The Midnight Children
by Dan Gemeinhart
Intermediate, Middle School     Holt    352 pp.         g
8/22     978-1-250-19672-9     $16.99
e-book ed.  978-1-250-19673-6    $9.99

In the dead of night, seven children arrive in Slaughterville, a typically sleepy town supported by a single industry—the local slaughterhouse. Only Ravani, a friendless, bullied boy, witnesses their stealthy arrival. Who are these strangers and why are they so secretive? Guiding readers through this mystery, the omniscient narrator frequently employs direct address to emphasize various plot points and to ruminate on characters and their motivations. As literary strangers often do, this group of children will initiate change, but the question is: for whom? Numerous characters—from Ravani to the mysterious children, from Ravani’s bully to the factory owner—are disposed (either knowingly or unknowingly) to transform lives. Sly dark humor nods at the slaughterhouse: Ravani lives on Offal Street; the factory owner is Mr. Skinister; and, as the narrator informs us, “Most of the town’s visitors were cows and none of them were particularly happy to be there. They were even less happy when they left.” Short chapters create a strong trajectory for the plot’s arc, while the narrator’s calm tone reassures readers that although danger lurks at several points, the conclusion will indeed be gratifying, perhaps even for the cows.

From the November/December 2022 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.