A review by librarianryan
The Midnight Game by Cynthia Murphy

challenging dark sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

 

Candyman. Candyman. Candyman. Bloody Mary. Bloody Mary. Bloody Mary. Where’s the mirror? Growing up horror games were always exciting. They were a way to send a chill down young adults back. Is it real? Is it not. This book examines those types of games, but instead of Beetlejuice, they’re trying to stay away from the Midnight Man. Teenagers decide to play the Midnight Game at a small private school. You play from midnight to 3:33 am with rules to keep from getting caught by the midnight. If you get caught, you will be eviscerated. But there’s more than just the demon. This book was a fun ride. It was horror with a little bit of blood and guts but not extremely graphic. It’s a mix of prose, text messages, online chats, etc., one of my favorite parts about this book is reading the online chat? They’re all in screen names and the rest of the chapters are devoted to individual characters, but you don’t know which character has which screen name. That’s part of the mystery for the reader to figure out. This was a fast pace, medium horror novel perfect for YA.  It’s decent for middle school and as long as it’s known there are blood and guts. This was a really fun read and it makes me want to explore more books by Cynthia Murphy.