Past Midnight (Harlequin Teen) (edition 2010)

I was interested in reading this book because of the ghost hunting parents. I mean, that's pretty awesome. And the fact that her parents try to prove that ghosts aren't real is even better, especially when their daughter now has ghosts following her and basically tormenting her until she figures something out for them, but what they want her to find out is beyond everybody.

I really liked this book. It was something fun and different to read. I didn't find it very scary or anything, though sometimes it did get a little spooky, but that could have been because I was reading at work once, when I was by myself after everyone left, and we just got finished talking about how the place was haunted. So. That may have been the case.

I really enjoyed all the characters, though sometimes the main character, Charlotte, annoyed me a little, just a little though. And I really liked the sub plot with Charlotte's best friend.

I found this book to be a very refreshing read. ( )

RATING: 3 stars.Even I am astonished for giving three stars to this book. Why? Because it was short and it lacked some serious character and story development.But... I really liked the idea behind the story. Charlotte, the main character is completely human. That's right! No weird powers and no supernatural blood flowing through her veins. She's just a normal girl, who just happens to be the daughter of two ghost-story debunkers. They even have their own show. But then, after a filming in a supposedly haunted location weird things start happening to Charlotte. Ghost-related things.So I thought the author could have developed some parts of the story better. Everything felt rushed (especially the ending) and most of the characters had little to no personality whatsoever. That was the main problem with this book, it was just too short.The author had this great, fresh idea for a new YA paranormal series (without insta-romance, too!) but I felt like the story was missing scenes and everything was, as I said above, rushed. The end of the book seemed a bit unrealistic and confusing too. Still, overall I liked to read about Charlotte and her scientist parents and I loved how the author treated the supernatural elements of the plot. Maybe we'll get more character development in future books. ( )

To see my review: http://bookvacations.wordpress.com/2011/02/20/past-midnight-by-mara-purnhagen-pa... ( )

This was a very quick and fun read. Charlotte's character is very likable - she is a young girl just trying to fit in. Because she has been a little ostracized all her life, she is very accepting of other people.

Her older sister Annalise has roped her parents into settling down for Charlotte's senior year of high school. This is both good and bad for Charlotte. It is good because she is finally able to live in a "new" house and not a gothic or victorian haunted house. She is also able to start to fit in and make friends at school. However, when her parents appear on the cover of the local tv schedule publication, she will have to face what she feels is their "weird" celebrity status.

Charlotte has some good friends in Avery - her next door neighbor and Noah, a boy from her AV class. I liked the way that secrets were revealed throughout the book among them.

You also get to learn about how paranormal activity is recorded with heat sensing monitors and EMF (electro magnetic field) readers and microphones to catch electronic voice phenomena or EVP's.

I have already read the next book - or novella in the series - Raising the Dead. ( )

Charlotte’s parents have devoted their lives to debunking famous hauntings—they even have their own TV show dedicated to scientifically explaining “ghosts”. Charlotte has grown used to moving from place to place for her parents’ jobs, but deep down, she just wants to be normal. But Charlotte soon discover that she’s anything but normal—and her parents might not be entirely right about ghosts not being real.

Don’t let the synopsis fool you--Past Midnight may sound unimpressive, but it’s actually got quite a bit going for it. Mara Purnhagen creates an entirely new science for her novel—the science of ghosts. The way in which Charlotte’s parents explain “ghosts” is so well developed that it sounds legitimate. Purhagen expertly blends science (via Charlotte’s parents) and the supernatural to make the reader question whether or not ghosts really exist in Charlotte’s world. The story, too, is anything but tired: Purnhagen crafts a complex, suspenseful mystery that keeps you on your toes throughout the whole novel.

Charlotte, the protagonist, is a bit unmemorable, but she does have wit and intellect working in her favor. Thanks to her quick thinking, the reader doesn’t have to wait for pages and pages while she tries to puzzle together clues to the mystery. Charlotte figures things out fairly easily. One nitpicky thing about Charlotte, though, is that she didn’t quite seem to act her age. Her mentality and dialogue felt more suited to a 15-year-old than a senior in high school. Still, her immaturity doesn’t take away from the reading experience at all.

Past Midnight will definitely be enjoyed by fans of paranormal YA. It doesn’t have much of a romance (something extremely common in this genre), but it instead focuses on the relationships between family and friends. Those who tire of romance-centric paranormals will find Past Midnight refreshing, and mystery-loving readers will love piecing together the puzzle with Charlotte. ( )