Touching Darkness (Midnighters #2)

The Midnighters find they are in danger not only from the darklings who exist in that hour, but from some humans during regular time too.  While they try to figure out the secret history of their town and past Midnighters, the enemies begin closing in on what they really want, one of the Midnighters.

*highlight for spoilers*

The second in the Midnighters series, Touching Darkness, was really good.  The action picks up a little more and some of the mysteries from the first book are solved while introducing new ones.  There is less to do with Jessica in this book and I have a feeling her backstory and powers will be more important in the third book than they were here.  Rex and Melissa play more key roles while Dess and Jonathan sort of slide into the backstory.  I really didn't like Melissa in the last book, but by the end of this one I was more sympathetic to her and to Rex.  I realize her powers must be awful to have.  But I was surprised at how the touching between her and Rex was akin to sex and orgasms and how much it helped her.  I don't know how much teens will catch of that, but it is definitely implied.  Interesting.

There is much more about other Midnighters though not as much as I would have liked and the secret hidden in the town (the old Midnighter, Madeline) was interesting.  I hope they clear up more of that story and what happens to Rex now that he is a halfling.  That plot was horrifying, but will make for an interesting third book. 

The Secret Hour (Midnighters #1)

Jessica Day moves to the small town of Bixby, Oklahoma with her family when her mom gets a new job.  At first, everything seems normal.  That is until midnight rolls around and the world around her freezes.  Jessica learns she is a "Midnighter," one of the handful of teens in town who can live in the blue time between midnight and 1 am.  But something about Jessica is different and she attracts trouble in the form of the darklings who live in the blue time, ancient creatures who are out for Jessica.  With the help of the other four Midnighters, Jessica must fight the darklings and learn why they want to kill her so much.

"Something about you is so ... 11:59.  You don't belong." p.124

So this is Scott Westerfeld's first young adult book.  I've read all the rest except this series and Leviathan, which just came out.  It was really good and I enjoyed it.  The concept is great though less original than his later books.  It came across as appropriately chilling and suspenseful and occasionally funny and moved along at a nice pace.  I liked Jessica and Jonathan and Dess and I'm not real sure about Melissa but Rex was okay.  I've always found the idea of ancient creatures intriguing (must be why I'm a Buffy fan) and the mythology is great in this book without being too overwhelming, just enough to tantalize. I got a good image out of the book and I could definitely see it as a movie.