The third and final book in the Midnighter's series, Blue Moon ties up the story of Bixby. I really enjoyed this series, but as is common at the moment, the ending left much to be desired. Granted it's a surprise and has a rather big twist but it's a pretty crap way to end the series. That's why, even though the rest of the book was fairly enjoyable, I'm rating 2 stars. ( )

The series remains good enough to make me want to continue reading but still not good enough for me to like it. He changes the characters so drastically... the first book's 5 teens acted quite different than they do in this book, but not in a grown up sort of way - more like just letting experiences get to them a little too much. I'll keep reading but I keep waiting for something unexpected to happen. ( )

Scott Westerfeld brought this series to a close with another well written book that tapped the emotions. Rex is the focus of this book. After his encounter with the Darklings in the last book, he fears that he has become more animal than human, and we are meant to wonder throughout this book if that is true. After a close encounter saving a human child, Rex's new hunger is put to the test. Will his human side or animal side prevail? The Midnighters must also deal with the ever growing rip in the blue time that threatens to swallow up Bixby and the surrounding area. Westerfeld is known for series ending stories that don't fit into the pattern of happily ever after, and this one is no exception to that. A very satisfying final story, though, to this exciting series. ( )

*sorry, this sounds more like a rant*

I loved the series. I wasn't expecting what happens at the end. It wasn't bad, but I'd really like to know what happens with Jessica and the rest of them.
I really wish he would write another book because this ending made me write my own fanfiction. Not that's a bad thing, but it felt too open. I think this series deserves a better ending, so it actually feels complete. ( )

This was good, almost as good as the first two in the series. I gave it only 3 stars instead of 4 because I don't know how I like the ending. It makes sense, but I don't have to like it. :) ( )

This is the last of the Midnighters trilogy, and it's been many years since I read the other two. I liked it, but I probably should have read them all closer together. The ending was decent, if more than a little bittersweet. A good trilogy over all but I can see why it doesn't have the following that some of Westerfeld's later works do. ( )

This was a very good series. It didn't end quite the way I thought it would. And I was left with that feeling of wanting more out of the characters, and the series itself. I have to say, I probably consciously thought about math and thirteen letter words more than I ever have in my life when reading these. ( )

I enjoyed these books, especially this last one. However, Rex is the only character I don't want to punch in the face. Jessica is boring as hell, Jonathan is just there (I kept forgetting about him when he wasn't around), Dess is okay but I wouldn't hang with her, and Melissa in an insufferable bitch.

The ending was a bit of a downer, and I'm still a little confused about that thing with the lightning. Other than that, they were fun books. ( )

Scott Westerfeld brought this series to a close with another well written book that tapped the emotions. Rex is the focus of this book. After his encounter with the Darklings in the last book, he fears that he has become more animal than human, and we are meant to wonder throughout this book if that is true. After a close encounter saving a human child, Rex's new hunger is put to the test. Will his human side or animal side prevail? The Midnighters must also deal with the ever growing rip in the blue time that threatens to swallow up Bixby and the surrounding area. Westerfeld is known for series ending stories that don't fit into the pattern of happily ever after, and this one is no exception to that. A very satisfying final story, though, to this exciting series. ( )

The 3rd in the series . Unexpected ending leaving me a little disappointed. ( )

I would give this series 2.5 stars if I could for its original premise alone. However, it's hobbled by characters that never seem to fully develop, and a plot that takes far too long to make its point. Trimmed down, this would have made an excellent stand-alone novel, but at three books it feels padded and repetitive. ( )

Though some have denounced this ending as "unsatisfying" and "just plain annoying," I liked it. It's better than what could have happened, but not as good as a death. Maybe I'm just morbid, wanting someone to die. Anyways. The mysteries are revealed further (not totally) in this last installment, and the end of the world rapidly approaches. Even more complicated by Rex Greene's change into something half-daemon, half-human, the Midnighters struggle to find reason behind the sudden appearance of midnight... at noon. ( )

This was the best book of the series. Mystery and suspense ruled the story until the very last page. ( )

Wonderful ending! Very interesting twist that I didn't see coming. ( )

Wonderful ending! Very interesting twist that I didn't see coming. ( )

This was the best book of the series. Mystery and suspense ruled the story until the very last page. ( )

The finale of the Midnighters series is where it gets pretty interesting. Some of the elements that seemed a bit creepy that went unexplored in previous books are totally exploded here, the consequences of the end of the last book become tremendously important (and genuinely chilling) and while there are a couple of elements I had to roll my eyes at (will the nosy little sister end up in peril? Guess!) it came to a bittersweet and reasonably satisfying conclusion.

And I just want to give Westerfeld props for making one of the major (and to my mind, most sympathetic) characters a female math nerd. The attempts at racial diversity pretty much failed (the Latino guy's heritage was only ever brought up as a point of linguistic curiosity, and the wealthy oil-baron's granddaughter mentioned that she was Native American about five times but otherwise I never would have noticed) but at least the handling of gender didn't drive me as batty as it usually does. ( )

This book was really good. The end was so surprising and heartbreaking. Jessica finally gets a little character development. It was nice to see her not acting like a bratty teenager for once. Beth finally said more than three lines! Yay! Beth's character is so realistic, nosy little sister who's trying to find out Jessica's secret. Beth was kind of annoying, but I suppose that it was the intention. Melissa's story is explained a little bit more, and her relationship with Rex is explored more. I loved Rex's story, recovering from what happened at the end of the last book in the desert. I liked how Rex wasn't perfectly fine right after Jessica saved him. He struggled a bit, trying to adjust to being human again. Rex definitely got more mature, realizing the harsh realities of the world and that he can't save everyone. Dess's story was good, a bit confusing with the physics and calculations again. Jonathan was as annoying as always, he didn't develop at all through the books. All I learned was that he really likes physics and tacos. The end was heartbreaking, I seriously wasn't expecting the hero to also be the victim. The hero was trying to save everyone, it worked, but with a surprising twist, the hero's life quality was sacrificed. The epilogue was really good. Beth develops a lot and like Rex, realizes the harsh reality, that she has to let her sister go and will probably never see her again. Jessica goes through the most character development that she has gone throughout whole trilogy, she realizes that her life is changed forever and that she can't ever be that naive carefree teen that she was before she moved to Bixby where her biggest problems were probably her grades, not that she's trapped inside the secret hour and can't live during the normal 24 hours. The book really focused on the relationships between the characters and their stories, much less the action that the last book focused on. The only serious action was in the last couple chapters. Minus one star because the end was so heartbreaking and because of Jonathan. I understand why it happened like that, otherwise it would be too cliche if the hero managed to save the whole world from disaster and ended up unscathed. And, Jonathan's character was just so unnecessary. He was pretty much just a stand in character to fly people around. ( )

I picked up Blue Noon immediately, as I had absolutely loved the first two books. The final book in the trilogy was a delight to read, and I enjoyed it just as much as I had the other two. I loved that Westerfeld added a new dimension to the Midnighters' world by making blue time come at all different hours of the day - not just midnight! It added to the complexity of the story, and I was so eager to find out what was happening!

The complexities of the blue time that the characters are in a rush to discover fascinated me. When the Midnighters figure out what they have to do, my heart leaped into my throat and I was so excited to read what would happen! I was ultimately...surprised at the direction that the author went with the ending. Although one part of me is really happy that the ending was so unexpected, I don't know that I liked it.

If you have read the first two books, you definitely have to pick up this one to finish them off. If you have read the first two - get to it! You can't read this one without them! Although I'm undecided about the ending, I am happy with another great book from Scott Westerfeld! ( )

A good finish for this solid YA series, an easy, good paced read it wraps up the story - though not neatly, leaving some possibilities open for Westerfeld to revive the series or create a new one later on. ( )

Plot Summary: When time freezes in the middle of the day, during a school pep rally, the Midnighters have a problem. The secret hour is slowly making its way into the real world. The last book in the midnighters trilogy is all about the adventure of trying to keep the secret hour in the secret hour.

The Midnighters begin to experience the secret hour more and more frequently during daylight hours. To make matters worse, Rex's darkling side cannot always control itself, and may be becoming stronger. By using Madeline and other resources, the Midnighters find out that on the night of Samhain (Halloween), the Secret Hour will expand, and more of the Earth will be sucked up.

This is because there is a "rip" in true midnight, which allows non-midnighters to slip into the blue time, that is expanding like a seam in fabric. While trying to keep people out of these dangerous zones, Jessica has some trouble with her curious little sister Beth. True midnight (usually confined to the secret hour) will last for the whole day, and all humans and creatures within it will be awake, no longer 'stiff'.

This will allow the darklings to feast once again upon the creatures of day-unless the five teens find a way to stop it from happening. When Jessica and her boyfriend Johnathan, manage to stop the "blue time" from spreading to the whole world, Jessica unfortunately gets sucked into the "blue time".

To Johnathan and the whole Midnighter's teams dismay, she will forever be trapped in the blue time, only able to live for an hour of every day. Jessica's parents become very sad about their daughter's
"disappearance" and are still greiving about her loss when Beth comes to visit Jess for the last time. Both sisters share an emotional time with each other before Johnathan has his moment to say good bye. Finally, with a half hour to spare, Johnathan takes Jessica and Beth on their last flight through the blue time.

Thoughts:
First time readers to this series MUST start from book one. If you don't you will lose some much needed background information on the 5 midnighters themselves.

I still don't much care Melissa's character, but at least in this one she became a guiding force instead of a nag.

I'm not shocked that Jessica sacrificed herself and is now in what is called Temporal Dependence. Ever since Madeline said that she manipulated her into coming to Bixby, I figured she would be either the villian in the end, or the hero.

Cassie, Beth and Angie Grayfoot all play pivotal parts in this last book. Beth, more of a bad part than a good part. I would have strangled Beth had she been my sister, but that's neither here nor there at this point. What's done is done, and the series is finished.

Could there be any chance that another spin-off of this series would be worth the read? Especially knowing that three of the main characters are going away from Bixby searching for other Midnighters.

Finis - Overall rating 3.5 stars. There wasn't enough of Dess in this story, and sometimes I just wanted to scream at Jessica for being so silly.

Summary: The Midnighters have enough to deal with keeping safe from the ancient and powerful creatures, the Darklings, that stalk the one hour of secret time that happens every night at stroke of midnight. However, when the frozen midnight time happens one day during the mid-morning, they're unsure what to think. Something is clearly changing; just as the structure of the midnight hour seems to be weakening, so too is the barrier between Rex's human side and the lingering remnants of darkling that are left after his terrifying encounter at the end of Touching Darkness. While the Midnighters know that things are going wrong, they're not sure what to do about it, but they're going to have to figure something out, or else risk the world being stuck in the midnight time permanently.

Review: One of the things I loved best about the first book in this series was how clever and internally consistent it was. My favorite fantasy/sci-fi books are ones in which the worldbuilding makes logical sense - the magical system of allomancy in Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn series, or the religious system of Lois McMaster Bujold's Chalion books, for example. However, with the Midnighters series, I feel like while it started off strong, as the series has progressed, the worldbuilding has gotten somewhat more arbitrary - not less clear, or less inventive, but less able to extrapolate the details from the fundamental principles, which is a little bit sad.

I still really enjoyed (read: totally devoured) this book, don't get me wrong. They're fast and compelling reading, and while none of the characters are particularly wonderful people, they all feel very real, and I was always fascinated to see what would happen to them next. I particularly enjoyed Rex's storyline in this book, and watching him deal with his (very literal) inner monsters provided some of the most creepy scenes of the entire series.

For the most part, the end was a satisfactory conclusion to the series, nicely bringing in some elements from the first book that I hadn't realized were foreshadowing at the time. I was a little disconcerted by a few of the issues raised by the ending - issues that Westerfeld has one of his characters actually point out - that are just left completely unresolved, and even mostly unrecognized. On the whole, though, I enjoyed it quite a lot, and even got a little bit teary-eyed in parts... in between being thoroughly creeped out. Good stuff. 4 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: The series as a whole is great; I even liked it better than the Uglies series. (We'll see how the rest of the Leviathan series goes before I declare Midnighters to be my absolute favorite.) It would be great for a creepy fall read for anyone who likes YA fantasy/sci-fi/horror. ( )

This series by Westerfeld dealt with a quintet of teens who find themselves alone in a frozen blue world every night at midnight for an hour. Things escalate when a girl named Jessica moves to Bixby, Oklahoma, the fifth of their group. All have paranormal abilities which help them fight off an ancient race of "Darklings" whose natural instincts make them hunt humans as prey, and who have the advantage in the Midnight world.

This third and last installment of the Midnighters series was the darkest and most suspenseful. The characters were all changed by their encounter with the midnight hour, and beliefs and assumptions that they'd held as truths were challenged and sometimes shattered by their encounters with Darklings and humans alike. By the end of the novel, nothing would be the same for any of them, the town of Bixby or the world.

I liked this series better than his Uglies series, and found it thought-provoking. Maybe it was because the midnight hour was built on mythology and science together, but it just seemed more compelling and interesting than the Uglies books. ( )

Best of the three! Big on the lore (mythology of the world), and some excellent inner character darkness. I was totally uncertain about how he could wind up the story in a satisfying way until about halfway through the book, and then the satisfying conclusion became a clear and interesting plot line.A really good series, I recommend it! ( )

This series is so great. I finished the last book this month and loved everything about reading it. Like the most exciting, unique books always do, it got in my head and I thought it over all the time. When I was reading other books, I thought about Midnighters. I had mindcasting dreams, and dreams with darklings. I wished for a prequel. (Pair of tiny children fighting monsters, winning.)I think this is mostly because my favorite kind of super-natural stories are the kind that just barely slip outside realism, that have a setting that can be found in the world. It rewards you in a special way when you recognize characters as real people, and then they do amazing things.These books balance action and headspace really well. The kids feel really real, or at least the connections between them do. Every fight scared me to death, and some were beautiful. A couple characters and devices were undercooked or out of tune, but no harm done. I liked the language, the place, the rules. Will definitely reread one day.(Also this is not really important? But I HATE this new edition. The paper is thin and the binding hates everything about being read. The first paperback editions are VASTLY SUPERIOR. Let it be known.) ( )