by Mara Purnhagen
Charlotte
Silver just wants to have a normal teenage life. Her parents are well
known for their documentaries on ghosts (they refer to them as
“energy”) and traveling from location to location has been the norm for
all of her life. However, something is changing now and it all stems
from events in Charleston, South Carolina. Charlotte has always been
behind the scenes in the documentaries, but now something is shadowing
her. Meanwhile, Charlotte is trying to fit into the new town about two
hours from Charleston… but will her parents’ career end up destroying
her new-found happiness and leave her once again as the Princess of the
Paranormal rather than just Charlotte Silver, regular high school
senior?
PAST MIDNIGHT is a light paranormal tale despite the occupation of
Charlotte’s parents. Many of the Harlequin Teen paranormals have had
crossover appeal but PAST MIDNIGHT is probably more of a teen-only
tale. Much of the tale is about Charlotte fitting into a new high
school but the characters seem a bit younger than one might expect.
Parents will appreciate that PAST MIDNIGHT has a strong emphasis on
family and avoids many of the pitfalls of other teen-focused novels.
The seniors in PAST MIDNIGHT are dealing with weighty issues without
getting dragged into partying, swearing, or sex.
PAST MIDNIGHT is the start of a new series and Mara Purnhagen does a
good job at introducing us to the characters and the world in which
they reside. South Carolina, and Charleston in particular, has a rich
history of ghostly tales and the storyline of PAST MIDNIGHT fits in
perfectly. I’m hoping future books will continue to weave in the
setting with the characters as the combination works quite well in this
tale. Bravo!
Courtesy of Amazon Vine
Publisher: Harlequin Teen (September 2010)
