Born at Midnight by C.C. Hunter

Born at Midnight is the first novel in the Shadow Falls series (of 5). One of my students gave me this book along with the second book for me to read over winter break, and I was instantly hooked to the entire series!

Reader Response: The reason why I was so into the series is because it shows the development of a girl who has felt out-of-place for most of her life, and that she never really belonged. As it turns out, she has super-natural powers, and is sent to a camp with other teens who are supernaturals. I would have NEVER thought that I would enjoy this book because I've never been into vampire, witch, blood-sucking literature or movies. However, the storyline includes identity struggles and acceptance, friendship dynamics, romance, action, and suspense all in one! It is such a page-turner because Hunter leaves off each chapter with a plot twist or a cliff-hanger (or at least it seems). The story is inspirational, and reminded me what it means to be genuine and selfless in times of hardships.

Evaluator Response: If I were to evaluate this novel, I would say that it's strengths are the multiple yet consistent underlying themes that occur throughout the text. There are many characters with different perspectives and issues that they deal with. Because of this, it is easy to make connections to self through these universal themes. I would also say that the text touched on issues that students currently deal with, like peer pressure, identity crises, family issues, etc. It deals with real issues in which students can find mirrors, even if the book itself seems like a window. Although there are multiple characters in the book, none of them are described as people of color. Kylie, the main character, is inherently kind, genuine and likable. She is also a petite blonde girl according to her descriptions in the texts and the illustrations on the cover. None of her friends are described as people of color, and neither are any of the other characters in the book. My recommendation would be to add more diversity among the characters.

Teacher Response: If you enjoyed Born at Midnight, I would recommend reading the rest of the Shadow Falls series which includes Awake at Dawn, Taken at Dusk, Whispers at Moonrise, and Chosen at Nightfall. The love story continues as new ones are introduced, the friendships develop stronger story lines, and Kylie's journey to finding and accepting her identity continues to be intriguing and action-packed.

Literacy Coach Response: One key component of this novel is the element of how characters change throughout the book. If I were using this book in my Literacy class, I would recommend having students keep record of how Kylie changes from beginning to end, and what lessons she learned along the way. I might also have students make personal connections with these character changes and lessons. For example, In the beginning of the book, Kylie felt like such an outsider, and that she didn't belong either at home or at the camp. She wasn't open to being around supernaturals. However, at the end, she wanted to stay at the camp to find her true identity and where she came from since her parents were human. She felt a better sense of belonging, and made great friends along the way. So are there moments when students felt like an outsider or that they didn't belong? What lessons have they learned as they learned more about their own identity and who they are? How could they put themselves in Kylie's shoes throughout the novel?