
The Midnight Hour
by Benjamin Read and Laura Trinder
Interest age: 9 to 11
Reading age: 9+
Published by Chicken House, 2019
About this book
Emily’s mum is a total embarrassment and her boring dad is always at work on the night shift at the post office – until the night Emily sees some post being delivered just before midnight by a very dodgy-looking postman. When Mum is called away on ‘family’ business and then her dad disappears too, things get decidedly creepy.
Emily sets off to find them, armed only with her pet hedgehog and her mum’s lucky coin necklace. She soon discovers her family are far more interesting than she thought as she forces her way into the Night Post Office where her dad worked, through to the extraordinary world on the other side of the midnight hour. The stakes couldn’t be higher – it’s no longer just about saving her parents: she needs to prevent the end of the world as we know it.
Filled with humour and fantastic world building, The Midnight Hour is a book about the importance of family, not taking things for granted – and definitely not taking things at face value. No one is what they appear to be in this heart-stopping adventure, with very likeable characters (even if they’re ghouls and vampires) and a very big shout out to librarians.
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