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literarylover37's review against another edition
4.0
I received an ARC of this book from Random House Children's via Netgalley in exchange for a review.
3.5 stars, rounded to 4.
Burning Midnight is a creative idea with thin execution. Don't get me wrong. I liked this book and perhaps it was because it is written at a younger level but....it was just lacking.
The good:
*The book was well paced and moved quickly (I read the final 1/2 in one day). It will certainly keep younger readers attention.
*The premise for the book is very creative. The world has been populated by hidden spheres that when paired together and placed to your head and bring you certain advanced gifts (speed reading, amplified hearing, strength, healing, etc). Interesting idea for sure.
*The characters, while not always "likable", or in Sully's case "basic 4 year old intelligence level smart", were still engaging enough that you wanted to root for them.
The bad:
*World-building. The blurb cites this book as appealing to audiences of The Maze Runner. While that was a series with it's own bumps and bruises (each successive book weaker than the one before it), it certainly did create a world. Burning Midnight did not. I think the author though it would be easier to just place the spheres in our world as it is now? And that was made abundantly clear by the excessive amount of pop culture/modern references made. However, by just placing this scenario in our world, he opened a whole other can of worms and created a HUGE amount of questions which leads to my next point.
*Unexplained areas/unaddressed questions. SO many questions. Okay, so possible spoilers here. The spheres had just shown up one day, 9 years prior to when this story begins. In 9 years, things should have changed more. How did people even figure out these spheres could be "burned"? Why was there not more investigation into what these were? How was the sale not regulated? Why did having all of these people with advanced abilities not change the world more? Then we get into the "aliens". That is whole other arena. It just was too convenient that only Hunter could "hear" these things.
While it did seem weak in some areas, I enjoyed the story and was able to suspend disbelief enough to appreciate it for what it was.
3.5 stars, rounded to 4.
Burning Midnight is a creative idea with thin execution. Don't get me wrong. I liked this book and perhaps it was because it is written at a younger level but....it was just lacking.
The good:
*The book was well paced and moved quickly (I read the final 1/2 in one day). It will certainly keep younger readers attention.
*The premise for the book is very creative. The world has been populated by hidden spheres that when paired together and placed to your head and bring you certain advanced gifts (speed reading, amplified hearing, strength, healing, etc). Interesting idea for sure.
*The characters, while not always "likable", or in Sully's case "basic 4 year old intelligence level smart", were still engaging enough that you wanted to root for them.
The bad:
*World-building. The blurb cites this book as appealing to audiences of The Maze Runner. While that was a series with it's own bumps and bruises (each successive book weaker than the one before it), it certainly did create a world. Burning Midnight did not. I think the author though it would be easier to just place the spheres in our world as it is now? And that was made abundantly clear by the excessive amount of pop culture/modern references made. However, by just placing this scenario in our world, he opened a whole other can of worms and created a HUGE amount of questions which leads to my next point.
*Unexplained areas/unaddressed questions. SO many questions. Okay, so possible spoilers here. The spheres had just shown up one day, 9 years prior to when this story begins. In 9 years, things should have changed more. How did people even figure out these spheres could be "burned"? Why was there not more investigation into what these were? How was the sale not regulated? Why did having all of these people with advanced abilities not change the world more? Then we get into the "aliens". That is whole other arena. It just was too convenient that only Hunter could "hear" these things.
While it did seem weak in some areas, I enjoyed the story and was able to suspend disbelief enough to appreciate it for what it was.
malreynolds111's review against another edition
3.0
I was all ready to give this book 4 stars and then the last couple of chapters ruined it. What a copout way to end the issue and the final paragraph just seemed to end very abruptly.
jseargeant's review against another edition
Originally published at Novel Escapism
The brilliantly colored spheres just showed up, hidden around the Earth. “Burn” a pair by touching them to your temples and they improve you. You might get better-looking, faster or be able to speed read. Sully is a sphere dealer at the local flea market and when he meets Hunter, a girl skilled at finding spheres “in the wild,” their lives dramatically alter course. When Sully and Hunter find a Gold sphere, something no one has ever seen before, they draw the ire of sphere mega-store owner and billionaire, Alex Holliday. What started as a quest for rare spheres just to make ends meet, turns into an adventure where the fate of the world hangs in the balance. I devoured Burning Midnight in just one night. It was thoroughly engaging and fast-paced. The science fiction elements are well-written and the world feels real. By the end, I could not put it down until I finished the rollercoaster ride that is Burning Midnight.
The brilliantly colored spheres just showed up, hidden around the Earth. “Burn” a pair by touching them to your temples and they improve you. You might get better-looking, faster or be able to speed read. Sully is a sphere dealer at the local flea market and when he meets Hunter, a girl skilled at finding spheres “in the wild,” their lives dramatically alter course. When Sully and Hunter find a Gold sphere, something no one has ever seen before, they draw the ire of sphere mega-store owner and billionaire, Alex Holliday. What started as a quest for rare spheres just to make ends meet, turns into an adventure where the fate of the world hangs in the balance. I devoured Burning Midnight in just one night. It was thoroughly engaging and fast-paced. The science fiction elements are well-written and the world feels real. By the end, I could not put it down until I finished the rollercoaster ride that is Burning Midnight.
faithl's review against another edition
3.0
Why a mini review you ask?
Well, it was kind of a mini book.
This is one of those books that you easily could swallow in about 3 hours. The plot is action-packed and simple. The characters are pretty straight-forward with what they want, there's no mystery behind them. It's pretty much a book with action, treasure-hunts, romance and 'The Fog' type aliens all rolled into a compact 300 page novel.
A pair of teenagers (who later fall in love) who are poor band together to hunt for expensive spheres which literally give you gifts like being better looking, have higher intelligence or enhanced hearing. It's all too good to be true and they're scattered and hidden around places for random people to find and sell. It's no surprise that these weird orbs come with a price.
Now, I'm keeping this review spoiler free but SERIOUSLY?! These spheres come out of nowhere giving people gifts and no one's suspicious about anything?!! You don't know what that shit is doing to your body. I was not surprised when aliens came into the picture. Oops, mini spoilers.
Sully is your typical teenage guy who is a little temperamental and kind of naive. At the same time, Hunter is your bad-ass love interest who is apparently not scared of anything. Even diving into water tanks. Her name is properly suited to her personality. Together they hunt for spheres to simply make their lives better. Sully's been exploited by an evil billionaire who sells these orbs and Hunter is an orphan just trying to survive. Their romance is given from the moment they meet and stays pretty consistent throughout the novel.
When they finally hit the jackpot, shit happens. The earth becomes in trouble and only these two plus two more kick-ass friends know how to stop the aliens. It's a fun-filled and humorous book, take for the aliens and 'too-good-to-be-true spheres.
perilous1's review against another edition
3.0
Originally reviewed for YA books Central: http://www.yabookscentral.com/yafiction/19366-burning-midnight
This Urban Fantasy is a quick, simple read with an intriguing premise and a younger YA appeal.
High-schooler David “Sully” Sullivan is a low-income kid trying to keep his tiny family afloat through sphere-hocking. Nobody knows exactly what the spheres are or how they work—but it’s been 9 years since they first showed up hidden in man-made settings and the world became obsessed. The 42 known color shades of these objects all have one thing in common: A pair of the same color will grant you enhanced abilities of some kind if you “burn” them. The rarer the spheres are the more significant the enhancement; and the more Sully can get for them at the flea market. His one dreary claim to fame is that he was badly cheated several years before by a big-shot sphere retailer named Alex Holliday. But when Sully meets a street-wise girl and begins sphere hunting with her, his life gets a lot more interesting…
What I Liked:
This book started out strong on many fronts. Underdog protagonists, survivalist tough-girl love interest, high stakes seek-and-find theme, and the largely rapid pacing—all solidly reader-pleasing. (It’s like Geocaching on speculative-fantasy steroids!)
This reader appreciated the unlikely friendship between Sully and Dom. It’s clear they wouldn’t have found camaraderie if not for the fact that they both are infamous—Sully for finding the match to the rarest known sphere (and being cheated out of it), and Dom for having an uncle who committed an unforgettably terrible act. A bit of commentary on this actually turned out to be my favorite quote:
"It was a weird bond they shared, being known for something. At least Sully was known for something he'd done. Dom had to live with a last name that was a verb through no fault of his own."
I liked that the primary antagonist (although largely depicted as a one-dimensional and generic corporate bad-guy) came from a rags-to-riches background and considered himself a “gamer.” It was a gutsy, unique move to make him relevant and even admirable to the book’s target audience—though he was obviously corrupt.
I also liked that the book rounds out with the sense of a cautionary tale. The main protagonists (while largely good-intentioned) consistently make poor, impulsive, or selfish choices and then face fairly logical corresponding consequences. And aside from that spot of teenaged realism, the story graphically conveys age-old concepts like: “There’s no such thing as a free lunch.” And “If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.”
What Didn’t Work For Me:
One of my biggest complaints would be feeling let down by the world-building. As much as this reader enjoyed the idea of the spheres, I would have loved a recap on what methods had been exhausted to learn what the heck they are or where they might come from. The cultural aspect was decently fleshed out—with regular examples of the societal impact the spheres were having (brag buttons, social ladder climbing, entertainment industry, public and religious opinions.) But the scientific angle is left almost entirely unexplored. There’s some vague mentioning of spheres affecting people at the neurological or even DNA level, but only once and in passing. Also, who first figured out that if you touched two identical mystery balls to your temples, they will drain of color and give you inexplicably enhanced abilities of some sort? (Especially considering you apparently don't FEEL any different after you've "burned" them.) It does underscore the overarching caution over not flippantly messing with things you don’t understand, but there’s no reason that readers couldn’t be given more background.
While this reader was relieved that there was no insta-love, the romantic buildup between Sully and Hunter seemed oddly forced. (Perhaps in part because we are only receiving the story from Sully’s somewhat bland POV.) As much time as they spent together with shared goals and hardships, there should have been plenty of opportunity for a gradual and organic attachment that readers could believe in. And yet… it fell a bit flat. I think the reason for this stems from the book’s overall sparseness of any visceral emotional conveyance. Even the physical descriptions are somewhat lacking beyond blatant ethnicity cues—and this oversimplified tendency seems to carry over on a psychological level as well. I was never able to feel particularly connected with the characters or invested in their plight.
There is an abrupt sort of tone shift around page 80. Up until that point, the book could have easily passed for an upper Middle Grade story in style and content. It’s almost as if some mild sexualized commentary was inserted to help reinforce its belonging on YA shelves. From about the 1/3rd mark onward, the story lost some of its momentum and never quite regained it—racing in the last 50 pages into a conclusion that struck this reader as a color-coded YA version of Stephen King's ‘The Mist’—more silly than surprising.
Ultimately a fun popcorn, pop-culture kind of read—but one that may not have lived up to its full potential.
This Urban Fantasy is a quick, simple read with an intriguing premise and a younger YA appeal.
High-schooler David “Sully” Sullivan is a low-income kid trying to keep his tiny family afloat through sphere-hocking. Nobody knows exactly what the spheres are or how they work—but it’s been 9 years since they first showed up hidden in man-made settings and the world became obsessed. The 42 known color shades of these objects all have one thing in common: A pair of the same color will grant you enhanced abilities of some kind if you “burn” them. The rarer the spheres are the more significant the enhancement; and the more Sully can get for them at the flea market. His one dreary claim to fame is that he was badly cheated several years before by a big-shot sphere retailer named Alex Holliday. But when Sully meets a street-wise girl and begins sphere hunting with her, his life gets a lot more interesting…
What I Liked:
This book started out strong on many fronts. Underdog protagonists, survivalist tough-girl love interest, high stakes seek-and-find theme, and the largely rapid pacing—all solidly reader-pleasing. (It’s like Geocaching on speculative-fantasy steroids!)
This reader appreciated the unlikely friendship between Sully and Dom. It’s clear they wouldn’t have found camaraderie if not for the fact that they both are infamous—Sully for finding the match to the rarest known sphere (and being cheated out of it), and Dom for having an uncle who committed an unforgettably terrible act. A bit of commentary on this actually turned out to be my favorite quote:
"It was a weird bond they shared, being known for something. At least Sully was known for something he'd done. Dom had to live with a last name that was a verb through no fault of his own."
I liked that the primary antagonist (although largely depicted as a one-dimensional and generic corporate bad-guy) came from a rags-to-riches background and considered himself a “gamer.” It was a gutsy, unique move to make him relevant and even admirable to the book’s target audience—though he was obviously corrupt.
I also liked that the book rounds out with the sense of a cautionary tale. The main protagonists (while largely good-intentioned) consistently make poor, impulsive, or selfish choices and then face fairly logical corresponding consequences. And aside from that spot of teenaged realism, the story graphically conveys age-old concepts like: “There’s no such thing as a free lunch.” And “If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.”
What Didn’t Work For Me:
One of my biggest complaints would be feeling let down by the world-building. As much as this reader enjoyed the idea of the spheres, I would have loved a recap on what methods had been exhausted to learn what the heck they are or where they might come from. The cultural aspect was decently fleshed out—with regular examples of the societal impact the spheres were having (brag buttons, social ladder climbing, entertainment industry, public and religious opinions.) But the scientific angle is left almost entirely unexplored. There’s some vague mentioning of spheres affecting people at the neurological or even DNA level, but only once and in passing. Also, who first figured out that if you touched two identical mystery balls to your temples, they will drain of color and give you inexplicably enhanced abilities of some sort? (Especially considering you apparently don't FEEL any different after you've "burned" them.) It does underscore the overarching caution over not flippantly messing with things you don’t understand, but there’s no reason that readers couldn’t be given more background.
While this reader was relieved that there was no insta-love, the romantic buildup between Sully and Hunter seemed oddly forced. (Perhaps in part because we are only receiving the story from Sully’s somewhat bland POV.) As much time as they spent together with shared goals and hardships, there should have been plenty of opportunity for a gradual and organic attachment that readers could believe in. And yet… it fell a bit flat. I think the reason for this stems from the book’s overall sparseness of any visceral emotional conveyance. Even the physical descriptions are somewhat lacking beyond blatant ethnicity cues—and this oversimplified tendency seems to carry over on a psychological level as well. I was never able to feel particularly connected with the characters or invested in their plight.
There is an abrupt sort of tone shift around page 80. Up until that point, the book could have easily passed for an upper Middle Grade story in style and content. It’s almost as if some mild sexualized commentary was inserted to help reinforce its belonging on YA shelves. From about the 1/3rd mark onward, the story lost some of its momentum and never quite regained it—racing in the last 50 pages into a conclusion that struck this reader as a color-coded YA version of Stephen King's ‘The Mist’—more silly than surprising.
Ultimately a fun popcorn, pop-culture kind of read—but one that may not have lived up to its full potential.
ashleighmacro's review against another edition
4.0
Pokémon meets magic – a completely addictive story that you’ll be thinking about non-stop.
Originally posted on my blog Ashleigh Online
I had no idea what to expect when I picked up this book. The concept sounded interesting but I didn’t realise how much of an impression it would make on me. I was so addicted to Burning Midnight, and so absorbed in its story, that I found myself spotting what I thought was a marble whilst out and about, completely forgetting that Sully’s world was not my own.
Burning Midnight is like Pokémon with a helping of magic and a splash of science fiction. It’s made better yet by modern-day references such as eBay and Craigslist that help it become completely relatable for any reader, and its characters have some of the most genuine voices I’ve ever come across.
It’s one of the rare books that I think my future hubby would enjoy reading (he pretty much never reads, but has enjoyed The Maze Runner and Michael Grant’s Gone series), although I spent so much time talking about it while I was reading it that I’ve probably spoiled it for him already. Whoopsie.
At times I found Hunter quite frustrating, and I have some questions that were never fully answered by the end of the novel, but I can let that slide because I enjoyed the rest of the story so much.
Burning Midnight is a standalone novel, too, so everything’s wrapped up in one book which was actually quite refreshing, bucking the fantasy/sci-fi trilogy trend. It’s clever and unusual, and has definitely got me interested in the rest of Will’s YA novels.
Originally posted on my blog Ashleigh Online
I had no idea what to expect when I picked up this book. The concept sounded interesting but I didn’t realise how much of an impression it would make on me. I was so addicted to Burning Midnight, and so absorbed in its story, that I found myself spotting what I thought was a marble whilst out and about, completely forgetting that Sully’s world was not my own.
Burning Midnight is like Pokémon with a helping of magic and a splash of science fiction. It’s made better yet by modern-day references such as eBay and Craigslist that help it become completely relatable for any reader, and its characters have some of the most genuine voices I’ve ever come across.
It’s one of the rare books that I think my future hubby would enjoy reading (he pretty much never reads, but has enjoyed The Maze Runner and Michael Grant’s Gone series), although I spent so much time talking about it while I was reading it that I’ve probably spoiled it for him already. Whoopsie.
At times I found Hunter quite frustrating, and I have some questions that were never fully answered by the end of the novel, but I can let that slide because I enjoyed the rest of the story so much.
Burning Midnight is a standalone novel, too, so everything’s wrapped up in one book which was actually quite refreshing, bucking the fantasy/sci-fi trilogy trend. It’s clever and unusual, and has definitely got me interested in the rest of Will’s YA novels.
cnuss333's review against another edition
3.0
I actually enjoyed this book but like a lot of people feel as though the ending was rushed.. and I simply just didn't like the turn that the book took. Which sucks because I loved the beginning plot and characters!
mollymortensen's review against another edition
4.0
Colored spheres appeared all over the world nine years ago. When you burn two of the same color they make you better, taller, smarter, better looking. The rarer the sphere the more they do and the more they are worth.
Four years ago Sully found the rarest sphere in the world, and one of the richest guys around ripped him off for millions of dollars.
Recently, his mom lost her job, and they might soon lose their apartment. Sully works at a flea market selling spheres to make money. When he meets a young marble hunter named Hunter, they decide to team up to search for spheres.
My Review:
This was a strange, strange book. The author certainly has an imagination. This book was nothing like I expected and while it was far from perfect I still enjoyed it.
The good:
The characters are all easily likable. Even though they all had rather tragic pasts, this wasn't a depressing read! Hunter's my favorite! She's so tough and smart! Sully, our main character is rather average, but a good narrator. His best friend Dom was funny and nice, and last but certainly not least, Mandy is a smart girl who distrusts spheres, but wants in on the adventure! Holiday is an excellent villain! I hated him almost as much as Umbridge!
World
Everything is exactly like our world, except several years ago these spheres appeared. The author really thought about how magical spheres would impact the world. I liked that the spheres only did things that were possible for a human being, it made them more realistic. (As cool as super powers are.) I always need answers, so I appreciated that the spheres weren't kept a mystery.
Pace
Some people complained that it was too slow in the beginning, but I appreciated the author slowly introducing us to his world rather than telling us about it in an info dump. I think the main issue is the blurb teases us about this rare gold sphere, which doesn't come in until halfway through.
The Bad:
For some reason I found this book easy to put down. It didn't call to me to read it when I was doing other things. Perhaps it was because although plenty happens, it's rather slow paced in stretches.
The end is exciting and weird and I wasn't sure I liked it, but in the end I was happy.
Would I read another by this author? Maybe. I did enjoy it, but it was just so strange!
Point of View: Third Person (Sully)
Series: Standalone?
Predictability: 2 out of 5 (Where 1 is totally unpredictable and 5 is I knew what was going to happen way ahead of time.)
Source: NetGalley
Four years ago Sully found the rarest sphere in the world, and one of the richest guys around ripped him off for millions of dollars.
Recently, his mom lost her job, and they might soon lose their apartment. Sully works at a flea market selling spheres to make money. When he meets a young marble hunter named Hunter, they decide to team up to search for spheres.
My Review:
This was a strange, strange book. The author certainly has an imagination. This book was nothing like I expected and while it was far from perfect I still enjoyed it.
The good:
The characters are all easily likable. Even though they all had rather tragic pasts, this wasn't a depressing read! Hunter's my favorite! She's so tough and smart! Sully, our main character is rather average, but a good narrator. His best friend Dom was funny and nice, and last but certainly not least, Mandy is a smart girl who distrusts spheres, but wants in on the adventure! Holiday is an excellent villain! I hated him almost as much as Umbridge!
World
Everything is exactly like our world, except several years ago these spheres appeared. The author really thought about how magical spheres would impact the world. I liked that the spheres only did things that were possible for a human being, it made them more realistic. (As cool as super powers are.) I always need answers, so I appreciated that the spheres weren't kept a mystery.
Pace
Some people complained that it was too slow in the beginning, but I appreciated the author slowly introducing us to his world rather than telling us about it in an info dump. I think the main issue is the blurb teases us about this rare gold sphere, which doesn't come in until halfway through.
The Bad:
For some reason I found this book easy to put down. It didn't call to me to read it when I was doing other things. Perhaps it was because although plenty happens, it's rather slow paced in stretches.
The end is exciting and weird and I wasn't sure I liked it, but in the end I was happy.
Would I read another by this author? Maybe. I did enjoy it, but it was just so strange!
Point of View: Third Person (Sully)
Series: Standalone?
Predictability: 2 out of 5 (Where 1 is totally unpredictable and 5 is I knew what was going to happen way ahead of time.)
Source: NetGalley
marvel0us's review against another edition
2.0
Weet niet zo goed hoe ik me voel over dit boek. Misschien dat ik hier ooit nog een review over schrijf?