Thursday, August 14, 2008

The Midnight Twins by Jacquelyn Mitchard

Meredith and Mallory Brynn are identical twins who were born on either side of midnight on New Years Eve. While the girls think of themselves as one, they are very different. Meredith is bubbly, outgoing, and a cheerleader, while Mallory is thoughtful, independent, and plays soccer. Though they have their differences the girls share so much; dreams, experiences, and even their own private language.

On the night of their thirteenth birthday the twins are caught in a mysterious fire that nearly kills them both. The weirdest thing is that Mallory knew days before that there was going to be a fire, she just didn’t know when. After the fire Mallory and Meredith are both having visions - though they are very different from each other’s. The bond between them starts to decompose and the girls don’t know why.


As their bond disintegrates the girls learn that they each have been given a gift, different from the other. One can see the future, the other the past. These visions will give the girls insight to some events that have been happening around town involving someone close to them. The girls feel like they sometimes know more then they should, or want to know, but it doesn’t stop them from wondering if these visions are actually true and what they should do about what they see.


This was definitely an interesting read. I really liked it, but I felt like there was a lot lacking. There was so much potential for the book and I just felt like the book didn’t live up to what I thought it would. The characters were a little flat and a lot of the time I couldn’t tell the difference between the two girls, even though they were supposed to be so different. There were also a lot of places were the story got very confusing. I don’t know if it was just me, but I felt the author was trying too hard and giving us too much information making it difficult to understand what was actually going on. However I did like the twists that the author put into the story. There were quite a few events that occurred that I really didn’t see coming. I also thought that the girls’ visions were really cool. It was interesting to see that one saw what was going to happen and the other saw what actually happened. The author definitely left room for a sequel, which I do hope she writes. It would be very interesting to see what Meredith and Mallory made of their “powers”.

7 comments:

Lenore Appelhans said...

I love the premise of this one and I'm sorry to hear you didn't think the execution was that good. It is definitely one I want to read still.

The Compulsive Reader said...

I like the premise, but I read the author's Now You See Her and didn't really like it. Hm...

Anonymous said...

I loved this book- thought it was a really great, suspenseful read. Sorry that you didn't like it as much.

There will be a sequel coming out next year, I think. And possibly a third book too, though I can't remember.

Em said...

Hmm, this one sounds interesting. I might check it out if I get a free copy.

Anna said...

I'm reading this right now. But I'm only on page seventeen or something like that, so I can't tell you what I think of it. Yet. :]

hope.

Rachael Stein said...

i agree with TCR in that i didnt like Now You See Her. but i'm hoping this one will be better seeing i'm reading it soon...

Heather Zundel said...

Thank you for the review! I have actually seen this book in many places and I love the concept of twins born on either side of midnight, that is just too cool - especially when supernatural powers are involved. I am very intrigued to read it though I understand completely about the twins seeming like the same person. That is something almost every author I've met has a hard time overcoming and I may even more critical than you, being a twin myself. Thank you for the review!

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