Cels Says:

The time of the rise of urban fantasy/paranormal YA fiction (1970s to mid-80s) has been described as the “Golden Age” of YA fiction; and, those of us old enough to have been around when Dolly fiction seemed to dominate every school library shelf can hardly disagree.

For me, the “Golden Age” of fantasy and paranormal YA kicked off fully in the mid-90s, and I would like to think it’s still only getting started. It officially began for me in 1996, when my local library put in a YA section and I discovered the delights of Garth Nix’s Sabriel.

Finally, my thirst for fantasy could be quenched without sneaking into the children’s section and hoping no one saw me with my guilty treasures… Or sneaking home the Stephen King and Anne Rice novels, hoping the Parental Units wouldn’t pitch a fit. In my part of the world, unless you were recommended an author (since they were all bunched in with the children’s section), finding YA in the genre was like mining for gold.

Early 2000 saw Harry Potter fever grip adults, teens and children alike, and, love them or hate them, they really thrust the whole genre into the mainstream. I grew up in a town with only one bookstore, and our store’s range was limited to what was hot at the time. It was a welcome relief when a world of fabulous new authorswas  finally opened up to me. The recent trend of turning paranormal book series, such as L.J. Smith’s The Vampire Diaries (which I first read way back in the mid-90s… yep–I’m old), into TV shows has also introduced a whole new audience of readers to the genre.

Over the last few years, just about every major bookstore (as well as the department chains) has started stocking an increasingly diverse selection of YA. This is a good sign for books in such a computer game-dominated world. The fact that the Internet plays such a large part in our everyday lives has certainly aided in spreading the word about the wonderful range of writing talent out there.

Now, we have the added bonus of well-read adult authors, such as Kathy Reichs (creator of Bones,) Tara Moss and our very own Marianne de Pierres bringing their magic and creativity into the YA field, as well as a talented group of debut authors to delight (hopefully) at least another generation. Let the “Golden Age” truly begin.

A lot of the time, the second book in a trilogy has a tendency to stagnate. That’s not the case here – the second book in the Midnighters series speeds along nicely, throwing the spotlight on Melissa, Rex and Dess rather than Jessica and Jonathan.

Of all the midnighter talents, Melissa’s mindcasting is the most intriguing. Throughout the first book, The Secret Hour, Melissa needs to wear headphones during the school day to avoid being driven completely insane by the babble of minds she’s unable to shut out. The second book sees her begin to work on this, and her relationship with Rex develops as a result.

Dess, meanwhile, has found her father’s GPS coordinate-recording device, and using her polymath skills she discovers another midnighter – one older, wiser and more fearful than the five main characters.

Jessica’s main issue in the second book is one common to a lot of YA readers – her little sister, Beth, is becoming more and more suspicious of Jessica’s after-dark antics. This goes on to become a major problem in the last book of the trilogy, but for now it’s just an amusing look at the irritation caused by younger siblings.

Jessica’s sister isn’t the only family member we meet – it’s revealed that Rex’s father is very mentally handicapped as a result of an ‘accident’. We don’t learn for quite a while what that accident was, but it turns out to be another intriguing facet to the midnighters’ world.

The main plot of Touching Darkness revolves around Rex. After Jonathan and Jessica notice a man frozen at midnight, in the middle of taking photographs of her bedroom window, Rex utilises Melissa’s mindcasting powers to track him down. They discover that the darklings are communicating with certain humans by use of the runes used in midnighter lore – the runes that Rex, as a seer, knows how to read.

The story takes a very dark turn, and one that I inadvertently spoiled myself for, while double-checking something for my review of the first book on Wikipedia (damn you, all-knowing Internet!). Even so, when I got to that part of the book, it prompted me to say aloud, “Dude, that’s awesome!” Yes. I was talking to a book. And yes, I’m English, and therefore should never say the word ‘dude’. And potentially not ‘awesome’, either. Anyway… I won’t ruin the surprise, but it’s not something your average midnighter would be happy witnessing or experiencing…

The involvement of normal humans in the secrets of the twenty-fifth hour didn’t seem at first to be too threatening. When that hour falls, every non-midnighter human is frozen solid and unaware of what’s going on, after all. However, when you take into account that the darklings are using the humans to reach the midnighters in ‘normal’ time, things get a little more serious. And when Rex is kidnapped, things get very serious indeed.

I mentioned in my review of the first book that I was a bit underwhelmed by Jessica’s unique midnighter talent. It seems to make a bit more sense in Touching Darkness, and comes in useful when it comes to rescuing Rex, but it still feels a little lacking. Having already finished the third book, I can tell you to keep suspending that disbelief, though. The payoff is worth it.

Touching Darkness – Scott Westerfeld

1 March, 2005, by Harper Teen

Paperback, 336 Pages

Bel Says:

The last gift anyone actually wants.

Oh No! It’s Aunt Josephine coming towards you with a parcel in hand that looks suspiciously similar to the one she gave you last year.
Last year, she handed it to you, gave you a huge kiss on the cheek with her non kiss-off lipstick
(that–once it’s kissed off onto your cheek–will never, ever rub off) and… after that…breathed into your ear a very sherry-smelling yuletide greeting. Last year, you carefully snipped the ribbon, you gently prized away the sticky tape and revealed yet another of her creations. A hand-knitted Christmas jumper.
You were sobbing internally with complete terror because it was one of the most hideous things you had ever seen; but, externally, you bounced up and down in your chair and popped the horrid thing over your carefully styled hair. Much to your internal horror, every other person in the room ooh’s and ahh’s over how lifelike Rudolf looks. And just when you thought your humiliation couldn’t go beyond it’s current state, Josephine reaches over and flicks a hidden switch and the damn reindeer’s nose lights up. That sends the family into orbit with compliments. OMG NOOOOOOOO!!!!

So, once again, here you are with Aunt Jo coming towards you, her lips pursed ready for the unavoidable kiss on the cheek. The parcel lands in you lap and she wishes you a “vurrry murry kristmash.”
You’ve lost your nerve, so you forget about the dumb ribbon and the stupid paper and just tear the freaking thing open. You breathe a sigh of relief: it’s a white jumper she must have bought at the Kmart sales at the end of last winter. Thank the powers that be. No more stupid flashing bovine schnozzes.
You open it up, only to see Aunt Jo has moved from knitting to appliqué.  Oh joy!
Once again, you pull the rotten thing over your carefully styled hair and glare down at the puffed ribbon taking up the entire front of your (otherwise perfectly good) white Kmart jumper.
You tell everyone you’re heading up to your room to look in your full length mirror and fly up those stairs quicker than greased lightning.
You rip the thing off the moment the door is closed and scream into a pillow. Slowly and carefully you put yourself back together. Put the freakish thing back over your head and fix your hair a little. You march back downstairs, and offer to get aunt Jo another drink. Conveniently, you tip the entire glass of red wine right down your front and hiss realistically as you apologies to Aunt Jo about both the glass of wine and the jumper. Internally, you’re doing cartwheels and rude gestures towards Aunt Jo. There are sounds of condolence coming from the family. But from her place at the stove, your mother gives you a little wink and tips the rest of the bottle of red wine down the sink.
At least this year when you doused the dastardly thing in wine you didn’t get an electric shock.
Here’s to all those poor buggers in places where it’s cold at Christmas. Happy crappy Christmas sweater day!!!!!

1. Marianne de Pierres – “Burn Bright”

Well, I was lucky enough to read the early manuscript and was knocked out. This has all the elements of a rip-roaring success: it’s darkly thrilling, it contains powerful messages, and, above all, it’s a first-class page-turner. MDP’s first YA, BB is a total *WIN*.

2. Michael Pryor – “Moment of Truth”

This is a beautifully written book, with a clever plotline & gorgeous cast of characters. Michael Pryor is simply one of the most talented YA writers around.

3. D. M. Cornish – “Lamplighter”

The second book in D. M. Cornish’s highly acclaimed Monster Blood Tattoo series, Lamplighter is a triumph of storytelling and a definite must-read. Now to get my hands on the final book, Factotum!

4. Christine Bongers – “Henry Hoey Hobson”

Henry Hoey Hobson is the latest gem to emerge from the extraordinary imagination of Christine Bongers. Once again, Bongers’ humour, senstivity, and dazzling storytelling combine to produce a brilliant read. Highly recommended.

5. Karen Brooks – “Tallow”

The fantastic tale of a candlemaker’s apprentice, Tallow is intriguing, intricate, and romantic. The complex lead character is utterly unforgettable.

You met him in February and this is your first Christmas season together. Take it from me, this is not the time of year to want the mushy merriment you’d get with someone with less responsibility. This will be the time of year when he needs quiet understanding and your loyal support. After all, who do you think does all the hard work at the North Pole?

10 – Get your gift purchasing out of the way early in the year (before October to be extra safe) to avoid making the poor guy go through tinsel trauma when heading to the local shops on his weekends at home.
9 – He’ll be working overtime at the North Pole for the last three months of the year at least, so Christmas in July will be a good idea if you actually want to do the mistletoe thing (without him breaking out in stress-induced hives, that is.)
8 – No matter what horrible stories he brings home about his working environment, it is not okay to pass on what a scrooge Santa actually is. The Santa/Satan shirt needs to stay between the two of you to avoid legal action from his boss.

7 – Research movies and TV shows where Santa is blown up, killed, arrested, etc. It’ll make him giggle.

12 Pains of Christmas
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httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2I8qGdjiqic&feature=related
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6 – Keep a constant supply of  antihistamines on hand for when he’s on reindeer duty. Hay fever sucks.
5 – Put the ‘No Caroling Please’ sign out early. Nothing quite like Christmas Carol Cruelty to have him huddled in a corner. He really did see his Mummy kissing Santa Claus. Poor thing.
4 – Make sure his black clothes are always laundered. The last thing he needs is for his only clean clothing to be red or green.
3 – At the work Christmas party, it is NOT okay to get yourself sloshed and tell Mrs. Claus what you really think about her husband and how you really don’t appreciate her pinching your boyfriend’s butt.
2 – Attend all union meetings. You may be needed as crowd control when Santa refuses to allow the elves to paint the reindeer’s hooves safety orange. Reindeer games get rather dangerous for people of small stature.

1 – Want to buy him something extremely nice for Christmas? Get him and his mates paintball vouchers and pay your brother to dress as Santa and let them go crazy. Revenge on brother dear and happy partner, the best of both worlds.

Merry Xmas! Good Luck!