Midnight Hour Encores (Paperback)

by Bruce Brooks (Author), Joel P. Johnson (Illustrator) "Okay, most kids don't need to ask their fathers to show them their mothers at sixteen, right?..." (more)
Key Phrases: boot factory, cello case, San Francisco, Age of Aquarius, Des Moines (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
A symphony waiting to be heard by the right audience, this is Bruce Brooks's most challenging yet overlooked novel. Sibilance is a smart, well-adjusted musical prodigy with a father who adores her and gives her plenty of freedom. Sounds like a perfect life, doesn't it? However, even gifted teenagers need to break away to find their own independence. The marvel here is the way Brooks creates an authentic rite of passage for this complex, witty young woman. How do we move from the warm safety of love into deeper love? Brooks knows the way.

From School Library Journal
Grade 9-12 In The Moves Make the Man (Harper, 1984), Brooks used basketball as a metaphor to simplify his philosophical discussion and as a vehicle for unforgettably vivid writing; here he uses music for similar purposes. Although Sib, 16, has not seen her mother since the day she was born, she suddenly announces that she'd like to. She has an ulterior motive, but that's her style; a musical prodigy, she is ruthless, manipulative, indecently self-assured, impatient of others' flaws. Her father, Taxi, has his own style, and he takes her on a trip both actual and figurative, across the country, and back 15 years. He wants Sib to understand the spirit that captured her mother and him during the late 1960s; consequently, they travel in a 20-year-old VW bus, Taxi sings and speaks of that era at every opportunity, and he takes Sib to meet some of his old acquaintances on the way. Sib's mother turns out to be a wealthy real-estate agent with expensive tastes and no interest in music, quite comfortable in an upper-class milieu of money and power. Brooks plainly has points to make about the '60s and what happened to its survivors; by presenting Sib with such clear-cut alternatives, thoughbetween her mother, successful but hollow, and her father, an environmentalist whose idealism is battered but intacthe suggests that there is no middle ground. However simplistic his social theory, Brooks is a genuine storyteller, with fine dramatic sense and excellent comic timing. Like Moves , this is full of memorable scenes and magic moments, especially when music is being played or heard. Teenage readers may have trouble keeping up with Sib and Taxi as they skip from Haydn to Ellington to Shostakovich to Procol Harum, from new cadenzas to old riffs with the ease of long familiarity, but the author rewards the effort with a stimulating, thought-provoking tale. John Peters, New York Public Library
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: HarperTeen (April 15, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0064470210
• ISBN-13: 978-0064470216
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,544,933 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kept me interested throughout the entire story!, October 14, 2000

By A Customer

I had to read this book as an English assignment and to tell you the truth I thought it was going to suck. But, when I read the first paragraph, I had the sudden feeling that this book was going to be different. I took it home and read and read. I couldn't seem to put it down. I immediately fell in love with Sib and the way she looked at things in her life. She has alot of character and looks at the world the same way an intelligent 16 year old does (trust me I know this since I too am 16). She reminded me of myself in a way. I loved this book and would recommend it to anyone. I am even planning on reading it again. It was great!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a wonderful book!, May 17, 1999

By A Customer

Midnight Hour Encores is one of those rare books that can keep the reader captivated for hours on end. I have read this book 4 times, and each time it holds a new excitment and discovery. Being a young female violinist that most people regard as a very unusual musician I really came to an understanding with the sarcastic Sibilance. I would recommend this book to anyone, not just young adults.

P.S. My mother read this book and instantly fell in love

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Real touching story!, November 7, 1999

By A Customer

I thought it was one of the greatest story I've ever read.Although I don't play cello myself, I play a string instrument and was delighted at sib's personality.