Review: Past Midnight

Title : Past Midnight (Past Midnight #1)

Author: Mara Purnhagen

Publishers: Harlequin Teen

Publication Date: September 1, 2010

Length/Format: 216 pgs/ Paperback Finished Copy

Genre: YA Paranormal

Source: Harlequin Teen Panel

Summary From Goodreads (Past Midnight)

 Let me set the record straight. My name is Charlotte Silver and I'm not one of those paranormal-obsessed freaks you see on TV…no, those would be my parents, who have their own ghost-hunting reality show. And while I'm usually roped into the behind-the-scenes work, it turns out that I haven't gone unnoticed. Something happened on my parents' research trip in Charleston—and now I'm being stalked by some truly frightening other beings. Trying to fit into a new school and keeping my parents' creepy occupation a secret from my friends—and potential boyfriends—is hard enough without having angry spirits whispering in my ear.

All I ever wanted was to be normal, but with ghosts of my past and present colliding, now I just want to make it out of high school alive….

~ My Opinion ~

While visiting some blogs, I stumbled upon a review for this series. I really liked the sound of it, so I added it to my TBR pile upon receiving it from the Harlequin Teen Panel.

 Once I started reading I immeadiately got into it! It was such an easy read that I finished it in one night.

The concept for this book is actually in itself pretty interesting. The Silver family is not an ordinary one but then again fictional families from the paranormal genre hardly ever are. What makes this book different from other "Ghost" stories is that Charlotte's parents are reality tv ghost hunters who attempt to debunk ghosts myths by offering a rational scientific explanation. The twist though is that in one special occasion things go a bit haywire in which Charlotte and her college aged sister Annalise experience something that their own parents are having a hard time to come up with a logical explanation for. It's actually the first time that the Sliver family team feels something so extraordinary. Annalise being the most affected.From then on, we see that Charlotte's family puts their job on hold for a while and try to live a normal surburban life to make their daughter comfortable. Of course things don't go as planned and Charlotte starts having bizarre dreams that she tries to find out more about. As a subplot, Charlotte is also trying to fit into high school and make friends which is a new thing for her since her family has never stayed in one place for long. She ends up having to solve two mysteries, the one revolving around her dreams and strange incidents and the one she gets into when her new friend and neighbor Avery acts strange towards a fellow classmate.

The characters in this book are very likeable and Charlotte especially is very realistic and easy to relate to as a teenager not so much with the ghost thing though haha. I also thought that her love interest with Noah (the sweet classmate) was very cute and I can't wait to see where their relationship goes. The high school aspect in the book was just okay, it seemed realistic enough but I did have a problem with Bliss the mean peer who decides to hate on Charlotte. Bliss was an annoying character but I guess that WAS the point.

Although this is the first book in the series, I can definitely see it as a stand-alone mostly because it's a light, fun and mysterious fast paced book and because it did not end on a cliff-hanger.

Overall, I would recommend it to fans of supernatural and paranormal YA lovers.

Rating: 4 Stars (I Really Liked It)