In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

Reviewed by:
  • Midnight at the Electric by Jodi Lynn Anderson
  • Kate Quealy-Gainer
Anderson, Jodi Lynn Midnight at the Electric. HarperTeen/HarperCollins, 2017 [272p]
Trade ed. ISBN 978-0-06-239354-8 $17.99
E-book ed. ISBN 978-0-06-239356-2 $9.99
Reviewed from galleys         R* Gr. 7-10

It's 2065 and Adri is preparing for her mission to Mars, where she will join the scientists, engineers, and others prepping the planet for human life as climate change slowly devours Earth's sustainability. Over a century before, the Dust Bowl is forcing Catherine to consider leaving her family's Kansas home in order to save her ailing sister. In 1919 England, Lenore is working towards a trip to the U.S. with the hopes of joining a childhood friend and leaving the horrors of World War I behind. The girls' stories come together when Adri, staying with an elderly relative in a crumbling Kansas farmhouse as she waits for her launch date, finds Catherine's journal, which in turn leads to Lenore's letters. Anderson pulls back from the lush prose of her Tiger Lily (BCCB 9/12), instead employing a no-frills style that allows her characters to shine through, with each distinct, nuanced, and memorable. The journal and letter formats serve Catherine's and Lenore's strong emotions well, as Lenore's dramatics come across with charming boldness, while Catherine's quiet stoicism alternates with overwhelming heartbreak. Cool and aloof Adri, on the other hand, makes for an interesting study in third person, and her viewpoint offers readers a chance to explore the relationship of progress to both hubris and desperation. There's timely realism in the portrayal of the climate crisis, with Earth's devolving into a slow disaster (waterlogged Manhattan, diminishing wild animals) rather than suffering some apocalyptic boom. Fans of Smith's Orleans (BCCB 3/13) will appreciate this quiet, multilayered take on the dying days of humanity. [End Page 397]

...

pdf

Share