Reviews with content warning for Panic attacks/disorders - Midnight on Beacon Street

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Midnight on Beacon Street by Emily Ruth Verona

10 reviews

maryhungerford's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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frahhn's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Haunting themes and a horrible plot—what more can you ask for :) The author did an incredible job driving up the suspense in the book, I was *so* tense by the climax!! The writing was beautiful and I was moved by the compassionate portrayal of all of our main characters. I felt in hinsight that while the ending was good and satisfying, i would have liked a little more peppered throughout the book leading up to it, but perhaps that would have robbed surprise from the ending. One image that has latched to my mind is the young boy, Ben, clinging to a mezuzah for comfort and safety. The book is very cyclical, engaging with the transition from child to babysitter, daughter to mother, child to adult. Another major theme is the frustration and fully enveloping horror of anxiety. I was impressed how the author was able to convey how complex many of the secondary characters were, without providing clarifying insight into them, fully aligning the reader with the knowledge of our main characters. Sorry if that doesn’t make sense lol.

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minimicropup's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Have you ever wondered what being the babysitter in a classic slasher would be like? If you can give up the slasher horror for ‘90s teen drama tropes embedded in a slow-burn character study, this may scratch that itch. It isn’t nearly as eventful as the synopsis makes it sound; it’s more retro fiction with spooky moments and an unhinged ‘Big Bad.’ I enjoyed most of it, but the plot devices and the ending didn’t quite connect for me.

Energy: Self-effacing. Diligent. Harsh.

Scene: 🇺🇸 A modest family home in New Jersey one evening in October 1993.

Perspective: We follow a 17-year-old babysitter with a backstory about her experience with babysitters when she was 11. We also occasionally get the perspective of the 6-year-old boy she is currently babysitting.

🐺 Growls: The narrator made the 6-year-old boy’s voice sound so deep I kept picturing him as 14 or older. The villain and the red herrings, even during the high-stakes danger bits, didn’t make me feel tense or anxious—I can’t figure out why.

🐕 Howls: The classic horror fandom and references were not threaded throughout but discussed at specific parts of the book that sometimes felt out of place or forced. The same was true for the commentary on why an anxious person would find comfort in horror tropes. Although it wasn’t story-breaking it felt like the spoon-feeding of mostly relatable situations I’d expect from a YA book.

🐩 Tail Wags: The character development of Amy, Mira, and Ben. Amy’s flashbacks to the different types of babysitters she encountered. Nostalgic ‘90s setting. The house being a ‘normal’ home instead of a suburban mini-mansion setting.

🤔 Random Thoughts:

There are 90’s caricatures and scenarios, to the point it felt like a sitcom theme sometimes (misogynistic jock, virginity peer pressure and cool girl posturing). I didn’t get why the “party crashers” were older and had their own places, yet they chose to hang out in a house with kids and a parent who could return anytime.
Anxious and terrified, frozen, not calling the cops is real. The fear of overreacting or feeling stupid, if it is nothing at all, is so relatable. However, as things escalated and lives were obviously in danger, those decisions didn’t make sense anymore and went against what we were told about Amy’s character and condition.
Nothing much happens except for the high-stakes unhinged stuff near the 60% mark that often felt contrived (I lost interest). Most of it is night-in-the-life stuff (I liked those parts).

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🎬 Tale-telling: Direct, reflecting, musing style. Scenes slowly unravel, and the vibe is set. Then, we explore a related tangent to give background to the characters’ thoughts and actions before returning to the scene.

👥 Characters: Cute, relatable, a little naïve but also self-aware. I felt for Amy craving friends who shared her interests-she had no way of joining movie sprints with online friends so was stuck trying to convert the jerks!

🤓 Reader Role: Telepathic ghost in the middle of things. Watching the scene unfold, listening to private conversations, and overhearing thoughts and memories through the third-person POV.

🗺️ World-Building: Mostly vibes. It was uneasy, gloomy, and slightly claustrophobic, set through character dialogues or inner thoughts and observation. It captured the 1990s without info-dumping or pointing out all the things.

🔥 Fuel: Up to the 60% mark, the challenges in babysitting unfold, but overall, it's uneventful. What’s going on with 12-yr old Mira? Is she just trying to be grown up or something more? After the 60% mark, the fuel is high-stakes fight-for-your-life survival. Will Amy survive? Can she protect the kids?

📖 Cred: Suspended disbelief, go with the flow and don’t overthink the villainy or character choices.

🚙 Journey: Staying up late Friday night snuggled with a mix of Sweet Valley High and Baby-Sitters Club mystery books.

Mood Reading Match-Up:

Lounging by the TV light, kitchen linoleum, landline phone ringing, microwave ding, pizzas and plates, pizzicato and waterphone effects, nail polish, door slams, siren strobes at night
Grown-up ‘The Baby-Sitters Club’ drama and conundrums
Nostalgic character study and commentary on anxiety, responsibility, loyalty, safe spaces and safe people.

Content Heads-Up: Sexual harassment (peer pressure, comments). Home burglary. Home invasion. Generalized anxiety. Panic attacks. Domestic abuse (graphic; brief). Abusive parent. Stalking. Blood/body horror (brief but descriptive).

Rep: Jewish and Ambiguous Americans. Cisgender. Heterosexual.

📚 Format: Everand Audio

My musings 💖 powered by puppy snuggles 🐶

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slimepuppy's review

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Slow, repetitive, uninteresting. I had high hopes for this book, but it only let me down. The non linear narrative felt unnecessary, the plot was fairly predictable and none of the characters felt special. The main character is just anxious, that's it, that's the character!

Some of the beginning of the book was actually a little creepy, though - before the plot started happening.

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henrygravesprince's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

Really interesting to see the small details changed from the eBook ARC and see the way the ending got filled in some more. I enjoyed it just as much. Very strong narration too. Stunning.

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cammaleahh's review against another edition

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challenging dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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bookedbymadeline's review

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mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.0

Thank you Netgalley, HarperCollins, and One More Chapter for the eARC!

What a debut from Verona! This was a quick read with good pacing. As the synopsis promises, Midnight on Beacon Street is a love letter to horror/slasher films. The story is told through switching POVs between Amy and Ben with each chapter progressing in different ways (Amy’s moves towards midnight up to the climax while Ben starts at midnight with the climax-without revealing anything of course-but then moves backwards). It was a unique and interesting way to tell the story!

The writing could sometimes be too repetitive and descriptive, especially in Ben’s chapters. I preferred Amy’s since Ben’s had a lot more telling instead of showing.

The twists were predictable, I wasn’t really surprised by any of them and guessed them a few chapters before it was revealed. But I did appreciate how the story unraveled!

Despite the predictability and telling over showing, it was an enjoyable read and one that I didn’t want to put down! Highly recommend if you want a quick, entertaining thriller. I’m excited to see what Verona writes next ❤️

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henrygravesprince's review

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emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

In the interest of full disclosure, this review is specifically regarding a DRC copy of the book from Net Galley, so while I imagine this eBook was relatively close to finalized, some details may have been changed between my copy and the official release.

I’m very pleased to say this is a 5-star read for me and has become one of my favorites. Not only am I excited to see what Verona writes in the future and interested in checking out her other work, I immediately preordered the audiobook of Midnight on Beacon Street after I finished reading the ARC and will be rereading it ASAP upon publishing. I would recommend this book to people who have a deep love for the horror genre, particularly horror film, especially those who approach the genre from a feminist analytical lense. The strongest aspect of this novel is the character work: even the briefest glimpses we get of characters is effective in establishing who they are, and each character feels very meticulously crafted to feel genuine and real. After thinking on it deeply, I think the weakest aspect is the length: while it’s perfectly paced and doesn’t drag on too long, I would have loved it to be a little longer and to flesh out some smaller details a little more. I honestly don’t think I have any feedback for how this book could be improved, because frankly, it was an instant love for me—which isn’t something I find in books often, so I’m both very taken with it and stumped on how to weigh this particular aspect of the review.

I loved the character dynamics at the core of the book, especially those between Amy and the children she’s babysitting, Mira and Ben. The different dynamics between each of them—Amy and Ben’s bond as anxious people who tend to acquiesce; Mira’s reluctance to let Amy in and Amy’s determination to do right by her; Mira and Ben’s complicated sibling dynamic that is ultimately founded on love and protection—resonate so well throughout this book and develop in ways that feel natural. Furthermore, Amy, Mira, and Ben were incredibly memorable, as were less-prominent characters like Sadie, Amy’s former babysitter, and Eleanor, Mira and Ben’s mother. Even Mr. Darren, who appears very briefly in the book, feels lived in and lifelike. The characterization is not just strong, but also vivid: the main and recurring characters are well-rounded and consistent. The author did a great job at constructing scenes to illustrate the broad idea of, and eventually the subtleties of, the cast.

I think every aspect of this novel, not just every scene or chapter, pulls its weight. No detail is wasted: everything ties into the big picture somehow, and that includes the nuances of each character. The portrayal of Judaism in particular feels very intentionally crafted with care. The author’s dedication to weaving the Mazinski’s Jewish identity into the framework of the narrative was masterful, lending a lot of depth to the characters. You can feel the love and intention in this book, from the characters, to the setting, to the choices of references the author makes. The narrative is well-crafted and readable, tied together with evocative prose, striking characters, and a tight, coherent plotline. The exposition is concise and sprinked throughout the book, expertly building up and out the world the characters live in.

Description in Midnight on Beacon Street is elegant and poetic without being daunting. The imagery is evocative, and the metaphors are strong. There’s a good balance between dialogue and narrative prose, neither one ever noticably overwhelming a scene. Word choice comes across as very deliberate, ultimately coming off with a sense of stylishness without sacrificing readability. There’s no over- or under-writing to be found here. I think one of Verona’s most noticeable skills on display is giving everything just the right attention to detail, whether a lingering detail or a subtle, passing one.

This novel is paced well, quick while making great use of the time it has. It reminds me of older horror movies, 70s and backwards, that don’t waste your time or rush you through the building blocks of its atmosphere. The narrative structure is effective: I love non-linear storytelling, and have wrestled with its difficulties in my own work. For that reason, I admire authors who can not only commit to non-linear storytelling but also do it well, and Verona’s usage of it in this novel is a fantastic example. It adds to the novel rather than bogging it down, working with the pace rather than against it.

The transition between chapters is succinct and forward, telling us the date and time in relation to midnight of the day that most of the novel centers around. Similarly, shifts in point of view were clear and consistent, alternating chapter to chapter, each one being anchored in the point of view of Amy or Ben. Character voice was a strong aspect of this novel to me, not just in the dialogue, but in the narration itself. The stylish clarity of Verona’s prose is present throughout the book, but in their respective chapters, Amy and Ben’s voices shine through, too.

The major narrative throughline to me here was the insecure concept of safety: how safe and secure is the home, really? How is a teenage babysitter supposed to be equipped with the tools and wherewithal to protect children if something terrible happens? How do we make ourselves feel safe and handle our fears? That, in particular, is communicated in an incredibly powerful way: we see the manner in which each character tries to make themselves feel safe and find power over their fear. As someone who struggles with severe anxiety and loves horror because, in a lot of ways, it gives me a sense of control over the emotion of fear, I related to Amy a lot. We also see how Ben makes himself feel secure and protected through the recurring references to the mezuzah, and how Mira utilizes the concept of fear to keep herself and her family safe.

Overall, I had a fantastic time reading this book. The first time Amy referenced Debra Hill, I whooped: that was when I knew this book would be genre-savvy in a genuine way as opposed to a surface-level one. Hill was equally as responsible for the Halloween ‘78 we know and love as John Carpenter, but her name is frequently forgotten in pop-culture discussions of Halloween, especially ones that aren’t necessarily coming from the horror community. I have a lot of love for Carpenter, but namedropping Debra Hill first feels like a way of giving Hill her dues. It makes a statement of love for the genre, its history, and for the feminist and critical analysis that has spawned from it. The love and respect for the genre and for the women of horror—on screen and off—sings from every page. I could go on and on about all of the things I love about this book. I’m incredibly thankful that I was approved for the ARC of this book and that I decided to request it on whim because I loved the cover. It’s like catnip for me.

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halfwaytosanity's review

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dark reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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sunshinestark's review against another edition

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3.0

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