The Midnight Twins (Midnight Twins Novels) [Paperback]

Jacquelyn Mitchard (Author)

Book Description

Series: Midnight Twins Novels | Publication Date: March 5, 2009

A beautiful and suspenseful tale by a master American novelist, The Midnight Twins tells the story of mirror twins born on either side of midnight. After a mysterious and nearly fatal fi re on their thirteenth birthday, Meredith and Mallory Brynn begin having visions: Mallory can see into the past, Meredith can see into the future. But it will take both of them to save their town from a great evil. That is, if their unique powers don?t destroy them fi rst.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6–9—This is the first title (Razorbill, 2008) in a projected trilogy by Jacquelyn Mitchard about Meredith and Mallory, 13-year-old twins with extraordinary powers who discover that evil is residing in their own community and must decide how to fight it without revealing their powers. The girls are polar opposites in temperament and interests: Meredith is outgoing, popular, and a cheerleader, while Mallory is a quiet, introspective loner. After a disastrous fire in their town, Mallory can see into the past while Meredith can see the future. But can they harness this power to save their community? Emily Durante captures their initial innocence and then their growing confusion, frustration, and angst as outside forces seem to take over their lives, driving them apart. She passionately verbalizes Meredith's obsessions, subtly voices Mallory's bewilderment concerning what is happening to her and those around her. She slows the pace to describe feelings such as "power paired with grief" and quickens it as the villain continues to threaten the girls and their town. The calmness of their mother's voice accentuates the girl's tension and growing terror. While the story has a few loose ends, Durante's masterful reading makes them seem inconsequential. A captivating audiobook.—Edith Ching, Washington Latin Public Charter School, DC
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Meredith and Mallory are identical twins with different birthdays. They even have different birth years, since they were each born on opposite sides of midnight on New Year’s Eve. Coming from a family with a lineage of telepathic twins, these two have an extraordinary bond that includes having identical dreams. Just before the girls’ 13th birthdays, Mallory dreams about dying in a house fire—a vision her sister doesn’t share. The girls do survive a mysterious blaze, though, and Mallory continues to envision future traumatic events, while Meredith places Mallory’s dreams in time. A few elements of the story are more reminiscent of a teen horror flick than a carefully developed psychological drama, particularly a subplot about a friend’s brother, who turns out to kill animals and attack girls. Although the characters often act and speak as plot devices rather than as real people, foreshadowing keeps the pages turning, and a closing speech from the girls’ grandma indicates that their extraordinary talents will be showcased in future volumes. Grades 7-10. --Cindy Dobrez --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Razorbill; Reprint edition (March 5, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1595142266
• ISBN-13: 978-1595142269
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,151,861 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jacquelyn Mitchard was born in Chicago. Her first novel, The Deep End of the Ocean, was published in 1996, becoming the first selection of the Oprah Winfrey Book Club and a number one New York Times bestseller. Eight other novels, four children's books and six young adult novels followed, including The Midnight Twins, Still Summer, All We Know of Heaven, and The Breakdown Lane. A former daily newspaper reporter, Mitchard now is a contributing editor for Parade Magazine, and frequently writes for such publications as More magazine and Real Simple. Her essays and short stories have been widely anthologized. An adjunct professor in the Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing program at Fairfield University, she lives in Wisconsin with her husband and their nine children

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, July 3, 2008

By 

TeensReadToo "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Midnight Twins (Hardcover)

Meredith and Mallory are identical twins born on either side of midnight, one at 11:59pm and the other at 12:01am.

It's now thirteen years later and the girls are best friends, but they have completely different interests. Also, like many identical twins, they can often read each others minds and feel what the other is feeling. But their twin senses are a lot stronger than most twins. They also have the exact same dreams.

Up until one New Year's Eve when a fire breaks out at the house where they are babysitting their cousins, and the twins almost die. Someone purposely started the fire, and the twins have a pretty good idea of who that someone is.

After the fire, Mallory starts seeing strange images and scenes in her head involving David, the guy that they believe started the fire. These scenes are so strange, but Mallory believes that they are actually going to happen. But Meredith isn't seeing the same things or even having the same dreams anymore. Instead, she is seeing scenes involving David that are less creepy.

Over the next few months, what Mallory keeps seeing starts getting more disturbing, like what seems to be David almost raping a girl. She even starts having blackouts after seeing the frightening images. She tells Meredith that they need to confront David, but her sister isn't too sure about the idea. Will confronting David help the disturbing scenes to finally stop, or will they continue on forever?

This was a good book that I really enjoyed. Mallory and Meredith were great characters and it was fun to read a story about identical twins. The storyline was really great and the ending was a bit surprising to me. Parts in the middle were a bit confusing, but it could have just been me.

THE MIDNIGHT TWINS was overall a pretty good book and I hope that Ms. Mitchard writes a follow-up. I'd love to see what happens to Mallory and Meredith after the ending of this book. I'd recommend this one to anyone who likes reading either about twins or who loves the paranormal and mysteries.

Reviewed by: Breanna F.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This memorable book will stay with audiences as they eagerly await the next installment in the series., November 19, 2008

By 

Teenreads.com (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Midnight Twins (Hardcover)

Meredith and Mallory Brynn are identical twins, exact mirror images of each other. Only their personalities allow others to tell them apart: Meredith is outgoing, bubbly and a cheerleader, while Mallory is more of a loner, serious and a soccer player. Being twins is something unique in itself, but a few added phenomena set the Brynn girls apart from other twins. For one, they don't even share the same birthday. That's because one was born just before midnight on New Year's Eve and the other just after midnight on New Year's Day. Another unique characteristic is that they share the same dreams --- that is, until recently.

Just before their 13th birthday, Merry and Mally's dreams begin to change. Mally dreams of a horrid house fire that threatens her family and traps her in the deadly flames. When Mally tells Merry about it, both are surprised that Merry hadn't dreamt the same thing, or at lease felt what Mally had felt. They try to brush it off as just an unusual nightmare, and instead try to concentrate on their upcoming birthday party. Then a few days later, the house fire nightmare comes true, with Merry and Mally barely escaping in time. And from that moment on, their lives change forever.

This premonition isn't just a fluke or a one-time thing. Mally continues dreaming of the future, and Merry starts dreaming of the past. Though it sounds intriguing, their gifts begin to desperately affect their lives, especially when they reveal the horrid and torturous acts performed by someone they know. The twins fight their gift and try to ignore what they dream, but in the end, they cannot make it go away. However, if they choose to interfere and attempt to save the victims in their dreams, they will be endangering their own lives. Is there anyone they can turn to for help?

THE MIDNIGHT TWINS is the beginning of a new teen trilogy by renowned author Jacquelyn Mitchard, who has created a mysterious, suspenseful, multi-layered world centering on two amazing teenagers. She craftily builds up suspense, revealing a little at a time, and gently rounds out her characters by creating a few clever flashbacks in the twins' lives. Plus, the talented Mitchard has a special way with words, especially in describing the dream sequences and the recovery period in the hospital following the fire. She pulls the reader into the minds of Mally and Merry as they wander into the unknowns receiving the visions of the future and the past, as they reach out to each other for comfort and security.

This memorable book will stay with audiences as they eagerly await the next installment in the series.

--- Reviewed by Chris Shanley-Dillman, author of FINDING MY LIGHT and THE BLACK POND

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The genius of this author, August 27, 2008

By 

Maureen Ann OMalley "voracious reader" (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Midnight Twins (Hardcover)

The genius of Jacquelyn Mitchard lies not just in the stories that she creates, but in the incredible character development in each and every one of her stories. By the time the book ends, you feel as though you know the characters personally but you are satisfied that you have not missed the big things that await them later in "life."

In The Midnight Twins, Merry and Mally are best friends, identical twins who face an unimaginable challenge - in the form of a house fire. After they escape, one can see into the past, the other into the future. I believe that the human mind has the ability to perceive things we are not consciously aware of, and this book exploits that idea in the best possible way. As is usual for this author's stories, the writing is unique, and it keeps you hanging on to find out what comes next. Nothing is too great a surprise to be believed, but there are many plot twists that make you wonder why you did not see that coming!

I enthusiastically recommend this book for girls of all ages who are sisters, have sisters, know sisters, or would love to be sisters!