The Midnight Hour

by Benjamin Read, Laura Trinder

Overview

For fans of portal fantasies like Jessica Townsend's Nevermoor, Colin Meloy's Wildwood, and The Spiderwick Chronicles by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black, and unlike so many other fantasies that introduce readers to a world of enchantment and wonder, The Midnight Hour is one filled with beasts and monsters for readers looking to shine their flashlights under the covers.

When strange late-night letters start arriving at home, Emily's parents set off to investigate. But when her parents disappear completely and Emily is left home alone to face the weird strangers that begin to appear at her door, she takes all of the clues at her disposal and makes for the place where the letters came from -- the mysterious Night Post. What she'll discover is the secret world of the Midnight Hour -- a Victorian London frozen in time, full of magic and monsters.

Kept safe by an age-old agreement, the Night Folk have been exiled to a parallel world that can only be accessed by a selected few, including the mail carriers of the infamous Night Post that operate between the two worlds. Emily's parents are key players in keeping the Night Folk safe, but when the division of the two worlds is threatened, Emily must search for her parents while navigating this dark and unknown version of London.

Armed only with a packed lunch, her very sleepy pocket hedgehog, and her infamously big argumentative mouth, she must escape bloodthirsty creatures of the night, figure out her own family secrets, and maybe just save the world. This is a frightening and enchanting story, a world built out of creatures from our worst fears who become relatable, fully formed characters unlike any we've seen as these strangers of parallel worlds band together to save the day.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781338569117
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	03/03/2020
Sold by:	Scholastic, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Pages:	288
File size:	11 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Benjamin Read tells stories, whether they’re novels, comics, or films. He wrote the multi-award-nominated graphic novel series, Porcelain, and a host of other comics including Briar, Butterfly Gate, True Grit, and Super 8. He is one of the founder members of the Improper Books comics studio, and is fueled by tea. He is currently working on the next book of The Midnight Hour series, and developing a number of his projects for TV and film.
Laura Trinder is a creator of stories and illustrations. She's one half of the creative duo Trindles & Read and cofounder of the indie comics studio, Improper Books. Laura is the co-author and illustrator of the bestselling middle grade novel The Midnight Hour and is currently working on a sequel. She was a bookseller for 11 years and will give you book recommendations, whether or not you asked for them.

Read an Excerpt

From THE SAVAGE FORTRESS:

Ash tightened his hold on the drainpipe and hoisted himself up. The pipe shook and leaned away from the wall. John had told him he regularly scrabbled up such drainpipes -- how hard could it be? But then John was half his body weight, even after all the exercise Ash had been doing.
Arms and legs wrapped around the clay pipe, Ash slowly shimmied upward. The rough surface scraped against his skin, rubbing his belly raw. Cables brushed against his back, and Ash hoped he wasn't about to be electrocuted. But the wires seemed dead, and he found gaps in the walls to push himself the last few feet. With a grunt he heaved himself over the low parapet, dropping on to the flat roof. Holding his breath and willing his heart to quieten, he heard a deep, threatening growl.
The drainpipe rattled, then tore off the wall and smashed.

Editorial Reviews

02/03/2020

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. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

"A fast-paced, amusing and endearing tale with a satisfying conclusion. Fun for fans of kooky magical adventure series like Jessica Townsend's 'Nevermoor.'" - School Library Journal"The authors create a determined heroine whose weaknesses are crucial to her quest's success, and a satisfying balance of fright and fancy." - Publishers Weekly"Fans of Nevermoor will love this quirky debut, FIZZING WITH HUMOR, scares, and vivid world-building." — The Bookseller"A gripping and GENUINELY MENACING narrative." - The Daily Mail"LAUGH-OUT-LOUD funny." - The Times"Anarchic humor, rich imagination and poetic writing, interspersed with elegant line drawings, add up to PURE DELIGHT - with a stowaway hedgehog as a bonus." - The Guardian"Dazzling... well-balanced with equal amount of humor, HAIR-RAISING SCARES, magical mayhem, and a little bit of love." - The Book Activist"A REAL ACTION-ADVENTURE FANTASY TALE, with a great mix of the recognizable and the phantasmagorical. Being a Librarian, I was probably biased with having 'the Library' as my favorite character." - The Book Bag"Destined to become one of the chapter book highlights of our year, featuring A DEFTLY DESCRIBED MIX OF MAGIC AND MONSTERS with an ordinary girl at its center." - ReadItDaddy

From the Publisher

02/01/2020

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

School Library Journal

2019-10-27
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)

Kirkus Reviews