Burning Midnight
For fans of The Maze Runner and The Fifth Wave, this debut YA novel from Hugo Award winner Will McIntosh pits four underprivileged teens against an evil billionaire in the race of a lifetime. No one knows where the brilliant-colored spheres came from. One day they were just there, hidden all over the earth like huge gemstones. Burn a pair and they make you a little better: an inch taller, skilled at math, better-looking. The rarer the sphere, the greater the improvement--and the more expensive the sphere. Sully is a sphere dealer at a flea market. It doesn't pay much--Alex Holliday's stores have muscled out most of the independent sellers--but it helps him and his mom make the rent. When Sully meets Hunter, a girl with a natural talent for finding spheres, the two start searching together. One day they find a Gold--a color no one has ever seen. There's no question the Gold is priceless, but what does it actually do? None of them is aware of it yet, but the fate of the world rests on this little golden orb. Because all the world fights over the spheres, but no one knows where they come from, what their powers are, or why they're here. Chosen as a 2017 Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers "Burning Midnight is for (1) adrenaline junkies and gamers, (2) obsessive collectors, and (3) people who can't get enough of crazy endings. I'm all of these things, and I loved it." --Margaret Stohl, New York Times bestselling author of Black Widow: Forever Red and coauthor of the internationally bestselling Beautiful Creatures series
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Community Reviews
3.5 stars
This is quite a fascinating and fun book. It’s full of adventure and diverse characters, and the last bit is so beyond creepy!
In Burning Midnight, the world is highly focused on colored spheres. Ranging in color and size; they are measured in rarity based on their abilities. When paired, you can “burn” them and voila! You “absorb” the ability that is has. Better eyesight. Read faster.
Sounds preeeeeeetty fascinating, right?
Many questions come into play. Where did they come from? Are there long term effects? The theories are endless and the characters all have their own. But the answers that come are not what I was expecting, and it was a fun, yet creepy, twist that I loved!
I liked the diverse rag-tag team! With different backgrounds, experience and such, they balance each other out. I did feel that Hunter made too many decisions on her own, or convinced Sully to do said things, resulting in a lot of tension within the group.
I did enjoy the writing – it’s easy to read and flows well from page to page. Again, never a dull moment. But, it does read more of a middle grade, especially considering the simplicity. Each character had distinct personalities, but I didn’t feel they were fully developed. I felt like they were made older simply for the adventure side, since at 13 they couldn’t take cross country trips.
Now the ending, was creeptastic. It took an interesting direction and I really liked that. The very end was wrapped up (a little too) nicely, but considering how everything else played out in the book, doesn’t surprise me.
Overall – I enjoyed Burning Midnight. It was fun, action packed and creepy all the same. Even though it reads for more of a young audience, I still recommend it!
I received this book for free from The Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
This is quite a fascinating and fun book. It’s full of adventure and diverse characters, and the last bit is so beyond creepy!
In Burning Midnight, the world is highly focused on colored spheres. Ranging in color and size; they are measured in rarity based on their abilities. When paired, you can “burn” them and voila! You “absorb” the ability that is has. Better eyesight. Read faster.
Sounds preeeeeeetty fascinating, right?
Many questions come into play. Where did they come from? Are there long term effects? The theories are endless and the characters all have their own. But the answers that come are not what I was expecting, and it was a fun, yet creepy, twist that I loved!
I liked the diverse rag-tag team! With different backgrounds, experience and such, they balance each other out. I did feel that Hunter made too many decisions on her own, or convinced Sully to do said things, resulting in a lot of tension within the group.
I did enjoy the writing – it’s easy to read and flows well from page to page. Again, never a dull moment. But, it does read more of a middle grade, especially considering the simplicity. Each character had distinct personalities, but I didn’t feel they were fully developed. I felt like they were made older simply for the adventure side, since at 13 they couldn’t take cross country trips.
Now the ending, was creeptastic. It took an interesting direction and I really liked that. The very end was wrapped up (a little too) nicely, but considering how everything else played out in the book, doesn’t surprise me.
Overall – I enjoyed Burning Midnight. It was fun, action packed and creepy all the same. Even though it reads for more of a young audience, I still recommend it!
I received this book for free from The Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
I just loved this! My daughter read it first, and insisted that I also read it before returning it to the library. It took me a few months, and my husband pinched it and read it on the beach in between, but I am so glad I made time for it.
I loved the novel concept of all the coloured spheres that mysteriously appeared on the planet one day. And they cause humans to develop superhuman abilities. Pretty cool, right? Especially if you have the money to invest in some of the rare ones. But, hang on, isn’t this too good to be true? This is what Sully and Hunter must find out!
I really hope they make this into a movie and, if they do, I wonder how similar it will be to the one that was playing my head the whole time I was reading this?!
I loved the novel concept of all the coloured spheres that mysteriously appeared on the planet one day. And they cause humans to develop superhuman abilities. Pretty cool, right? Especially if you have the money to invest in some of the rare ones. But, hang on, isn’t this too good to be true? This is what Sully and Hunter must find out!
I really hope they make this into a movie and, if they do, I wonder how similar it will be to the one that was playing my head the whole time I was reading this?!
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