Midnight's Choice: Amazon.ca: Kate Thompson: Books

Product Description

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-9-As a Switcher nearing her 15th birthday, Tess faces an enormous decision: whether to assume an animal form permanently or to remain human with her modern-day Irish family. This premise, introduced in Thompson's Switchers (Hyperion, 1998), is further complicated when Tess realizes she can also become immortal, either as a vampire, the embodiment of evil, or as a phoenix, the personification of good. At first, the choice seems clear, but the girl comes to see the vampire's bitter appeal, and the phoenix strikes her as lonely in its golden calm. Like many teens, Tess feels that "[t]o either side, eternities [are] pulling at her and she [is] stretched between them, standing on a razor's edge." If the subtext of Switchers was the limitless possibilities of life choices, then the underlying theme of Midnight's Choice is teens' perception of the urgent need to choose, and choose correctly, and the inability to change direction once a choice is made. But Tess's eventual decision and the surprise climax that follows suggest that choosing is never clear-cut and that some choices, once made, can still be undone. Full of action and depth, this story stands alone, but is better still when read along with Switchers. It is a mesmerizing and respectful look, through the lens of fantasy, at young people making the decisions that will shape their adult lives.
Beth Wright, Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, VT
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Book Description

In this exciting sequel to "Switchers, " Tess, who has the ability to change into animal form, must choose between good and evil as she tries to decide whether to "switch" into a phoenix or a vampire for the rest of time.

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Customer Reviews

9 Reviews

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
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Average Customer Review

3.8 out of 5 stars (9 customer reviews)

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3.0 out of 5 stars "Where-ever There's Light There Has to Be Darkness.", Jun 19 2004

By

R. M. Fisher "Raye" (New Zealand = Middle Earth!) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Midnight's Choice: The Sequel to Switchers (Paperback)

"Midnight's Choice" is the second book in Kate Thompson's Switchers trilogy, concerning fourteen-year-old Tess who has the ability to change into any animal at will. It begins right where the last book ended, several months after Tess and her Switcher-friend Kevin have destroyed the terrible krools, with Kevin alighting at her bedroom window in his last (and now permanent) form: a glorious phoenix. It may be necessary to have read "Switchers" beforehand, just to sort out the characters, the background history and the abilities of Switching, as it is an important point to know that at the age of fifteen, a Switcher's powers disappear, and whatever form - human or animal - that they choose is theirs for the rest of their life.

But Tess's fifteenth birthday is not for a while yet, and instead she is enjoying the exhilaration and endless peacefulness of being a phoenix alongside Kevin. But there is another force at work - Tess's pet rat Algernon is being called forth by an unknown master, to dig alongside hundreds of rats in uncovering a mysterious stone artefact. Investigating in rat-form, Tess discovers a fellow Switcher named Martin, who has very different ideas on how to use his powers than Tess and Kevin ever had. Tess herself is intrigued, even attracted to Martin's interpretation of a Switcher's power, but is just as pulled toward Kevin and his newfound glory.

And then the zoo captures Kevin, and the phoenix becomes an instant attraction. People line up for hours in order to glimpse its beauty, rendering them almost drugged by its influence. But with the phoenix set to be sold to an American collector, Tess has only a limited time to release her friend before he's lost forever. With some enigmatic advice from a visiting Lizzie (the old woman who previously helped Tess and Kevin on their trip to the Artic), Tess must find a way to save Kevin and subdue Martin, all the while torn between them and the alternating choices that they embody.

"Midnight's Choice" is a good followup from "Switchers", though I must admit enjoying the first book a lot more. Kate Thompson continues building on the mythos of the Switchers and of Tess's internal growth, but for me at least all of the characters remain quite detached - I could never feel particularly close or sympathetic toward them, and slow pacing in some areas doesn't help. Tess's parents in particular are confusing; I can't imagine any parents of a young teen letting her get away with half the stuff Tess does.

However, Tess is likeable enough, and unlike the krools of the previous book, the enemy she faces here is inside her own self. The duality of the phoenix and Martin is put to good use in examining the light and dark side to Tess herself, as is Tess's final decision on the matter. Although "Midnight's Choice" is not essential reading, those that do pick it up are likely to be interested enough to continue with "Wild Blood", the third and final book in the series.

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3.0 out of 5 stars Not Very Good, Feb 25 2002

By

chandler lynch (Swansea, S.C U.S.A) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Midnight's Choice (Hardcover)

I really did not like this book. The book was really boring.it had some good parts to it like the character Alemgon. She is a girl that can photosynthesisized herself into a Phoenix and a vampire. I think thats very cool. When I first saw the book, I was like wow this book is really great, because the cover attactched me to check it out. So now I know not to ever judge a book by its cover. I think you might want to try it if your older than me, and by the way i'm 13 and couldn't get into it. So that is what I really think of the book.

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2.0 out of 5 stars Not worth it, July 28 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Midnight's Choice: The Sequel to Switchers (Paperback)

The only reason that I finished this book was because I wanted to read Wild Blood (which was just as bad.) It didn't have a very good plot-most of the time there was almost no action. I felt that a lot of the things in the story were irrelevant to the plot, and I thought that the author didn't have a good grasp of her characters. I mean, Tess is a total BRAT to her father, and all he does to punish her is send her to her room? Come on. In real life, she wouldn't have been allowed to go see the phoenix. The only thing I liked about the book was the fact that the author didn't talk down to her audience. Other than that, it was a complete wash-out.

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars The thrillingly powerful sequel to Switchers.
Tess is a Switcher -- someone who can take on the shape of other animals as freely as they choose, until the age of fifteen, when all Switchers must decide what animal they choose... Read more

Published on May 25 2001 by shayamorph

3.0 out of 5 stars Boring
I found this book to be nothing special. The the plot and storyline weren't very exciting, and to top it all off, the author's vocabulary and wordplay didn't do much of a job in... Read more

Published on Mar 14 2001 by A.Niles