A Book That Will Have You Up Until Midnight

By Katie H.

The Secret Hour by Scott Westerfeld has it all. An interesting plot, lovable characters -- anything you could want in a book, this one has it. The Secret Hour, the first book in the Midnighters trilogy, starts with Jessica Day's first day at a new school, but the real story is in her nights. She wakes up at midnight to find time frozen around her, only disturbed by her touch. It's beautiful at first, watching the light reflecting off the unmoving rain, but it becomes a lot less fun when the monsters find her. With the help of some friends, the only other people able to move during that extra hour every night, she discovers the secrets of her new hometown of Bixby, Oklahoma.

Overall, the book was great -- definitely one I would read again. The first few pages start off slow, but once it picks up, it's nearly impossible to stop reading. The storyline was intriguing, and it was impossible not to love the characters, despite their faults. The only issue I found was in the writing, with the excessive use of synonyms, but that was easy to overlook.

The Secret Hour is an awesome book, and I couldn't wait to read the rest of the series. I would definitely say it's one of my favorites. You should read it, too.