THE MIDNIGHT TWINS
Jacquelyn Mitchard
Razorbill/Penguin Young Readers Group
Mystery
ISBN: 9781595141606
240 pages

Meredith and Mallory Brynn are identical twins, exact mirror images of each other. Only their personalities allow others to tell them apart: Meredith is outgoing, bubbly and a cheerleader, while Mallory is more of a loner, serious and a soccer player. Being twins is something unique in itself, but a few added phenomena set the Brynn girls apart from other twins. For one, they don’t even share the same birthday. That’s because one was born just before midnight on New Year’s Eve and the other just after midnight on New Year’s Day. Another unique characteristic is that they share the same dreams --- that is, until recently.

Just before their 13th birthday, Merry and Mally’s dreams begin to change. Mally dreams of a horrid house fire that threatens her family and traps her in the deadly flames. When Mally tells Merry about it, both are surprised that Merry hadn’t dreamt the same thing, or at lease felt what Mally had felt. They try to brush it off as just an unusual nightmare, and instead try to concentrate on their upcoming birthday party. Then a few days later, the house fire nightmare comes true, with Merry and Mally barely escaping in time. And from that moment on, their lives change forever.

This premonition isn’t just a fluke or a one-time thing. Mally continues dreaming of the future, and Merry starts dreaming of the past. Though it sounds intriguing, their gifts begin to desperately affect their lives, especially when they reveal the horrid and torturous acts performed by someone they know. The twins fight their gift and try to ignore what they dream, but in the end, they cannot make it go away. However, if they choose to interfere and attempt to save the victims in their dreams, they will be endangering their own lives. Is there anyone they can turn to for help?

THE MIDNIGHT TWINS is the beginning of a new teen trilogy by renowned author Jacquelyn Mitchard, who has created a mysterious, suspenseful, multi-layered world centering on two amazing teenagers. She craftily builds up suspense, revealing a little at a time, and gently rounds out her characters by creating a few clever flashbacks in the twins’ lives. Plus, the talented Mitchard has a special way with words, especially in describing the dream sequences and the recovery period in the hospital following the fire. She pulls the reader into the minds of Mally and Merry as they wander into the unknowns receiving the visions of the future and the past, as they reach out to each other for comfort and security.

This memorable book will stay with audiences as they eagerly await the next installment in the series.

    --- Reviewed by Chris Shanley-Dillman, author of FINDING MY LIGHT and THE BLACK POND

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