Book Log: Twelve Sharp, Pretty Little Liars, Midnighters #1: The Secret Hour

[penmage]

19. Twelve Sharp, by Janet Evanovich

Stephanie Plum is loveable. You can't help it. She is funny and she is pathetic and she is determined, and she never gives up. She is working as a bounty hunter, and she is not very good at it. She has a family that doesn't understand her but loves her anyway, a grandmother who is not all there, and a fiance who loves her. Also, there's Ranger. This book involves an identity theft, a kidnapped child, and a woman who may or may not be Ranger's wife. Did I mention there's Ranger?

If you've read any of the other Stephanie Plum books - and I hope you have - than there is no need for me to tell you that this book is funny. It will make you laugh out loud, possibly in a public place against your will. Also, there's Ranger. This book has more Ranger than most of the other books. That is reason enough to read it.

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20. Pretty Little Liars, by Sara Shepard

Alison, Atria, Emily, Spencer and Hanna are rich, popular and perfect - and they used to be best friends. But they also have secrets - dirty secrets that no one should know about - but somebody does. Atria is having an affair with a teacher. Spencer is interested in her sister's boyfriend. Hanna is hurting herself to keep beautiful, and Emily is obessesed with the new girl at school. Someone is sending them text messages that seem to know about what they're up to - someone who signs off as "A." Could is possibly be Alison, who dissapeared a few years ago? It doesn't seem possible, but Alison was the only one who knew. And if it isn't Alison, who is it - and what do they want?

I read this book because I was curious. I read the cover, and I wanted to know who A was, and what was the biggest secret of all that the cover implies but doesn't spell out. Alas, this book is the first in a series? trilogy? quartet? something. So I still don't know who A is, and I still don't know what the big bad secret is. This book is typical A-List and Gossip Girls fare, and it's not particularly good. I want those hours of my life back now, please.

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21. Midnighters #1: The Secret Hour, by Scott Westerfeld

At exactly midnight, the world as we know it stops - for one hour. This is the time when the ancient creatures of primal human nightmare prowl, the only time that they exist in the world. During the secret hour, all humans are frozen - except for the Midnighters. Born on exactly the stroke of midnight, the Midnighters are awake and active during the secret hours. Each of them has a gift that helps them navigate the secret hour and protect them from the darklings. And during the secret hour, they and the darklings exist in a sort of uneasy truce - until Jessica Day comes to town. And then, everything changes.

On the scale of Scott Westerfeld books, these are better than the Uglies books, but not as good as the Peeps books. They're fairly good, but they read far more like a series with an unpredicted number of volumes than a finite trilogy (or duology,) and as such, they move a little bit slower. The characters take longer to become interesting, or likeable, and the secrets are doled out slower. One of the things I liked so much about the Peeps books was how quickly things happened, how things actually happened instead of dragging on, and that's missing in these books. That said, it's an engaging start. The secret hour is intriguing - as several reviewers have already said, who hasn't wanted an extra hour in the day? - and the different skills of the Midnighters are interesting. I look forward to reading the next book in this series.

Comments

[penmage.livejournal.com]

Have you read this book yet? If not, omg. There is much Ranger. There is also much Morelli. And sometimes there is much of both of them at the same time. And if that doesn't inspire you to go for this book, I don't know what will.

[fshk.livejournal.com]

Ha! I just finished Twelve Sharp on Saturday. I'm sad that I have to wait a while for the next book.

[janni.livejournal.com]

It's a funny thing about the Midnighters books--I know, by any measure of craft I can think of, how much better Peeps is. And I liked Peeps a lot. But I loved the Midnighters books. Even though I can see clearly that they're weaker books. It doesn't matter, because they're books I really really really loved reading. But it's fascinating to me that it could not matter, too.