A review by lifeofaliterarynerd
The Midnights by Sarah Nicole Smetana

2.0

“You have to shake your notions of good and bad, and create outside of judgement. Follow the instinct, not he convention.”

I wanted to love this so much and I just didn’t and that makes me really sad. I was looking for this moving story of grief and family and Susannah finding herself, but this book made me feel absolutely nothing. I didn’t connect to it at all - not the characters, not the relationships, not the plot. Nothing. I can’t remember the last book that I was completely apathetic towards.

I found the pacing in the beginning to be really disjointed and rushed. Because of that I never bought any of the relationships. This was really detrimental because Susannah’s relationship with her dad is incredibly important to the story and it’s progression, but I just didn’t care about it. There was also this reflective quality to the writing, that while worked for the story, felt out of place. There was moments when the narration read like a voiceover looking back at what happened, but it was used infrequently and pulled me out of the story. Even the music element, which I usually love in story fell flat here. I didn’t feel Susannah’s connection to the music. I just didn’t feel much of anything.

So The Midnights was a super unfortunate miss for me, but I’m sure A LOT of people will really love it and connect with it, so it’s worth a shot if you’re in the mood for a contemporary with a little more depth. Hopefully it will work out for you, but I think this was a case where the book just isn't for me.

I received a copy of the book from HarperTeen via Edelwiess in exchange for an honest review.