A Wish After Midnight (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: Miss Holme, Reverend Macklin, The Reverend (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Fifteen-year old Genna Colon believes wishes can come true. Frustrated by the drug dealers in her building, her family's cramped apartment, and her inability to compete with the cute girls at school, Genna finds comfort in her dreams of a better future. Almost every day she visits the garden and tosses coins into the fountain, wishing for a different life, a different home, and a different body. Little does she know that her wish will soon be granted: when Genna flees into the garden late one night, she makes a fateful wish and finds herself instantly transported back in time to Civil War-era Brooklyn.

About the Author

Zetta Elliott earned her PhD in American Studies from NYU. Her poetry has been published in the Cave Canem anthology, The Ringing Ear: Black Poets Lean South, Check the Rhyme: an Anthology of Female Poets and Emcees, and Coloring Book: an Eclectic Anthology of Fiction and Poetry by Multicultural Writers. Her novella, Plastique, was excerpted in T Dot Griots: an Anthology of Toronto's Black Storytellers, and her essays have appeared in The Black Arts Quarterly, thirdspace, WarpLand and Rain and Thunder. She won the 2005 Honor Award in Lee & Low Books' New Voices Contest, and her picture book, Bird, was published in October 2008. Her first play, Nothing but a Woman, was a finalist in the Chicago Dramatists' Many Voices Project (2006). Her fourth full-length play, Connor's Boy, was staged in January 2008 as part of two new play festivals: in Cleveland, OH as part of Karamu House's R. Joyce Whitley Festival of New Plays ARENAFEST, and in New York City as part of Maieutic Theatre Works' Newborn Festival. Her one-act play, girl/power, was staged as part of New Perspectives Theater's festival of women's work, GIRLPOWER, in August 2008. She is currently a visiting professor in the African American and African Studies Program at Mt. Holyoke College.

Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Paperback: 254 pages
• Publisher: CreateSpace (March 5, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1441474242
• ISBN-13: 978-1441474247
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #985,343 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book, October 1, 2009

By	Shadrieka "S.S." (BRoOkLyN,NY) - See all my reviews

When I read this book I couldn't put it down. Now I am waiting on the edge of my seat for the sequel!!! Zetta is such a great writer. It's so encouraging to see so many people recognize her talent. Her stories are so rich, and her delivery is crystal clear. If you love historical fiction with a twist, pick this up immediately! If you love time travel, grab this! If you just love reading good books, this is for you! I highly recommend it.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Addition To Any Library, July 11, 2009

By	DAC "Thehappynappybookseller" (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews

I've started to wait a few days after finishing a book before doing a post. So I can marinate on what I've read and allow the words fully sink in. When I finished A Wish After Midnight I was very satisfied and felt it was a very good novel. Four days later with the novel still fresh in my head and flipping through the book , I realize I may not of given the book enough credit.
15 yr old Genna lives in a one bedroom apartment with her mother and three siblings. Her mother struggles to make enough money so the family can move to a better neighborhood. Genna does her part by staying out of trouble, getting good grades, looking after younger brother, Tyjuan. She finds solace in the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens. Genna befriends another Garden regular Mr. Christiansen an older white man. Mr Christiansen seemed like a nice man at first I couldn't understand why his appearance was so short. Then I remembered this isn't a book about a troubled black girl who needs a nice old white man to teach her importance of dreaming. I believe Elliott includes this character, hoping the reader will learn from Genna to judge individuals on their merits not their race, gender or other things they can't control.
Genna is not poisoned by her mother's hatred of white people.


"I don't want to think like Mama. I try not to lump Hannah and all white people together cause that's exactly what I don't want people doing to me. I want people to accept me for who I am with my own ways, and my own ideas and my own future that's separate from everything else going on. Separate from Rico dealing drugs and Toshi acting fast and Papi walking out on us. Separate from where I live or how I dress or the color of my skin. I'm not ashamed of none of those things. I just want people to see all of who I am, and not just the messed up parts."



With her wishes Genna dreams of a better future and forgets what waits for her when she leaves the garden. This book is essentially in two parts Genna in present day, Genna in 1863. When I finished the book, I enjoyed the second half so much I wished Genna time travelled sooner. Though now as I look back on it I appreciate Genna in the present day. Elliott fully developments Genna , allowing the reader to feel more connected to the character. This is a very smart move on the authors part, whether or not the reader is a fan of historical fiction is irrelevant because they'll be fulling invested in the character. Genna's tall, shy and thanks to a lack of slang her peers thinks she's not black enough. She doesn't hang out will anyone from school, until Judah comes along. Judah is different, and he appreciates Genna. Their relationship is steadily growing, then Genna makes the wish. It comes about in anger and confusion. When Genna's mom slaps her for a wrong not committed Genna goes to the Garden. Apparently Genna isn't the only one who uses the Garden as a sanctuary at the midnight hour Genna sees ghosts. I love the idea of lost souls finding peace in a Garden, there aren't too many quiet places in NY. Soon after Genna comes to grips with what surrounds her, she transported back to Brooklyn 1863. Before Genna can be sold into slavery someone claims she's a Reverends niece. Genna is taken to an orphanage, she needs days to recover from serious back wounds. I kept waiting for the author to say what happened to Genna's back, an explanation never came and feel like I missed a piece of the puzzle. Genna ends up working and living with the orphanage doctor, Dr Brant. Runaway slaves make their way to Brooklyn and Dr Brant does what he can to help. While helping one day Genna finds Judah. I love what Elliott did with the second half of the book. Genna stays true to who she is, even in 1863 she speaks her mind and fights back. Elliott gives Judah a little competition with Paul, a blued eyed black boy. Genna had the power to wish Judah into another century that's some serious love but I still found myself rooting for Paul. At times in 1863 Brooklyn Judah seemed a little stubborn, and he wasn't considering Genna's feelings. When I think of the civil war I usually think about the south. Elliott touches upon the unrest in New York. When the New York Drafts riots hits Manhattan many people flee to Brooklyn. Genna and Judah get caught up in the riot that threatens to find its way to Brooklyn. The author reminds us that there's much history to be found in Brooklyn beyond the Polo Grounds and the Brooklyn Bridge. A Wish Before Midnight is a wonderful novel, giving the reader much to enjoy, think about and learn.

A Wish Before Midnight is self published, (stop rolling your eyes) There are no typos or grammatical errors so don't be deterred that this book hasn't found a home yet. Just think of yourself has being ahead of the curve. So later when someone tells you they've read great new book A Wish After Midnight, you can say you've already read it. Zetta Elliott is also the author of the awarding winning children's book Bird, an ALA notable children's book of 2009

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars " A Wish After Midnight" is a delightful dream., June 12, 2009

By	Nancy Nablo Vichert "Nancy Nablo Vichert" (Canada) - See all my reviews

Zetta Eliott's "A Wish After Midnight" is a perfect story for those
history buffs who like to know what the Civil War period was like. In this very believable novel by an African-Canadian novelist, heroine Genna
wishes herself out of her modern-day Brooklyn and wakes up, in Civil War
Brooklyn, a slave with no freedoms but a desire to learn and to cope with hard work in the white-dominated world where electicity hasn't been
discovered and blacks are trampled on. Not only is the transition from now to then skillfully accomplished with fully alive characters,but the reader learns about daily life in old New York without being treated to
science fiction magic. Watching Genna and her associates, friends, and relatives as they deal with loves and torments,the reader is given a deeper understanding of the human side of slavery and the pleasures of
caring relationships. Hoping for Genna's world to sort itself out makes for stimulating reading because the characters are very interesting and
their fascinating problems sometimes seem more than anyone should have to bear. This is a very readable novel about memorable people, definitely to be recommended.