The Midnight Hour

February 3, 2020
When her mother disappears, followed by her father, quick-tempered Emily Featherhaugh seeks to find them in Read and Trinder’s fun fantasy set in an adjacent London. She sets out for the Night Post and her dad’s place of employment, armed with her mom’s helpful sayings (“Never be knowingly under-snacked”); a necklace that her mother has always worn; oddments marked “Just in Case” from her father’s desk; and her hedgehog, Hog. Though pursued through dark streets by an anthropomorphic bear, she arrives safely, using her father’s magical key to enter the Night Post, arriving into a magical 1859 London called the Midnight Hour, inhabited by creatures driven from the world by human progress, where “it is always pitch dark, always full moon, and always, always midnight.” Read and Trinder imagine a wonderfully spooky alternate world populated with creatures from legend and nightmare: as she works to rescue her parents, Emily is menaced by a vampire, rescued by a rare Pooka, and assisted by The Library (aka Language), a constantly quoting Older Power whose sisters are Art and Music. The authors create a determined heroine whose weaknesses are crucial to her quest’s success, and a satisfying balance of fright and fancy. Ages 8–12.

February 1, 2020

Gr 3-7-Eleven-year-old Emily's quirky, artsy, garbage-diving mother is the bane of her existence. She's so embarrassing! And Emily's dad is just plain boring; all he does is garden and deliver the mail. Then Emily's mom goes on a mysterious errand one night and disappears altogether. And then, her dad disappears too! When Emily goes in search of them, she finds herself in a completely new world. The Midnight Hour was stopped during London's Victorian era and all of the world's magic was held there. Is it in captivity? Or is it for safe-keeping? While Emily goes on the adventure of her lifetime, she meets an eccentric cast of characters who help (and hinder) her along the way. Emily's coming-of-age story will appeal to a broad spectrum of readers, and fantasy lovers will delight in the superb setting. VERDICT A fast-paced, amusing and endearing tale with a satisfying conclusion. Fun for fans of kooky magical adventure series like Jessica Townsend's "Nevermoor."-Terry Ann Lawler, Burton Barr Library, Phoenix

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 15, 2019
A young girl thrusts herself into a magical, alternate London to find her missing parents. Emily was sent to bed without supper after a massive fight with her eccentric Irish mother the night her mother disappears. Her quiet English letter-carrier father's explanations don't make sense; a week later, just before midnight, he, too, vanishes. With a rescued hedgehog in her pocket and an angry bearlike creature stalking her, she stumbles into, then through the door to an alternate universe--a Victorian-era London populated entirely by diverse magical creatures and protected by an enchanted version of Big Ben. This realm, called the Midnight Hour because it is frozen in time, connects with Emily's world only on the stroke of midnight, while Big Ben chimes. Years ago, manifestations of Art and Language fought their sister, Music, to create the Night World. Emily's mother was the hero of that battle, though her precise role is never explained. Now Music, known as Nocturne, is waging war again, and Emily's parents are her captives. This debut from collaborators Read and Trinder has several strengths: nimble wordplay, fast pace, a breadth of creative detail, and a fearless, impetuous heroine. Sometimes the details don't quite coalesce--what's with that hedgehog, anyway?--and the narrative feels a little overstuffed, but readers who don't need every aspect of their imaginary worlds spelled out for them will lose themselves in the dreamlike rush of words. Emily and her family appear to be white; many of the fantastical characters have darker skin; skin color never signals virtue. Enchanting. (Fiction. 8-12)

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