One Past Midnight

Gr 8 Up—Sabine has everything: the perfect house, the perfect friends, the perfect car. Everything is exactly as it should be for the 18-year-old queen bee reigning supreme in her wealthy Boston suburb. However, every night at midnight, she Shifts to her other life where she has nothing: an increasingly difficult family life, hard relationships with peers, an unrewarding after school job in an as-yet-to-be gentrified Boston suburb. Sabine has two lives—living each day twice—and has kept it a secret for as long as she can remember. That is, until she meets Ethan. By developing a rich and nuanced mythology of Sabine's experience, Shirvington invites readers to consider what it means to struggle with the social pressures of being a teenager. The short, action-packed chapters move readers swiftly from day to day and life to life. The story is fresh and focused and would be a welcome addition. A complex and compelling tale.—Pete Smith, Pioneer Valley Performing Arts CPS, South Hadley, MA