AUTHOR: Carlos Ruiz Zafón
REVIEWED BY: JPL TeenLink
BRIEF SUMMARY: "In the heart of Calcutta lurks a dark mystery...
Set in Calcutta in the 1930s, The Midnight Palace begins on a dark night when an English lieutenant fights to save newborn twins Ben and Sheere from an unthinkable threat. Despite monsoon-force rains and terrible danger lurking around every street corner, the young lieutenant manages to get them to safety, but not without losing his own life...
Years later, on the eve of Ben and Sheere's sixteenth birthday, the mysterious threat reenters their lives. This time, it may be impossible to escape. With the help of their brave friends, the twins will have to take a stand against the terror that watches them in the shadows of the night -- and face the most frightening creature in the history of the City of Palaces." (Summary from the published book)
WHY I PICKED IT UP: I love Carlos Ruiz Zafón. Absolutely love him. This is the second book in the "Mist" series, and his fourth English language title. I had to read it.
WHY I FINISHED IT: I had to see if it ended how I thought it would.
WHO I’D GIVE IT TO: People who like supernatural thrillers, Young Adult fiction, or Carlos Ruiz Zafón.
OTHER NOTES AND CONTENT WARNINGS: I have to admit, of the four English language books by Zafón, this is my least favorite.
I don't mean that to sound harsh. This is his fourth English-language title, but it was originally published in Spain in 1994 as his second book. As such, it seems to suffer from "sophomore slump". While the characters are interesting, the mystery was easily solved and all the clues were pretty obvious.
Still, it was well-written and is a decent time-waster. But compared to his later works, it suffers greatly in comparison.
As for content, there is a bit of violence and peril. Not for young children.
See you at the Library!
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