Midnight's Choice
Grade 6-9-As a Switcher nearing her 15th birthday, Tess faces an enormous decision: whether to assume an animal form permanently or to remain human with her modern-day Irish family. This premise, introduced in Thompson's Switchers (Hyperion, 1998), is further complicated when Tess realizes she can also become immortal, either as a vampire, the embodiment of evil, or as a phoenix, the personification of good. At first, the choice seems clear, but the girl comes to see the vampire's bitter appeal, and the phoenix strikes her as lonely in its golden calm. Like many teens, Tess feels that "[t]o either side, eternities [are] pulling at her and she [is] stretched between them, standing on a razor's edge." If the subtext of Switchers was the limitless possibilities of life choices, then the underlying theme of Midnight's Choice is teens' perception of the urgent need to choose, and choose correctly, and the inability to change direction once a choice is made. But Tess's eventual decision and the surprise climax that follows suggest that choosing is never clear-cut and that some choices, once made, can still be undone. Full of action and depth, this story stands alone, but is better still when read along with Switchers. It is a mesmerizing and respectful look, through the lens of fantasy, at young people making the decisions that will shape their adult lives.Beth Wright, Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston, VTCopyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.