finished it.. but it took a lot out of me to keep going. It's just really not very good. The writing is pretty awful. The dialogue is worse, and the plot doesn't really work. Not to mention the oh-so-stellar character development that had me immediately invested in these oh-so-believable characters. blegh. Yeah, really.. THAT bad. I only kept reading because the premise was interesting and I kept telling myself, "Surely, if it's published, it needs to have SOME redeeming quality??" yeah.. no.
The dialogue probably bothered me the most. These kids were OUT of time. They sprinkled in modern expressions but made references that are older than I am. They all had the SAME voice and it wasn't a very good one. It was.. young and confused and completely unsure. Additionally there were weird set ups.. like, Ethan. He's a guy who is kind of a jerk. but he's described as that one guy we all know who is kind of a jerk but we still tolerate him and hang out anyway. So.. how exactly did he become this big bully? This MAJOR threat? And for that matter the seriousness of it all was kind of laughable. Maybe its just proof that I'm too old for some YA. Because depending on your age, THE GIRL or THE BULLY could be all-thought-consuming. I guess.. maybe I skipped that age.
One more thought comes to mind. My best friend is a writer and once upon a time, frustrated by a crappy manuscript he was reading, he said, "If you're telling a story from a character's perspective and that character doesn't share information- that's not creating mystery. It's shitty writing." (Paraphrased, and probably doing him NO justice.) I couldn't get that thought out of my head in this book. I kept thinking IS this the manuscript he was reading? Because someone had to read this before me. Someone agreed to publish it, flawed as it is. Someone thought, oh, how cool that the narrator is keeping US in the dark while he pieces everything together. (Which makes no sense, considering he can't stop thinking about THE GIRL long enough to focus on ANYTHING much less solve the frickkkin problem.)
Anyway. Yeah. This book sucked. Don't waste your time.
The dialogue probably bothered me the most. These kids were OUT of time. They sprinkled in modern expressions but made references that are older than I am. They all had the SAME voice and it wasn't a very good one. It was.. young and confused and completely unsure. Additionally there were weird set ups.. like, Ethan. He's a guy who is kind of a jerk. but he's described as that one guy we all know who is kind of a jerk but we still tolerate him and hang out anyway. So.. how exactly did he become this big bully? This MAJOR threat? And for that matter the seriousness of it all was kind of laughable. Maybe its just proof that I'm too old for some YA. Because depending on your age, THE GIRL or THE BULLY could be all-thought-consuming. I guess.. maybe I skipped that age.
One more thought comes to mind. My best friend is a writer and once upon a time, frustrated by a crappy manuscript he was reading, he said, "If you're telling a story from a character's perspective and that character doesn't share information- that's not creating mystery. It's shitty writing." (Paraphrased, and probably doing him NO justice.) I couldn't get that thought out of my head in this book. I kept thinking IS this the manuscript he was reading? Because someone had to read this before me. Someone agreed to publish it, flawed as it is. Someone thought, oh, how cool that the narrator is keeping US in the dark while he pieces everything together. (Which makes no sense, considering he can't stop thinking about THE GIRL long enough to focus on ANYTHING much less solve the frickkkin problem.)
Anyway. Yeah. This book sucked. Don't waste your time.
June 28, 2019
2.5 stars, rounded up.
This book has a cool premise, but misses so much.
As a child who grew up around the foster care system, this book does an abysmal job of portraying the system.
Secondly, the use of the Deus Ex Machina bit was way over done. I'm not talking about in the finale, I'm talking about all over the book. Little, little things get the Deus Ex Machina treatment. Kid is poor? Now he's got a sudden and unforeshadowed inheritance that the reader didn't know about (but MC Jacob did, and never told us, despite this being first person POV). Need to test the effectiveness of guns against Jacob's superpower? Have him shoot himself in the foot, off screen, and only mention it in passing dialogue to another character.
Jacob never remembers anything! I'm not saying he has Dementia, but that he says "I've been in foster care since I was five-ish" and almost never mentions anything else about it again. He doesn't need "flashbacks" to make it believable, just to say something like "the smell of burnt coffee reminded me of the first house I stayed in..."
And the dialogue! So. Much. Was. Explained. In. Dialogue. It killed me. Instead of saying:
The beast clawed into my skin, my soul writhing as fire consumed every ligament. I wrapped my hands around myself in agony, the beast's anger pounding in my temples.
The book will be like (not a real quote):
"It seems mad," I told Oh, "everytime the beast returns, it hurts worse. I don't think I can take it much longer"
But we almost never feel his agony, just get these clipped conversations, where he explains feelings we've never felt him have.
And the character motivations were all over the place. Once minute Jacob would be like: this is dangerous. The next he'd be like: yeah, but it's cool. Every other character did the same exact thing! I just wished one would've been the "safety patrol friend" consistently (Milo), one friend would've been the "let's use this to our advantage" (Oh) and the MC would've been a little more selfish and otherwise flawed.
Anyway, decent enough writing, but poor, poor story-telling.
This book has a cool premise, but misses so much.
As a child who grew up around the foster care system, this book does an abysmal job of portraying the system.
Secondly, the use of the Deus Ex Machina bit was way over done. I'm not talking about in the finale, I'm talking about all over the book. Little, little things get the Deus Ex Machina treatment. Kid is poor? Now he's got a sudden and unforeshadowed inheritance that the reader didn't know about (but MC Jacob did, and never told us, despite this being first person POV). Need to test the effectiveness of guns against Jacob's superpower? Have him shoot himself in the foot, off screen, and only mention it in passing dialogue to another character.
Jacob never remembers anything! I'm not saying he has Dementia, but that he says "I've been in foster care since I was five-ish" and almost never mentions anything else about it again. He doesn't need "flashbacks" to make it believable, just to say something like "the smell of burnt coffee reminded me of the first house I stayed in..."
And the dialogue! So. Much. Was. Explained. In. Dialogue. It killed me. Instead of saying:
The beast clawed into my skin, my soul writhing as fire consumed every ligament. I wrapped my hands around myself in agony, the beast's anger pounding in my temples.
The book will be like (not a real quote):
"It seems mad," I told Oh, "everytime the beast returns, it hurts worse. I don't think I can take it much longer"
But we almost never feel his agony, just get these clipped conversations, where he explains feelings we've never felt him have.
And the character motivations were all over the place. Once minute Jacob would be like: this is dangerous. The next he'd be like: yeah, but it's cool. Every other character did the same exact thing! I just wished one would've been the "safety patrol friend" consistently (Milo), one friend would've been the "let's use this to our advantage" (Oh) and the MC would've been a little more selfish and otherwise flawed.
Anyway, decent enough writing, but poor, poor story-telling.
January 5, 2012
This was reaaaallll dark. A wee bit creepy-ish, a wee bit chilling, but mostly dark. Thank goodness it wasn't that long or too elaborate, because I don't know how much I would be able to handle. The tension in the book was impeccable. It keeps the story perpetually moving, it keeps you compelled to want to read more. A little violent, but bearable.
When I first started the book, I didn't really know what to expect. Okay, I expected the book to be dark (come on, the cover page, the number "thirteen" in the title, all very ominous-looking) but nothing much besides that. It was gripping in the sense that I wanted to continue reading to see what happens to Oh, to see what her final fate would be with the curse, once thought a gift, that Jacob carries. Thirteen Days to Midnight was both unpredictable and predictable, if that makes sense. It's like you can tell that things are going to go a certain direction, but when it happens it just hits you unexpectedly. Or maybe it's just me.
It was interesting watching the gradual change in Oh's character and demeanor, how the power - or "diamond" - was practically consuming her. Everything was spiraling out of control after the series of experiments that the three of them carry out to test the limit of Jacob's power. And soon, Oh persuades Jacob to use it to save lives. It was interesting how this backfires and reduces Oh to the state that she's in as the novel draws to a close. I felt the feelings between Jacob and Oh weren't very real though, I mean come on - they've only known each other for thirteen days; not even a fortnight!
So, one question as I end this review. "If you could have only one superpower, what would it be?" The ability to fly? Invisibility? To be indestructible?
Jacob's final answer to that gave me a very strong sense of closure.
When I first started the book, I didn't really know what to expect. Okay, I expected the book to be dark (come on, the cover page, the number "thirteen" in the title, all very ominous-looking) but nothing much besides that. It was gripping in the sense that I wanted to continue reading to see what happens to Oh, to see what her final fate would be with the curse, once thought a gift, that Jacob carries. Thirteen Days to Midnight was both unpredictable and predictable, if that makes sense. It's like you can tell that things are going to go a certain direction, but when it happens it just hits you unexpectedly. Or maybe it's just me.
It was interesting watching the gradual change in Oh's character and demeanor, how the power - or "diamond" - was practically consuming her. Everything was spiraling out of control after the series of experiments that the three of them carry out to test the limit of Jacob's power. And soon, Oh persuades Jacob to use it to save lives. It was interesting how this backfires and reduces Oh to the state that she's in as the novel draws to a close. I felt the feelings between Jacob and Oh weren't very real though, I mean come on - they've only known each other for thirteen days; not even a fortnight!
So, one question as I end this review. "If you could have only one superpower, what would it be?" The ability to fly? Invisibility? To be indestructible?
Jacob's final answer to that gave me a very strong sense of closure.
July 16, 2014
I wasn't expecting much and I got what I expected. This was an interesting concept, a little underdeveloped. The characters were immature and predictable. I would have probably enjoyed this more if I'd have read it as a teenager.
August 31, 2010
Thirteen Days to Midnight had the potential to be a mind-blowing read, but did not deliver in terms of plot or character. It was just okay.
Jacob Fielding was an ordinary teen until one night, he and his foster father collide with a tree. His father whispers the words "You are indestructible" to Jacob before passing away. After the accident Jacob discovers he has the power of being literally indestructible - nothing can hurt him or kill him, not even a burning flame. He and his best friend Milo meet a mysterious, headstrong girl named Ophelia (nicknamed Oh). The three embark on an adventure to uncover the secrets surrounding the super ability bestowed upon Jacob.
I liked the basic premise of the book. A normal teenager receives an amazing ability and dwells on the rights and wrongs of his choices. It was convincing and original, which is a plus point for Patrick Carman.
However, it was not as superb as I wished it was. The superpower dilemma was resolved in an interesting way, but I didn't feel as if the entire conflict completely ended. Neither Milo or Oh were sympathetic side characters.
I would recommend this book for tween guys looking for an action novel.
Jacob Fielding was an ordinary teen until one night, he and his foster father collide with a tree. His father whispers the words "You are indestructible" to Jacob before passing away. After the accident Jacob discovers he has the power of being literally indestructible - nothing can hurt him or kill him, not even a burning flame. He and his best friend Milo meet a mysterious, headstrong girl named Ophelia (nicknamed Oh). The three embark on an adventure to uncover the secrets surrounding the super ability bestowed upon Jacob.
I liked the basic premise of the book. A normal teenager receives an amazing ability and dwells on the rights and wrongs of his choices. It was convincing and original, which is a plus point for Patrick Carman.
However, it was not as superb as I wished it was. The superpower dilemma was resolved in an interesting way, but I didn't feel as if the entire conflict completely ended. Neither Milo or Oh were sympathetic side characters.
I would recommend this book for tween guys looking for an action novel.
June 14, 2017
Did you ever feel weird after reading a book? I mean, in a not-so-good way? Because uh.. that's what I felt after reading this book. I read in one-sitting but I just... WTF HOW DO I EXPLAIN THIS!!!!
First point: WHERE THE HELL ARE THE PARENTS? Seriously? Why are they letting their stupid children go do stupid things?
Second point: The characters. I like the main character. The best friend was pretty cool too. The girl was just plain annoying. But they all have one thing in common: they're all stupid. I know that there isn't going to be a story if they always do the right thing... but some things that happened in this book just made me cringe and want to throw the book.
Third Point: I'm so confused as hell.
Fourth Point: The ending. No. WHAT
Last Point: No. JUST NO.
December 13, 2013
This book is the story of three sixteen/fifteen year olds who discover that the MC has the power of "invincibility" and my nine year old brother has a higher maturity level then Stupid One, Stupid Two, and Stupid Three.
I didn't get this book. I didn't get it one little bit. I wanted to get it. I mean it involves Death. It sounded deliciously weird and awesome.
And it wasn't. -_-
What I got instead was a story filled with thirteen days of: parents or parent figures letting Stupid One, Stupid Two, and Stupid Three do such dumb and idiotic things. Such as shooting themselves with a gun, jumping off a roof, setting a building on fire, trying to drown themselves, rushed romance over the course of thirteen days where the author *snickers* expects me to believe that Stupid One and Stupid Three are in lurrvvvvvvv and poor Stupid Two is just the third wheel. Along the way I had to deal with boring pacing issues, language, crass content, and lots and lots of vague ideas that left me confused.
So yeah. I hated this book. I despised it. It wasn't the writing for once because Stupid One had a great character voice. The writing was fair enough I suppose. It was just told horribly. I had NO clue what was going on half the time and by the end of the book? I just wanted to burn it. It was confusing and a complete waste of time.
Stupid One (the main character) had me rolling my eyes and actually book palming over his constant description of Stupid Three. I really didn't want to know how nice her butt looked. I hated Stupid One. He didn't learn any lessons. NONE of them did. Except maybe Stupid Two because I actually liked him. And of course he gets stuffed in the back and Stupid One and Stupid Three ride off into their delusional sunset and make out because guess what....drum roll...
THE PARENTS ARE ONCE AGAIN ABSENT IN YA FICTION
Wow. SHOCKING. This seems to be a trend in young adult fiction these days. But I'm starting to sound like a raging socipathic so I'll leave you with a few gems to ponder as you go about your day:
"I think it's sweet", said Ophelia again with those eyes and upturned corner of her mouth. It was heaven.
"Say the F-word", said Ophelia. She was drilling down me with those hazel eyes and this very thin, wry smile that I loved." (Stupid One has known her for hmmm....ten minutes? Here....)
"Oh's face was so perfect and flawless. I just wanted to grab her against me and kiss her"
Anyhow. Read this at your own risk folks. It seems like half the people who reviewed this aren't old hags like me who like picking apart books. You may or may not like this one. Now I'd like to go back to my dungeon.......
PS- This book was not dark. I found it laughable. Chilling? I got more chills reading Twilight.
I didn't get this book. I didn't get it one little bit. I wanted to get it. I mean it involves Death. It sounded deliciously weird and awesome.
And it wasn't. -_-
What I got instead was a story filled with thirteen days of: parents or parent figures letting Stupid One, Stupid Two, and Stupid Three do such dumb and idiotic things. Such as shooting themselves with a gun, jumping off a roof, setting a building on fire, trying to drown themselves, rushed romance over the course of thirteen days where the author *snickers* expects me to believe that Stupid One and Stupid Three are in lurrvvvvvvv and poor Stupid Two is just the third wheel. Along the way I had to deal with boring pacing issues, language, crass content, and lots and lots of vague ideas that left me confused.
So yeah. I hated this book. I despised it. It wasn't the writing for once because Stupid One had a great character voice. The writing was fair enough I suppose. It was just told horribly. I had NO clue what was going on half the time and by the end of the book? I just wanted to burn it. It was confusing and a complete waste of time.
Stupid One (the main character) had me rolling my eyes and actually book palming over his constant description of Stupid Three. I really didn't want to know how nice her butt looked. I hated Stupid One. He didn't learn any lessons. NONE of them did. Except maybe Stupid Two because I actually liked him. And of course he gets stuffed in the back and Stupid One and Stupid Three ride off into their delusional sunset and make out because guess what....drum roll...
THE PARENTS ARE ONCE AGAIN ABSENT IN YA FICTION
Wow. SHOCKING. This seems to be a trend in young adult fiction these days. But I'm starting to sound like a raging socipathic so I'll leave you with a few gems to ponder as you go about your day:
"I think it's sweet", said Ophelia again with those eyes and upturned corner of her mouth. It was heaven.
"Say the F-word", said Ophelia. She was drilling down me with those hazel eyes and this very thin, wry smile that I loved." (Stupid One has known her for hmmm....ten minutes? Here....)
"Oh's face was so perfect and flawless. I just wanted to grab her against me and kiss her"
Anyhow. Read this at your own risk folks. It seems like half the people who reviewed this aren't old hags like me who like picking apart books. You may or may not like this one. Now I'd like to go back to my dungeon.......
PS- This book was not dark. I found it laughable. Chilling? I got more chills reading Twilight.
December 22, 2010
"Thirteen Days to Midnight" is a thrilling, intuitive look about how much having too much power without exploring its limitations can have dire consequences. Jacob Fielding is a fifteen year old who's in the aftermath of healing from the unexpected and tragic death of his guardian. Returning to his private school, he deals with his best friend Milo, his rival Ethan, and a new girl that completely attracts him in looks and demeanor (Orphelia, a.k.a Oh).
Things become complicated when Jacob reveals to Oh and Milo about a unique ability he possesses - an ability to render himself and others invincible for a brief time. The three of them experiment with what they call "the power" or the "argyle" in a series of dangerous stunts. But when things become too much, Jacob realizes that the power has more limitations than a little bit, and it's only a matter of time before it catches up to them.
The pacing and tension in this book is incredibly well done, and I loved reading Jacob's voice, even considering places where he can be foul mouthed, though it's never overdone. The interactions between his friends and his own mindset are engaging and convincing considering all the events that occur around him. Jacob has a distinct personality, and there are quite a number of revelations and twists that completely surprised me as I read the book. There are times when its intense, and the moral consequences are brought front and center for the reader, but it makes you think as you read it.
I would definitely recommend this book for being a uniquely written story of paranormal powers and caveats for its intended audiences.
Overall score: 4/5
Things become complicated when Jacob reveals to Oh and Milo about a unique ability he possesses - an ability to render himself and others invincible for a brief time. The three of them experiment with what they call "the power" or the "argyle" in a series of dangerous stunts. But when things become too much, Jacob realizes that the power has more limitations than a little bit, and it's only a matter of time before it catches up to them.
The pacing and tension in this book is incredibly well done, and I loved reading Jacob's voice, even considering places where he can be foul mouthed, though it's never overdone. The interactions between his friends and his own mindset are engaging and convincing considering all the events that occur around him. Jacob has a distinct personality, and there are quite a number of revelations and twists that completely surprised me as I read the book. There are times when its intense, and the moral consequences are brought front and center for the reader, but it makes you think as you read it.
I would definitely recommend this book for being a uniquely written story of paranormal powers and caveats for its intended audiences.
Overall score: 4/5
August 17, 2020
I hated this novel. I wish I could have seen the reading list earlier and selected one of Carman's more interesting books. I'm very jealous of my classmates who got to read his interactive novel with clues and videos incorporated with it. This novel was terrible from start to finish. This book was published two years before Gone Girl was published and taught us about the problematic nature of the "cool girl" and yet that does not make me less annoyed by the main female character in this book being one. She skateboards, she's model gorgeous, she literally loves cheese hoagies, oh, and we get several descriptions from the narrator about the curves of her body, especially her butt. ugh. please excuse my rogue commas, this books review doesn't deserve editing.
Finally, let's not get into the boring and repetitive plot and the apparent lore of the fantastical powers being complete and utter indecipherable nonsense!
Finally, let's not get into the boring and repetitive plot and the apparent lore of the fantastical powers being complete and utter indecipherable nonsense!
May 14, 2019
Personal Response: Thirteen Days To Midnight, by Patrick Carman, is a book describing how something can feel so wonderful, yet somehow it is not. The unknown explanation of certain events is what makes the reader want to learn more. My favorite part about this book is how the characters do not realize some events sooner. It makes the later impact more meaningful.
Plot Summary: Jacob is a sixteen year old boy who grows up living from one foster home to another. On Jacob’s last day at his current foster home, he meets a man named Mr. Fielding. The man, yet strange, enjoys spending time with Jacob and adopts him. Jacob and Mr. Fielding enjoy reading sci-fi novels and eating out at various breakfast houses. One day Mr. Fielding offers to let Jacob drive and they end up crashing into a large tree. Before impact Mr. Fielding tells Jacob, “You are Indestructible,” and Jacob will never forget these words for as long as he lives. Father Tim, the owner of Jacob’s school, allows Jacob to live at the school until he graduates. Jacob spends most of his time with Mr. Fielding’s zippo lighter. He even tries to burn himself a few times, but for some reason he could never feel the hot flame. Milo is Jacob’s best friend. He introduces Jacob to Ophelia, a new student who enjoys skateboarding. Ophelia’s arm is broken from a skateboarding accident. She asks Jacob to be the first person to sign it. After long consideration Jacob writes, “ You are Indestructible” on her cast. Later that day, Ophelia makes a large mistake while skateboarding. She crashes face first into pavement. Everyone gathers around her only to find out she is perfectly fine, but she is too perfectly fine. After Jacob realizes he gave the power to Ophelia, he takes it back and tells her and Milo what happened. After time of disbelief, they finally believe him, and they go on their adventure of trying to save lives. After about a week of saving over twenty people from death, they realize there is a consequence they need to pay. For every life they save, a new life needs to be taken. The power has a mind of its own and believes Jacob is its home. This becomes a problem because the power dumps all of the negativity of death into Ophelia like she is its own private storage unit. Ophelia becomes completely fascinated with death, but she is unable to die because Jacob refuses to take the power away from her. After Jacob and Milo find Mr. Fielding’s notes, they discover how he is over one-hundred years old and how he received the power. They also discover they need to kill Ophelia an equal amount of times as they saved lives. After giving Ophelia the Electric Chair over twenty times, she was her normal self again. Jacob vows to never give away the power again until he decides to finally die.
Characterization: Jacob Fielding is a teenage boy with no family and a mysterious power with unknown origin. After thirteen days of trying to protect people, he realizes only one other person in his life matters, and it is his girlfriend: Ophelia.
Ophelia is a teenage girl whose life is dedicated to skateboarding and helping others. After having no memory of the horrible things she has done with the power, Ophelia and Jacob start where their relationship leaves off.
Milo is Jacob’s best friend and they do everything together. After helping Jacob save Ophelia from her curse, they remain best friends.
Mr. Fielding gets the power from Henry Houdini and lives his long life alone. Mr. Fielding realizes Jacob is going to die and instead gives him the power, sacrificing himself in the process. Even after death Mr. Fielding is able to save the day with his notes he leaves for Jacob.
Setting: The book takes place in a town outside of Salem, Oregon. This relates to the book because the characters mention how it rains a lot and this does occur in Oregon. They also talk about a shop Mr. Fielding has on the beach. I believe this refers to a beach on the ocean. The book takes place in modern times. This is relevant to the book because of the use of technology, such as texting.
Thematic Connection: The general theme of the book is Appearance v.s. Reality because the characters are so intrigued nothing can harm them, not even death. In reality, death is the most exhilarating part of a person's life. Jacob realizes if he cannot die, there is no point of living for it is more of a hell on earth sort of deal.
Recommendation: Thirteen Days To Midnight, by Patrick Carman, is a book full of adventure and suspense. What might feel like a blessing, might actually be a curse. I believe the book is best suited for people who enjoy books about the supernatural and conspiracies because the book provides a little of both. I also believe the book is a good read for both men and women because of the subtle romance between Jacob and Ophelia.
Plot Summary: Jacob is a sixteen year old boy who grows up living from one foster home to another. On Jacob’s last day at his current foster home, he meets a man named Mr. Fielding. The man, yet strange, enjoys spending time with Jacob and adopts him. Jacob and Mr. Fielding enjoy reading sci-fi novels and eating out at various breakfast houses. One day Mr. Fielding offers to let Jacob drive and they end up crashing into a large tree. Before impact Mr. Fielding tells Jacob, “You are Indestructible,” and Jacob will never forget these words for as long as he lives. Father Tim, the owner of Jacob’s school, allows Jacob to live at the school until he graduates. Jacob spends most of his time with Mr. Fielding’s zippo lighter. He even tries to burn himself a few times, but for some reason he could never feel the hot flame. Milo is Jacob’s best friend. He introduces Jacob to Ophelia, a new student who enjoys skateboarding. Ophelia’s arm is broken from a skateboarding accident. She asks Jacob to be the first person to sign it. After long consideration Jacob writes, “ You are Indestructible” on her cast. Later that day, Ophelia makes a large mistake while skateboarding. She crashes face first into pavement. Everyone gathers around her only to find out she is perfectly fine, but she is too perfectly fine. After Jacob realizes he gave the power to Ophelia, he takes it back and tells her and Milo what happened. After time of disbelief, they finally believe him, and they go on their adventure of trying to save lives. After about a week of saving over twenty people from death, they realize there is a consequence they need to pay. For every life they save, a new life needs to be taken. The power has a mind of its own and believes Jacob is its home. This becomes a problem because the power dumps all of the negativity of death into Ophelia like she is its own private storage unit. Ophelia becomes completely fascinated with death, but she is unable to die because Jacob refuses to take the power away from her. After Jacob and Milo find Mr. Fielding’s notes, they discover how he is over one-hundred years old and how he received the power. They also discover they need to kill Ophelia an equal amount of times as they saved lives. After giving Ophelia the Electric Chair over twenty times, she was her normal self again. Jacob vows to never give away the power again until he decides to finally die.
Characterization: Jacob Fielding is a teenage boy with no family and a mysterious power with unknown origin. After thirteen days of trying to protect people, he realizes only one other person in his life matters, and it is his girlfriend: Ophelia.
Ophelia is a teenage girl whose life is dedicated to skateboarding and helping others. After having no memory of the horrible things she has done with the power, Ophelia and Jacob start where their relationship leaves off.
Milo is Jacob’s best friend and they do everything together. After helping Jacob save Ophelia from her curse, they remain best friends.
Mr. Fielding gets the power from Henry Houdini and lives his long life alone. Mr. Fielding realizes Jacob is going to die and instead gives him the power, sacrificing himself in the process. Even after death Mr. Fielding is able to save the day with his notes he leaves for Jacob.
Setting: The book takes place in a town outside of Salem, Oregon. This relates to the book because the characters mention how it rains a lot and this does occur in Oregon. They also talk about a shop Mr. Fielding has on the beach. I believe this refers to a beach on the ocean. The book takes place in modern times. This is relevant to the book because of the use of technology, such as texting.
Thematic Connection: The general theme of the book is Appearance v.s. Reality because the characters are so intrigued nothing can harm them, not even death. In reality, death is the most exhilarating part of a person's life. Jacob realizes if he cannot die, there is no point of living for it is more of a hell on earth sort of deal.
Recommendation: Thirteen Days To Midnight, by Patrick Carman, is a book full of adventure and suspense. What might feel like a blessing, might actually be a curse. I believe the book is best suited for people who enjoy books about the supernatural and conspiracies because the book provides a little of both. I also believe the book is a good read for both men and women because of the subtle romance between Jacob and Ophelia.
April 12, 2010
If you could have one superpower, what would it be?
...Jacob Fielding didn't want any powers, nor did he even know that his foster dad even had it. One fateful day, there was a car accident. The last thing Jacob's dad said to him was You are indestructible before the car hit the tree and he died...and Jacob lived.
If you could have one superpower, what would it be?
Jacob Fielding sure as hell wouldn't have picked this one...
Thirteen Days to Midnight is a fascinating, thought provoking story, that is creative and engineered in a way that will make you remember this long after it's done.
It counts down to midnight- Thirteen days later, to one destined night designed to either save or destroy.
There is a lot of hard questions that is challenged in this story. About, life and death, heaven and hell, right and wrong, trust and betrayal, love and forgiveness.
All centered, around one power.
I've never read anything from Patrick Carman before, but I give props for this absolutely unique and thrilling plot!
I love it! It's unpredictable, crazy entertaining, pretty much out of this world and the ending was probably one of the most twisted scenes I've ever read, but I loved it, and I.could.not.read.fast.enough!
This may seem like your average comic-book plot, but this was so, so much more. It has a lot of depth and it grips you in the most haunting ways. It's creepy and a bit disturbing, but it also has this amazing energy and is filled with lighthearted moments.
Jacob, Milo and Oh, have thee greatest chemistry, and while I'm not a fan of
"insta-romance or friendships" Thirteen Days to Midnight, seems to be the exception. Jacob's wit, Milo's sarcasm and Oh's banter was hilarious to read, even during some of the darker power-drunk moments, some of these lines delivered provided the perfect comic relief.
In one word, this book was...cool! The plot concept is mind boggling, gripping and strong. The characters are funny and exceptionally well developed. The writing is incredibly smooth and draws you in from the very first page. While this looks to be a stand alone read, I could still see some room for a sequel, which would be so great!
Outrageous, Wicked and totally Incredible! Thirteen Days to Midnight will keep you mesmerized!
A Must Read!!
...Jacob Fielding didn't want any powers, nor did he even know that his foster dad even had it. One fateful day, there was a car accident. The last thing Jacob's dad said to him was You are indestructible before the car hit the tree and he died...and Jacob lived.
If you could have one superpower, what would it be?
Jacob Fielding sure as hell wouldn't have picked this one...
Thirteen Days to Midnight is a fascinating, thought provoking story, that is creative and engineered in a way that will make you remember this long after it's done.
It counts down to midnight- Thirteen days later, to one destined night designed to either save or destroy.
There is a lot of hard questions that is challenged in this story. About, life and death, heaven and hell, right and wrong, trust and betrayal, love and forgiveness.
All centered, around one power.
I've never read anything from Patrick Carman before, but I give props for this absolutely unique and thrilling plot!
I love it! It's unpredictable, crazy entertaining, pretty much out of this world and the ending was probably one of the most twisted scenes I've ever read, but I loved it, and I.could.not.read.fast.enough!
This may seem like your average comic-book plot, but this was so, so much more. It has a lot of depth and it grips you in the most haunting ways. It's creepy and a bit disturbing, but it also has this amazing energy and is filled with lighthearted moments.
Jacob, Milo and Oh, have thee greatest chemistry, and while I'm not a fan of
"insta-romance or friendships" Thirteen Days to Midnight, seems to be the exception. Jacob's wit, Milo's sarcasm and Oh's banter was hilarious to read, even during some of the darker power-drunk moments, some of these lines delivered provided the perfect comic relief.
In one word, this book was...cool! The plot concept is mind boggling, gripping and strong. The characters are funny and exceptionally well developed. The writing is incredibly smooth and draws you in from the very first page. While this looks to be a stand alone read, I could still see some room for a sequel, which would be so great!
Outrageous, Wicked and totally Incredible! Thirteen Days to Midnight will keep you mesmerized!
A Must Read!!
June 14, 2016
3.5 stars. The following tag line is what drew me to this book:
You are indestructible. Three whispered words transfer an astonishing power to Jacob Fielding that changes everything…
Thirteen Days to Midnight was rather thought provoking, definitely a far cry from Patrick Carman’s Land of Elyon series. It had elements of Unbreakable and Final Destination.
At first Jacob doesn’t really want to use this new power he’s been given, but eventually Ophelia (Oh for short), the new girl in town, whom he’s rather captivated by, talks him into it. Jacob ends up trying to do good with the power, but the results end up not being so good in the end.
As far as the characters went, I liked Jacob and Milo, but I have to say that I never really came to like Oh. She seemed manipulative and despite the fact that she wanted to use the power to help other people, selfish. It felt like she wanted to help for the wrong reasons, namely because she got a rush out of it. Maybe that wasn’t her motivation in the beginning, but it certainly was in the end. .
This was one of those books that left me with a slightly unsettled feeling when I was done reading it. A little bit like Neal Shusterman's Unwind.
You are indestructible. Three whispered words transfer an astonishing power to Jacob Fielding that changes everything…
Thirteen Days to Midnight was rather thought provoking, definitely a far cry from Patrick Carman’s Land of Elyon series. It had elements of Unbreakable and Final Destination.
At first Jacob doesn’t really want to use this new power he’s been given, but eventually Ophelia (Oh for short), the new girl in town, whom he’s rather captivated by, talks him into it. Jacob ends up trying to do good with the power, but the results end up not being so good in the end.
As far as the characters went, I liked Jacob and Milo, but I have to say that I never really came to like Oh. She seemed manipulative and despite the fact that she wanted to use the power to help other people, selfish. It felt like she wanted to help for the wrong reasons, namely because she got a rush out of it. Maybe that wasn’t her motivation in the beginning, but it certainly was in the end. .
This was one of those books that left me with a slightly unsettled feeling when I was done reading it. A little bit like Neal Shusterman's Unwind.
September 12, 2018
This book is amazing, when I first got the book, just by lookin at the cover, it attracts me. The book reminds me of a quote "If you try to succeed, you have to try hard" This book is about a boy trying to get rid of ghosts around him, he wants to know what is his dad up to and who is his dad, after the news came saying that his dad died, he tries his best to figure out ways to execute the ghosts that works for his dad. By the end, he made it, only because he puts time on it, he uses the hints from his dad's history, even dreamt about it, even though he only has 13 days to figure it out
February 18, 2014
Ending was a bit confusing but other than that a really really good book! (:
October 1, 2018
thirteen days to midnight is a book about a boy who is 15 years old his name is Jacob fielding when he was 14 he was in foster care and he though that he was to old t ever be adopted but he was by his foster dad and his new dad is keeping a secret he has a gem of curse or what ever you like to call it were you are indestructible when he and his new dad are driving down the road and the lose control he dad says the words you are indestructible to Jacob and he cannot be harmed when his dad dies he continue living in a church home with priests and he has this power no on knows then he meets up with his friend and his friend tells Jacob about this girl he meet and Jacob kept thinking he was lying then he met the girl the girl had a broken arm they were both 15 her name was Ophila Oames and his friends name was milo the girl had heard the bad news so she wanted to cheer him up by letting him be the sign her cast so he writes you are indestructible after he finish it he cant stop thinking how bad of a person he is because the last words his dad said to him were the first words she heard/saw from him but little do they both know she now cant be hurt so when she try's to skate on her way home she hits a bump and falls but when she falls she hits the ground super hard which would crack a normal person skull milo and Jacob freak out and run to her but for some reason she is just fine which freaks them out so he gets to thinking then he wishes he never wrote it gave him back the power this when he stabs his hand so he calls them to meet him at a restaurant when they meet him he said he could not be hurt they didn't be live him so he put a old zippo litter to his hand and they yelled at him to stop but the liter but it doesn't effect him at all so the girl tells to give her the power so when he does she slams her wrist down she feels nothing but little do they now since she gets it first something is brewing but this is when they realize that that could use this to save people so O gets a police scanner and she keeps it in her room when anything a happens she texts Jacob and tells him to give her the power so she can save them but her own apartment catches on fire Jacob wakes one of the priest and they go to the apartment she is inside saving a ladies cat then she walks out unharmed so the day after they try another test which they find out almost nothing can kill hi m but after this they start seeing it hurts to move the power to a different then the girl becomes depressed the gem is making her see everyone that they couldn't save and she wants to kill herself but she cant with the power and she tells them to help a little girl who falls in a well but milo tells him not to then she tells them that the little girl died but how would she knows so they realize that something is wrong the first person to get the power get very sad because all the blame goes to them so they have to get her and kill her 21 times for every person they couldn't save to save her life
May 7, 2012
This review first appeared on my blog: Book Addict 24-7
Thirteen Days to Midnight, by Patrick Carman is a young adult novel that follows orphan Jacob Fielding after his guardian's death and the legacy that is left for him. The premise of this novel is what drew me in since I was curious to see what Jacob experiences and his apparent connection with death. While Carman introduces his character in a pretty neat way, his story wasn't what I was anticipating.
"You are indestructible. Three whispered words transfer an astonishing power to Jacob Fielding that changes everything. At first, Jacob is hesitant to use the power, unsure of its implications. But there's something addictive about testing the limits of fear.
Then Ophelia James, the beautiful and daring new girl in town, suggests that they use the power to do good, to save others. But with every heroic act, the power grows into the specter of a curse. How to decide who lives and who dies?"
-Goodreads
Various things, good and bad, stuck out for me as I read this book. At points I was confused while at others I was awed at what the characters were experiencing.
Negatives:
1. I know some authors include a prologue into a novel as a way of either preparing a reader for an upcoming moment of tension, or for giving the reader some information that may be vital for understanding the text. Carman, however, includes a prologue that is separated into two different one and a half page chapters. The first is an italicized third person view of what is apparently happening later on in the novel (though the scene doesn't make a reappearance and I think this will just add to the confusion), and the second is simply labelled "One Day Later", yet it is first person, with Jacob asking the reader a series of questions. Personally, I would have just included the latter chapter. One, because it is a cool introduction, and two, it feels more effective than blindly throwing the reader into a situation where the style of writing isn't even the same as the rest of the book.
2. The front of my hardcover copy of the novel says, "The Grim Reaper doesn't disappear...he catches up." I'm sorry if I ruin this for anyone, so This confused the hell out of me at the end... it's just so complex.
3. The way that Jacob falls in love with Ophelia James is a bit too much, to be honest. It only takes him several days to fall in love with her and then risk not only his life, but his best friend's life as well in order to save her.
4. Ophelia's character, while I know that she was changing from influences I can't state, was so dramatic I wanted to reach into the book and slap her.
Positives:
1. Each day is separated by a page that tells the reader how many days there are left until midnight (which is what the prologue is about). I think this is cool because I didn't have to read the same sentence stating what day it is and how many days are left with each new chapter. Of course, there are various chapters in each section.
2. The latter part of the prologue is awesome and I like that Carman uses the same tactic of superpowers and the curiosity that humanity holds for those things we don't have at the beginning and the conclusion. It is not just cool, but a great way to wrap up the story.
3. Even with all the little nuisances, Carman writes a fun story that moves along quickly. He doesn't focus on unimportant scenes that don't have any relevance to the story. Everything is connected, one way or another.
4. The ending is predictable, but I was still surprised by some aspects of it. I'm not spoiling it for you guys, so you'll just have to read the book to find out what it is!
Though Carman offers us a fast-paced and adventurous story, the concept of the novel is a bit confusing. I won't be surprised if future readers jump into this with one idea of the novel in mind, only to come out thinking, "huh, that's different."
Thirteen Days to Midnight, by Patrick Carman is a young adult novel that follows orphan Jacob Fielding after his guardian's death and the legacy that is left for him. The premise of this novel is what drew me in since I was curious to see what Jacob experiences and his apparent connection with death. While Carman introduces his character in a pretty neat way, his story wasn't what I was anticipating.
"You are indestructible. Three whispered words transfer an astonishing power to Jacob Fielding that changes everything. At first, Jacob is hesitant to use the power, unsure of its implications. But there's something addictive about testing the limits of fear.
Then Ophelia James, the beautiful and daring new girl in town, suggests that they use the power to do good, to save others. But with every heroic act, the power grows into the specter of a curse. How to decide who lives and who dies?"
-Goodreads
Various things, good and bad, stuck out for me as I read this book. At points I was confused while at others I was awed at what the characters were experiencing.
Negatives:
1. I know some authors include a prologue into a novel as a way of either preparing a reader for an upcoming moment of tension, or for giving the reader some information that may be vital for understanding the text. Carman, however, includes a prologue that is separated into two different one and a half page chapters. The first is an italicized third person view of what is apparently happening later on in the novel (though the scene doesn't make a reappearance and I think this will just add to the confusion), and the second is simply labelled "One Day Later", yet it is first person, with Jacob asking the reader a series of questions. Personally, I would have just included the latter chapter. One, because it is a cool introduction, and two, it feels more effective than blindly throwing the reader into a situation where the style of writing isn't even the same as the rest of the book.
2. The front of my hardcover copy of the novel says, "The Grim Reaper doesn't disappear...he catches up." I'm sorry if I ruin this for anyone, so This confused the hell out of me at the end... it's just so complex.
3. The way that Jacob falls in love with Ophelia James is a bit too much, to be honest. It only takes him several days to fall in love with her and then risk not only his life, but his best friend's life as well in order to save her.
4. Ophelia's character, while I know that she was changing from influences I can't state, was so dramatic I wanted to reach into the book and slap her.
Positives:
1. Each day is separated by a page that tells the reader how many days there are left until midnight (which is what the prologue is about). I think this is cool because I didn't have to read the same sentence stating what day it is and how many days are left with each new chapter. Of course, there are various chapters in each section.
2. The latter part of the prologue is awesome and I like that Carman uses the same tactic of superpowers and the curiosity that humanity holds for those things we don't have at the beginning and the conclusion. It is not just cool, but a great way to wrap up the story.
3. Even with all the little nuisances, Carman writes a fun story that moves along quickly. He doesn't focus on unimportant scenes that don't have any relevance to the story. Everything is connected, one way or another.
4. The ending is predictable, but I was still surprised by some aspects of it. I'm not spoiling it for you guys, so you'll just have to read the book to find out what it is!
Though Carman offers us a fast-paced and adventurous story, the concept of the novel is a bit confusing. I won't be surprised if future readers jump into this with one idea of the novel in mind, only to come out thinking, "huh, that's different."
October 30, 2014
Thirteen Days to Midnight
By Patrick Carman
Genre: Science Fiction/fantasy
I liked reading this book. It has an interesting story line. There were funny things, sad things, and scary things that happened. It had a lot of adventure and suspense, too.
Setting: Salem, Oregon, a Catholic high school, Coffin Books library (Milo's dad's store) The setting of the rainy streets of Salem made the story more creepy and made characters seem more remote and alone.
Characters:
Jacob Fielding - foster child, narrator
Mr. Fielding - Jacob's foster father
Milo Coffin - Jacob's best friend
Ophelia James - New girl at school, friends with Milo and becomes Jacobs girlfriend
Ethan, Phil and Nick - other students at Jacob's school
Mr. Coffin - Milo's dad
The story starts out with a question: "If you could have only one superpower, what would it be?" Jacob Fielding, the narrator of the story, asks this question at the beginning and also at the end.
Jacob was a foster child. He was in and out of foster homes for a lot of his childhood. His real father died and he couldn't remember his mother. Mr. Fielding became Jacob's foster father but only for a little over a year. They had a car accident that killed Mr. Fielding. They hit a tree going about sixty miles per hour. No one should have survived that crash. We find out later in the story it was Jacob who was driving. Before Mr. Fielding died he told Jacob "You are indestructible". Jacob survived without a scratch.
Jacob's best friend is Milo Coffin. Jacob hadn't been at school for about a week because of the accident and Mr. Fielding's passing. While he was gone, a new girl started going to their school. Her name was Ophelia James, but everyone called her "Oh". She and Milo made friends and hung out together while Jacob was gone. Oh had a cast on her arm from a skateboarding accident. Jacob was the first person to sign it. He wrote the words "You are indestructible" on it. Oh had a bad spill on her skateboard but came out of it with no real injuries. Jacob starts to wonder if there is some kind of power in those words. Jacob takes the power back by saying he is indestructible to himself. He figures out that he can control the power and give it to his friends if they need it. He tells his friends about this power. They don't really believe it but they know it is weird that Oh didn't get hurt from her bad fall. Milo wants to try it out so Jacob says he is indestructible. Milo smashes his thumb repeatedly with a book but doesn't feel a thing until Jacob takes the power back.
This starts them on a roller coaster ride of saving people from death. There were fires and there were accidents of all kinds. They saved a lot of people. They didn't know the deaths they were preventing were going to come back to "haunt" them. With each save, Oh became more and more obsessed with saving more people and with death itself. She kept track of all the deaths they prevented in a notebook. The more people they saved, the more "zombie-like" Oh became. She becomes out of control. Jacob and Milo figure out that they will need to "kill" Oh for every life they saved to make things "right". They do kill her several times in different ways and they rig up a way to electrocute her, which they do several times, too. After every time they "kill" her, Oh comes back to life. Each time, it takes a little longer for her to come back. When they finish and have accounted for every life in the notebook they aren't sure if Oh will come back. She does finally wake up after the final time, but she doesn't remember much. Milo and Jacob decide not to tell Oh everything that happened. They will let her figure things out on her own, if she ever will.
Theme: So, the story ends with the same question: "If you could have only one superpower, what would it be?" This question makes me think of what this story is really about. It is like the saying "be careful what you wish for". Sometimes we wish for something that is really not good for us or not what we are expecting it to be. In this story, the characters thought being indestructible was great until the power took over their lives. It became an obsession to them. A lot of the time what we think we want is not good for us.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes suspense and action. It would be appropriate for kids age 12 and up. There was some violence, so younger kids might not be ready for it.
By Patrick Carman
Genre: Science Fiction/fantasy
I liked reading this book. It has an interesting story line. There were funny things, sad things, and scary things that happened. It had a lot of adventure and suspense, too.
Setting: Salem, Oregon, a Catholic high school, Coffin Books library (Milo's dad's store) The setting of the rainy streets of Salem made the story more creepy and made characters seem more remote and alone.
Characters:
Jacob Fielding - foster child, narrator
Mr. Fielding - Jacob's foster father
Milo Coffin - Jacob's best friend
Ophelia James - New girl at school, friends with Milo and becomes Jacobs girlfriend
Ethan, Phil and Nick - other students at Jacob's school
Mr. Coffin - Milo's dad
The story starts out with a question: "If you could have only one superpower, what would it be?" Jacob Fielding, the narrator of the story, asks this question at the beginning and also at the end.
Jacob was a foster child. He was in and out of foster homes for a lot of his childhood. His real father died and he couldn't remember his mother. Mr. Fielding became Jacob's foster father but only for a little over a year. They had a car accident that killed Mr. Fielding. They hit a tree going about sixty miles per hour. No one should have survived that crash. We find out later in the story it was Jacob who was driving. Before Mr. Fielding died he told Jacob "You are indestructible". Jacob survived without a scratch.
Jacob's best friend is Milo Coffin. Jacob hadn't been at school for about a week because of the accident and Mr. Fielding's passing. While he was gone, a new girl started going to their school. Her name was Ophelia James, but everyone called her "Oh". She and Milo made friends and hung out together while Jacob was gone. Oh had a cast on her arm from a skateboarding accident. Jacob was the first person to sign it. He wrote the words "You are indestructible" on it. Oh had a bad spill on her skateboard but came out of it with no real injuries. Jacob starts to wonder if there is some kind of power in those words. Jacob takes the power back by saying he is indestructible to himself. He figures out that he can control the power and give it to his friends if they need it. He tells his friends about this power. They don't really believe it but they know it is weird that Oh didn't get hurt from her bad fall. Milo wants to try it out so Jacob says he is indestructible. Milo smashes his thumb repeatedly with a book but doesn't feel a thing until Jacob takes the power back.
This starts them on a roller coaster ride of saving people from death. There were fires and there were accidents of all kinds. They saved a lot of people. They didn't know the deaths they were preventing were going to come back to "haunt" them. With each save, Oh became more and more obsessed with saving more people and with death itself. She kept track of all the deaths they prevented in a notebook. The more people they saved, the more "zombie-like" Oh became. She becomes out of control. Jacob and Milo figure out that they will need to "kill" Oh for every life they saved to make things "right". They do kill her several times in different ways and they rig up a way to electrocute her, which they do several times, too. After every time they "kill" her, Oh comes back to life. Each time, it takes a little longer for her to come back. When they finish and have accounted for every life in the notebook they aren't sure if Oh will come back. She does finally wake up after the final time, but she doesn't remember much. Milo and Jacob decide not to tell Oh everything that happened. They will let her figure things out on her own, if she ever will.
Theme: So, the story ends with the same question: "If you could have only one superpower, what would it be?" This question makes me think of what this story is really about. It is like the saying "be careful what you wish for". Sometimes we wish for something that is really not good for us or not what we are expecting it to be. In this story, the characters thought being indestructible was great until the power took over their lives. It became an obsession to them. A lot of the time what we think we want is not good for us.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes suspense and action. It would be appropriate for kids age 12 and up. There was some violence, so younger kids might not be ready for it.
March 31, 2015
Do you like books that involved people who have superpowers in it and have to make hard choices? Well if you do this is the book for you. This book is fiction.
This book is about a kid named Jacob Fielding He thinks he's somewhat different then others. He realizes he has gotten a curse from his father after they get into a terrible car crash.His father dies but Jacob lives somehow because he has to power to live through out anything that can hurt him. Jacob goes to this Holy cross school to live with one of his fathers friend. Jacob meets some friends named "Milo" and a dreamy new girl named "Oh" that's her nickname since a lot of people miss pronounce her name. The boys both fall for her and now try and seek for her attention. But soon they forget about trying to get her attention when they find out about Jacobs powers. Jacob casts his powers on Oh to keep her from getting hurt. Then his powers get suspicious so they try to investigate his powers. At a point in the book Jacob shares his powers and has to choose one person to live and die. He has to choose between Milo or Oh. There is also something Jacob isn't telling his friends about it. The conflict in the book is Person. Vs. Self. It is this conflict because Jacob has to figure out if he wants to tel his friends the truth about everything or not.
My favorite part of the book was when Jacob kinda fell in love with Oh. In the text it says,"Great to be alive isn't it?" asked Oh, wrapping her arms around my neck.She looked amazing." I would imagine him saying that to her since he liked her. Also, I was surprised when Jacob had figured out he had powers. In the text it says,"You are indestructible...those were the last words I heard before we hit the wide,moss-covered trunk of an old-growth tree in Mr.Fielding's car doing sixty" That's why Jacob didn't get hurt in the car crash.
I thought the ending of the book was very interesting because of the way Jacob ended his words at the end of the books. Those words were "All I really want is to stay with my friends all the way to the end. The power to never be alone is the only answer there is for a guy like me." I liked this because it's like saying like every person is unique in some type of what. Also, I wish that in the beginning of the book it wouldn't spoil the book so much. Like it says that " I killed a guy, ,maybe two. Possibly three. I have one power. Not two or three or four. Just one. I met a girl, she changed everything." Right then and there the book probably wouldn't be as interesting it would be better if that was in the middle of the book during a specific time period.
If I were to rate this book out of 5 stars I would rate it 5 out of 5. I really enjoyed this book. It had a crazy lot of ups and downs but in the end it was all worth it. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves mysterious and friendship books. Imagine if you had to choose a superpower that had some good and BAD things to it and you were stuck with it forever...
This book is about a kid named Jacob Fielding He thinks he's somewhat different then others. He realizes he has gotten a curse from his father after they get into a terrible car crash.His father dies but Jacob lives somehow because he has to power to live through out anything that can hurt him. Jacob goes to this Holy cross school to live with one of his fathers friend. Jacob meets some friends named "Milo" and a dreamy new girl named "Oh" that's her nickname since a lot of people miss pronounce her name. The boys both fall for her and now try and seek for her attention. But soon they forget about trying to get her attention when they find out about Jacobs powers. Jacob casts his powers on Oh to keep her from getting hurt. Then his powers get suspicious so they try to investigate his powers. At a point in the book Jacob shares his powers and has to choose one person to live and die. He has to choose between Milo or Oh. There is also something Jacob isn't telling his friends about it. The conflict in the book is Person. Vs. Self. It is this conflict because Jacob has to figure out if he wants to tel his friends the truth about everything or not.
My favorite part of the book was when Jacob kinda fell in love with Oh. In the text it says,"Great to be alive isn't it?" asked Oh, wrapping her arms around my neck.She looked amazing." I would imagine him saying that to her since he liked her. Also, I was surprised when Jacob had figured out he had powers. In the text it says,"You are indestructible...those were the last words I heard before we hit the wide,moss-covered trunk of an old-growth tree in Mr.Fielding's car doing sixty" That's why Jacob didn't get hurt in the car crash.
I thought the ending of the book was very interesting because of the way Jacob ended his words at the end of the books. Those words were "All I really want is to stay with my friends all the way to the end. The power to never be alone is the only answer there is for a guy like me." I liked this because it's like saying like every person is unique in some type of what. Also, I wish that in the beginning of the book it wouldn't spoil the book so much. Like it says that " I killed a guy, ,maybe two. Possibly three. I have one power. Not two or three or four. Just one. I met a girl, she changed everything." Right then and there the book probably wouldn't be as interesting it would be better if that was in the middle of the book during a specific time period.
If I were to rate this book out of 5 stars I would rate it 5 out of 5. I really enjoyed this book. It had a crazy lot of ups and downs but in the end it was all worth it. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves mysterious and friendship books. Imagine if you had to choose a superpower that had some good and BAD things to it and you were stuck with it forever...
January 7, 2023
This book was so compelling I could not put it down. I literally read it in one sitting. (Mind you I stayed up much later that I should have.) Patrick Carman is one of my favourite authors; I will not pull any punches. I love his writings in all their variety. I have had the pleasure of corresponding with him and find him friendly, encouraging and caring. He seems to personally emulate the best of what is in his books. However, this new book is a very different venture for him. It is not the technical wonder of either Skeleton Creek or Trackers, combining video, websites and text into a single story.
This is the story of Jacob Fielding. He has been given a gift or maybe a curse; he is indestructible. But like any great gift, with it comes responsibility. The problem is, Jacob does not understand the gift and ends up hurting everyone he cares about. Jacob's best friend is Milo Coffin and they both befriend the new girl at school Ophelia James or just Oh as she prefers to be called. Jacob has this ability to be indestructible, and he can pass it off to someone else. Oh is the first person he passes it to. That is when the problems begin; soon they want to start using it to save other people's lives, but what if you cannot cheat death, what if for every life you steal from death a darkness is growing and it is getting closer to you, you can feel it but you also feel trapped? What are the morals of saving someone's life, how do you choose, what if you fail? These are all questions the three friends struggle with but ultimately it comes down to Jacob. It is his gift to give or to take back. The three friends attend a private catholic high School in Oregon, and Jacob is living at the rectory with Father Tim the principal of the school and some older priests. He was recently orphaned, and he must figure out the secret of this gift before it destroys him, his friends and their friendship.
Told in the first person narrative, it looks back at the 13 days leading up to Jacob standing over a friend and letting them die. This story is tightly-packed and it wrestles with some large questions. This book is the first written by Carmen exclusively for young adults. It is darker and grittier than his earlier works; it also showcases his talent and skill as a writer and showcases a greater range of skill in storytelling than his previous works.
This is the story of Jacob Fielding. He has been given a gift or maybe a curse; he is indestructible. But like any great gift, with it comes responsibility. The problem is, Jacob does not understand the gift and ends up hurting everyone he cares about. Jacob's best friend is Milo Coffin and they both befriend the new girl at school Ophelia James or just Oh as she prefers to be called. Jacob has this ability to be indestructible, and he can pass it off to someone else. Oh is the first person he passes it to. That is when the problems begin; soon they want to start using it to save other people's lives, but what if you cannot cheat death, what if for every life you steal from death a darkness is growing and it is getting closer to you, you can feel it but you also feel trapped? What are the morals of saving someone's life, how do you choose, what if you fail? These are all questions the three friends struggle with but ultimately it comes down to Jacob. It is his gift to give or to take back. The three friends attend a private catholic high School in Oregon, and Jacob is living at the rectory with Father Tim the principal of the school and some older priests. He was recently orphaned, and he must figure out the secret of this gift before it destroys him, his friends and their friendship.
Told in the first person narrative, it looks back at the 13 days leading up to Jacob standing over a friend and letting them die. This story is tightly-packed and it wrestles with some large questions. This book is the first written by Carmen exclusively for young adults. It is darker and grittier than his earlier works; it also showcases his talent and skill as a writer and showcases a greater range of skill in storytelling than his previous works.
April 12, 2015
If preternatural capability were not the field of science-fiction,what would you want your ability to be? Here is the catch you only can have one power.Jacob Fielding is your typical guy but he has a revolutionary power that got transferred to him.You are indestructible, that was the last word Jacob's father said to him but what Jacob didn't know at the time is the that same phrase would turn his world upside down.
Jacob's friend Milo has a friendship with Ophelia James AKA Oh a new arrival to the school but because Jacob missed school for a few days that being so he has not meet her yet. At recess she comes up to Milo and him asking them to sign her pink cast, Jacob's mind was racing but not a single word came out then as sudden as lightning a line came to him so he wrote it down and it read " You are indestructible".
Oh was long boarding when without a clue she plummeted face first into the concrete ground at first glance it looked as if she needed to be sent to ICU but then she stood up and walked away without a scratch. Jacob, Oh and Milo then started to stretch the limit of Jocob's power of cheating death to learn more about it and they soon started to help people be come immortal to save their life but every time he saves someone the power takes one step closer to becoming a curse. Then one day Oh changes and wants to commit suicide but there is one hurdle she has to pass, she has to have Jacob take his power back but Jacob has no intention of doing that. He has to play a game of dice with death and has to face up the the fear that he has to kill the one he loves to save her. Will Oh die or will Oh kill them, it is a game of kill or get killed and this time death is playing to.
This book is a marvelous book as it combines life lessons and superheroes in one, this book indirectly tells you to not be afraid of doing things out of your comfort zone. I recommend this book to people who read young adult books and comic books as it is a mixture of both types of books in one.If you are a pacifist I warn you not to read this book as it has violence in it and if you are sensitive about death never ever ever read this book, it as death written all over it.
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May 6, 2020Thirteen Days to Midnight is, in one word, incredible.
The story opens with our protag., Jacob, returning to his private school, Holy Cross, after a week long break due to a traumatic event. A few pages after this scene I realized that my eyes were glued to the novel and weren't, not even for sleep, going anywhere. Carman's characters draw you in and the intensity of the plot keeps you there.
The adventure Jacob, Milo, & Oh find themselves 'dragged' into is dangerous in the way that motorcycles are dangerous. If used correctly, with the right gear & proper training, they're not dangerous at all. But, when put into the hands of let's say three teenagers, things can get very dangerous. Something stirs inside the teens, something that makes them want to push the bike's limits, test how hard they can push it, how fast it can go. A feeling gives them the urge to want to do things that may be fun for a while, but they know shouldn't be messed with. Temptation.
Temptation is found in many places & can take many forms. The most dangerous kind of temptation is the temptation of teenagers with power. Face it, we're moody, hate to be told what to do, & act irrationally and emotionally nine times out of ten. (Hormones, people, they're always pumping.) When Jacob and his friends are given power, they react irrationally and get themselves into a pickle. A big one...we're talking Guiness Book of World Records sized pickle. Yeah, they screw up a bit.
The way the three friends handle everything feels very natural, logical. They act like you'd expect them to react, emotionally, irrationally. This works because they are teenagers, and they will make mistakes. Instead of sitting around on their arses and weeping though, they take action and get things done.
The characters in Thirteen Days are strong willed, smart, fierce, and funny. They make you care what happens in the storyline, what happens to them. Jacob, Milo, Oh, & even Father Tim breathe, and give this book exactly what it needs to earn a 5 star rating from me.
Summing it up:
Please, do yourself a favor. Get this book now.
The story opens with our protag., Jacob, returning to his private school, Holy Cross, after a week long break due to a traumatic event. A few pages after this scene I realized that my eyes were glued to the novel and weren't, not even for sleep, going anywhere. Carman's characters draw you in and the intensity of the plot keeps you there.
The adventure Jacob, Milo, & Oh find themselves 'dragged' into is dangerous in the way that motorcycles are dangerous. If used correctly, with the right gear & proper training, they're not dangerous at all. But, when put into the hands of let's say three teenagers, things can get very dangerous. Something stirs inside the teens, something that makes them want to push the bike's limits, test how hard they can push it, how fast it can go. A feeling gives them the urge to want to do things that may be fun for a while, but they know shouldn't be messed with. Temptation.
Temptation is found in many places & can take many forms. The most dangerous kind of temptation is the temptation of teenagers with power. Face it, we're moody, hate to be told what to do, & act irrationally and emotionally nine times out of ten. (Hormones, people, they're always pumping.) When Jacob and his friends are given power, they react irrationally and get themselves into a pickle. A big one...we're talking Guiness Book of World Records sized pickle. Yeah, they screw up a bit.
The way the three friends handle everything feels very natural, logical. They act like you'd expect them to react, emotionally, irrationally. This works because they are teenagers, and they will make mistakes. Instead of sitting around on their arses and weeping though, they take action and get things done.
The characters in Thirteen Days are strong willed, smart, fierce, and funny. They make you care what happens in the storyline, what happens to them. Jacob, Milo, Oh, & even Father Tim breathe, and give this book exactly what it needs to earn a 5 star rating from me.
Summing it up:
Please, do yourself a favor. Get this book now.
June 6, 2017
2.5 stars
The second half of the book really picked up the pace and it got quite interesting- but there were just too many things that didn't sit right with me.
The whole debate about animals not having emotions for example is just something that really pissed me off. I don't think it was necessary to include in this book and it's just not an opinion people should have. (I mean what the hell? How arrogant can humans be?)
Then there were all these instances where Jakob talked about how pretty, beautiful, hot, perfect, etc. etc. Ophelia was instead of focusing on her personality. She could literally be going mad with the need to kill herself and he was only whining about how she was still beautiful, despite her dead eyes. Seriously?
I also thought the whole "You're indestructable." is kind of too easy to tranfer a superpower- and I thought the rules behind it were kind of weird. Also if some guy managed to force this power into his soul, don't you think you could do some research and find a way to get rid of it again?
The thing that bothered me the most, though, is this mindset that a lot of people seem to have: There is nothing worse than death. Which is ignorant, stupid and wrong. Ophelia was literally being tortured by the darkness and death inside of her, so much that she wanted to die and the two male main characters were like "well, at least she won't be able to kill herself if we keep her indestructable". I'm sorry to tell you this, but that's not heroic, mercyful or selfless. If they are suffering so badly that they are as desperate as poor Ophelia was, you need to let them die, you need to stop forcing them into something they don't want. How can you say you love someone if you want them to live only so you won't feel bad?
I do think that the whole superpower plot was well-wrought and interesting. The characters weren't the best and most of them fit these "stuck-up brutal stupid jock" or "brainless hot bitch" or "stupidly brave goodnatured hot MC who's also somehow a helpless baby and needs the male MC to protect her" stereotypes. The writing wasn't spectacular but also definitely not bad.
The second half of the book really picked up the pace and it got quite interesting- but there were just too many things that didn't sit right with me.
The whole debate about animals not having emotions for example is just something that really pissed me off. I don't think it was necessary to include in this book and it's just not an opinion people should have. (I mean what the hell? How arrogant can humans be?)
Then there were all these instances where Jakob talked about how pretty, beautiful, hot, perfect, etc. etc. Ophelia was instead of focusing on her personality. She could literally be going mad with the need to kill herself and he was only whining about how she was still beautiful, despite her dead eyes. Seriously?
I also thought the whole "You're indestructable." is kind of too easy to tranfer a superpower- and I thought the rules behind it were kind of weird. Also if some guy managed to force this power into his soul, don't you think you could do some research and find a way to get rid of it again?
The thing that bothered me the most, though, is this mindset that a lot of people seem to have: There is nothing worse than death. Which is ignorant, stupid and wrong. Ophelia was literally being tortured by the darkness and death inside of her, so much that she wanted to die and the two male main characters were like "well, at least she won't be able to kill herself if we keep her indestructable". I'm sorry to tell you this, but that's not heroic, mercyful or selfless. If they are suffering so badly that they are as desperate as poor Ophelia was, you need to let them die, you need to stop forcing them into something they don't want. How can you say you love someone if you want them to live only so you won't feel bad?
I do think that the whole superpower plot was well-wrought and interesting. The characters weren't the best and most of them fit these "stuck-up brutal stupid jock" or "brainless hot bitch" or "stupidly brave goodnatured hot MC who's also somehow a helpless baby and needs the male MC to protect her" stereotypes. The writing wasn't spectacular but also definitely not bad.
May 2, 2010
This review has spoilers of the ending of the book. Don't read on if that bothers you.
This book was intriguing and I liked the premise, but I had quite a few problems with it.
First, I disliked the love interest, Ophelia, intensely. I had no idea why the main character, who was otherwise pretty smart, fell so hard for this annoying, selfish, bullying girl in like, one day.
My second complaint is that the book is written in first person but the main character keeps secrets throughout the book. He is not an unreliable narrator (like Liar by Justine Larbalestier), he just conveniently doesn't think of things until he tells them to his friend later. Or he'll think, "but I knew a secret..." which is a total cop out. If you're writing in first person the reader should know what the character knows.
Also, the ending wrapped up too fast and made no sense. Jacob finds a letter from his foster dad explaining all this stuff that had little foreshadowing (hello exposition dump). The idea that you had to kill the person you loaned the power to the number of times they had tried to die made no sense. What happens if you don't do it and they come back to life? It is never clear what the consequences are. (I kinda hoped Ophelia would come back as a zombie to see what the danger was.)
And why didn't Jacob's foster dad come back to life? Did they have to kill Oh for just her own deaths or for all of the times Jacob loaned the power to anyone? Why would those deaths be on her and not the other person, or on Jacob himself? Am I missing something here or was it just not explained well at all?
Overall it was an OK book but it could have used better foreshadowing and buildup to the climax. Also, the title (and the chapter titles) had nothing to do with the book. They should have called it Invincible, or Loaner, or Invulnerable, or something. I kept hoping there was some secret meaning to Midnight but no, it was just when the climax happened. Bah!
This book was intriguing and I liked the premise, but I had quite a few problems with it.
First, I disliked the love interest, Ophelia, intensely. I had no idea why the main character, who was otherwise pretty smart, fell so hard for this annoying, selfish, bullying girl in like, one day.
My second complaint is that the book is written in first person but the main character keeps secrets throughout the book. He is not an unreliable narrator (like Liar by Justine Larbalestier), he just conveniently doesn't think of things until he tells them to his friend later. Or he'll think, "but I knew a secret..." which is a total cop out. If you're writing in first person the reader should know what the character knows.
Also, the ending wrapped up too fast and made no sense. Jacob finds a letter from his foster dad explaining all this stuff that had little foreshadowing (hello exposition dump). The idea that you had to kill the person you loaned the power to the number of times they had tried to die made no sense. What happens if you don't do it and they come back to life? It is never clear what the consequences are. (I kinda hoped Ophelia would come back as a zombie to see what the danger was.)
And why didn't Jacob's foster dad come back to life? Did they have to kill Oh for just her own deaths or for all of the times Jacob loaned the power to anyone? Why would those deaths be on her and not the other person, or on Jacob himself? Am I missing something here or was it just not explained well at all?
Overall it was an OK book but it could have used better foreshadowing and buildup to the climax. Also, the title (and the chapter titles) had nothing to do with the book. They should have called it Invincible, or Loaner, or Invulnerable, or something. I kept hoping there was some secret meaning to Midnight but no, it was just when the climax happened. Bah!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 14, 2017
Huh ... I'm really not sure I understood what happened there in the last half of the book, but as I was pushing to even finish, I'm certainly not going to go back and re-read and try to understand.
This had an interesting premise. We have Jacob, who has been in foster care his entire life finally finding a home with Mr. Fielding. A car accident leaves Mr. Fielding dead ... and Jacob indestructible. Mr. Fielding told him so a split second before the accident. Apparently Mr. Fielding had been indestructible, but transferred that power to Jacob to save his life. Jacob doesn't really realize anything (other than he shouldn't have survived) but when he accidentally transfers the power to someone else, and then witnesses an accident that should have caused extreme injury, he starts to put the pieces together. Jacob and his two friends (one he just met, but apparently falls for at first sight) then continue to experiment and try to use the power for good.
I think I was okay with everything until about this point ... but then apparently, you aren't supposed to do that. People are supposed to die, and if you save them, it screws things up. There were strange metaphors about a "black lion" and as they uncover a confusing (to me) history and rules ...
I don't know ... if you aren't supposed to use your "superpower" to help people, what is the point of it all? And then they have to "kill the darkness" out of Oh (and I wasn't found of that "name" either). Then there were weird relationships with the adults, only slightly in the picture (the priests, Mr. Coffin). I just had this confused and unhappy scrunched up face as I attempted to get through the last half of the book.
... and the title (and changing countdown), what did that have to do with ANYTHING?
This had an interesting premise. We have Jacob, who has been in foster care his entire life finally finding a home with Mr. Fielding. A car accident leaves Mr. Fielding dead ... and Jacob indestructible. Mr. Fielding told him so a split second before the accident. Apparently Mr. Fielding had been indestructible, but transferred that power to Jacob to save his life. Jacob doesn't really realize anything (other than he shouldn't have survived) but when he accidentally transfers the power to someone else, and then witnesses an accident that should have caused extreme injury, he starts to put the pieces together. Jacob and his two friends (one he just met, but apparently falls for at first sight) then continue to experiment and try to use the power for good.
I think I was okay with everything until about this point ... but then apparently, you aren't supposed to do that. People are supposed to die, and if you save them, it screws things up. There were strange metaphors about a "black lion" and as they uncover a confusing (to me) history and rules ...
I don't know ... if you aren't supposed to use your "superpower" to help people, what is the point of it all? And then they have to "kill the darkness" out of Oh (and I wasn't found of that "name" either). Then there were weird relationships with the adults, only slightly in the picture (the priests, Mr. Coffin). I just had this confused and unhappy scrunched up face as I attempted to get through the last half of the book.
... and the title (and changing countdown), what did that have to do with ANYTHING?
April 21, 2011
Plot: Jacobs father who adopted him at age 12 just died in a car crash with Jacob driving right before the crash Jacobs father tells Jacob these words "You are indestructible". Jacobs best friend Milo introduces him to a girl her name is Ophelia. They call her Oh and it is love at first sight Oh asks Jacob to sign her cast and Jacob signs "you are indestructible" and Oh gets into a long boarding accident that should have killed her but she got up without a scratch on her and they set off to find answers to their questions about the words "you are indestructible"
Elements and Style: Patrick Carman brings his favorite style of writing, mystery and brings it up a notch by adding a little bit of horror making it almost like a Halloween story. The rising action in this book seems to be very near the end of the book because it counts down from thirteen days to twelve days and so on and so forth and the setting is in my opinion the best setting in the world, Salem, Oregon they go to the Enchanted Forest even. The dialogue in this often switches from them taking to them recapping and often them texting.
Characterization: Jacob ( the main character ) is very relaxed but when stuff starts happening to his friends he gets pretty angry. He is was an orphan so its hard for him to talk about his (foster) dad especially when he is...well dead. He is very drastic in his emotions in the beginning he is very depressed because his dad is well, dead but in when he meets Ophelia (Oh) he becomes very happy but at the end of the story he is kind of in between because well... i don't want to ruin the story for you.
Elements and Style: Patrick Carman brings his favorite style of writing, mystery and brings it up a notch by adding a little bit of horror making it almost like a Halloween story. The rising action in this book seems to be very near the end of the book because it counts down from thirteen days to twelve days and so on and so forth and the setting is in my opinion the best setting in the world, Salem, Oregon they go to the Enchanted Forest even. The dialogue in this often switches from them taking to them recapping and often them texting.
Characterization: Jacob ( the main character ) is very relaxed but when stuff starts happening to his friends he gets pretty angry. He is was an orphan so its hard for him to talk about his (foster) dad especially when he is...well dead. He is very drastic in his emotions in the beginning he is very depressed because his dad is well, dead but in when he meets Ophelia (Oh) he becomes very happy but at the end of the story he is kind of in between because well... i don't want to ruin the story for you.
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