Midnight

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I need to know more about Will, I need to know his thoughts, what he thinks on everything we discover at the end, I need more on him, the poor baby. I need to hug him. On the one hand, the two have vampires, priests, and alcohol problems in common. On the other hand...everything else? Also, I didn't want to carry hate in my heart forever, and not for an author's long bibliography (not the author herself, to be clear) and works that had been a part of my childhood, and of my start in my reading life.

The waiting was the worst. He always knew how to bide his time. He’d generally wait until we’d both been put to bed. Then he’d creep into m This is my second reading of The Midnight Swimmer and have increased my rating from a 4 to a 5 star.You can’t have forgotten them! You used to play with them too! Come on, I’ll remind you.’ I pulled at Will’s arm, and he followed me upstairs to my bedroom. A Rabbi who is prepared to wear a crucifix if it keeps vampires away. He was the only good guy I believed in. Will wasn’t even at school yet but he made up plays that lasted for hours. No, not hours – and they can’t have been real plays. He just made Big and Little Growl dance about in front of me, one of them booming in a glorious great growl, one of them squeaking in a winsome weeny growl. I know that’s all it can have been, and yet the carpet around me sprouted forests and Big Growl and Little Growl padded about me on real paws. I reached out and patted their furry bodies and smelled the honey on their breath.

It's a shame about Violet and Will's toxic relationship, and the dangerous message in that that could influence young readers and give them the wrong idea of how happy families should be like. The vampires are taking over the world. It’s apocalyptic. A few individuals make some cool wins against the vampires. I liked the intelligence and thoughtfulness. This is Edward Wilson in his best clothes: a complex plot but not convoluted, an elegantly cynic Catesby but not detestable, a good dose of conspiracy theories but nuanced enough not to be unbearable...in a word, this is a damn good espionage story, from the same mould as the early Le Carré and Deighton though less known. I enjoyed Frankie's travels through her own sexual awakening. With a 13-year-old protagonist, this is suitable for readers younger than she, kissing and discussing feelings the extent of the action. The narrator on the Audible version captures her young voice very well, and Wilson brings the story to life with a lot of speech and thought, and a familiar world readers will be able to visualise.

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She used to say that all the time to Will. She hadn’t said it for ages now. Will waited until Mum and Dad were at the front door. Catesby’s boss, Henry Bone, is introduced early on as he disposes of someone is no longer useful. Further actions and events cause us to wonder who is the hunter and who is the hunter – which must have been the real state of affairs at a time where the Americans and Russian were playing a game of ‘who will blink first’ with the future of humanity. The tension of possible nuclear warfare is lurking… Moving on in the story, a new girl called Jasmine came to Violet's school and chose her as a friend. Jasmine has long hair, is very pretty and wears amazing bohemian outfits. The whole class wants to be her friend, but she chooses Violet because they both have flower themed names. Violet was thrilled and spent a lot of time with Jasmine. Despite adoring Will, she even once refused to spend a day with him and instead, went to Jasmine's house. One day, Violet's father said that they were to go to their Gran's house to wish her a happy birthday but Will refused because of how she had charmlessly told him about his being adopted. Violet's dad gets quite mad and when Violet says no as well, he is ready to hit them but doesn't. Violet's mother as usual gives in and makes a fuss when she finds out that they both are not going. In the end, they leave without them. Will and Violet start playing 'Truth and Dare' and Will asks Violet that if she could have a love affair with any one, who would it be, so Violet said Casper Dream. Violet asks the same question to Will but before he can answer, Jasmine calls and asks for help with her maths homework. Will, much to Violet's surprise (as he hates for her to have friends over), invites Jasmine himself. They work for a while and then play Truth and Dare where Will asks Violet who she likes better, him or Jasmine. When Violet fails to come up with a reply, Will dares her to spend 10 minutes in the attic. The protagonist of Midnight is Violet a naive 13 year old. The book was published in 2003 and that’s got something to do with it, I think. It was the time when cellphones weren’t ubiquitous yet and people still wrote letters to authors instead of stalking them or talking about/to them online. Violet adores reclusive author Casper Dream, the author of the beautifully illustrated fairy books. She loves the fictitious universe created by him. She draws inspiration from it and sews fairy dolls. As you can see she isn’t your boisterous teen but quiet and artistic. Midnight offers interesting insights into the mind of a writer and on creating imaginary worlds which appealed to me greatly.

Credit card number? Sure,’ said Will, and he reeled off a number and an expiry date. He put the phone down, grinning. ‘Supper in twenty minutes, Violet.’ I’ve tried hanging out with him in the kitchen but he won’t talk to me either. He’ll grunt yes or no to any question but now he’ll never initiate any conversation.Midnight Mass is prime example of why Wilson is on my top three list. Compared to a lyrical artist like Barker - Wilson's no frills stripped down prose is perfect for me. Wilson is focused on the important stuff, story and characters. No one plots a novel or epic tale like Wilson, while this stand alone novel doesn't entirely showcase that strength as well as the Secret History of the World stories, this novel is perfectly plotted. Confirmed by the author of the book in a twit after whats-on-netflix erroneously identified the new show as being based on his book. This is a clever tour of behind the scenes of the diplomatic and spy worlds at a time in history – leading up to the Cuban Missile Crisis – where tensions are heightened and no-one or nothing is as it seems. JW has shown she's not afraid to include LBGTQ characters in her kids' books before (though in my opinion, 'Rent a Bridesmaid' contains her one true positive rep), and in 'Project Fairy', there is only the slight implication of queer content. When we first see Robin's group of five-year-old friends, a girl and a boy want him for a boyfriend. He agrees to be a boyfriend to both. Of course, this could be viewed as merely toddlers being cute (Mum is like, "Awe bless 'em!") and not understanding how relationships work. Plus the girl and boy aren't named and they don't appear again afterwards. Mab mentions her neighbours Michael and Lee twice or three times, and they might be a gay couple, but we never meet them, so am I reaching?

This is a difficult one as the characters do seem to have depth but I don’t think they really change that much. Violet Introverted Violet has no friends, until the colourful manic pixie dream girl Jasmine attends her school. It is fascination and possible sexual awakening at first sight (nothing comes of it, then again this was published as children's lit in the early 2000s), and the two become instant friends. Mum’s taken some of her fish pie thing out the freezer. And there’s veg and stuff. I’ll go and fix it, shall I?’ Me ha gustado mucho, pero debería haber sido más largo. Siento que hay algunas cosillas por cerrar todavía (y me jode no saber como avanzarán). For this reason, I think this book falls under the same responsibility as My Sister Jodiein terms of responsibility for young children. Yes, things seemed to be looking up at the end, but I don’t feel it was solid enough. I think Will needed a lesson that could make it a more solid impression that he would behave better in the future.

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She’s a strange, dreamy girl, one of my favourites out of my imaginary girls. Casper Dream describes his violet fairy as ‘A small, shy fairy, purplish-blue, easily trampled upon.’ Certainly Violet’s older brother Will walks all over her. Will teases and torments his sister, but he can invent magical games and Violet adores him. Will is very much a changeling child, in more ways than one. Casper Dream says ‘Fairies steal away beloved babies and leave a changeling child in their place. These elfin breeds are often evil, with difficult, demanding natures and enormous appetities.’ Mr. Wilson has been on my radar for several years, most notably because he wrote The Keep, which is on several best Horror novels lists (and which I have not read as yet), but he was awarded the World Horror Convention Grand Master award in 2005. Despite al this, Midnight Mass was the first book by him I have read. It will not be the last. Before the start of the book, she had a breakdown after Mab's dad left them, and it caused Mab and her little brother Robin to be put into care, and a foster home for a bit. Since then Mum has been trying to get better in raising her kids, so she doesn't lose them again. Her obsession with fairies, and believing they are real to an extent, are in fact harmless quirks. It's her hobby, and part of who she is. Fairies and fairy paraphernalia make her happy. Mab, who initially wasn't interested in pink and "girly" things like fairies and was embarrassed by her mother's love of them, comes to see this, and appreciate her mum more later on. She never wanted her to be depressed again, that's for sure.