A review by rebelbelle13
Midnight at the Electric by Jodi Lynn Anderson

4.0

This novel has a bit of everything in it- historical fiction, science fiction, drama, mystery, and letter writing. It follows three stories in three different time periods; 1919, 1934/35, and 2065. Half of it is in epistolary format (written letters) which can typically either help or hinder the story, depending on what's being relayed. In this particular story, it helps- since the main focus is on Adri, who's finding letters in her cousin's house while she prepares to launch for Mars. Midnight at the Electric is one of those quietly atmospheric novels. It's part slice of life, part history, part mystery. In each of the instances, we get just enough background and character description to carry the story, but not much beyond that. I wanted more of every story, especially the endings. There are characters that simply disappear and we don't discover what happens to them. Then there are characters we get too much of- Adri had the personality of a toad and I couldn't stand her. She's in a time (2065) where everyone has experienced loss, and she's one of the lucky few who gets to go to Mars- and the whole time she's nasty, and withdrawn, and EMO, and unwilling to try to form relationships. It was rather frustrating. Other than the fact that I wanted to slap some sense into the MC, I really enjoyed myself here. The audiobook was beautifully done, I have a feeling I'll be rereading this soon.