My rating: 5 of 5 stars
A deliciously atmospheric tale of two teens racing to escape an elegant and magical old hotel by the stroke of midnight.
Midnight at the Houdini is a new young adult fantasy with an elegant and magical old hotel that has a mind and will of its own, wrapped around a unique, double coming-of-age story. Two young protagonists, both hampered by restricted childhoods, work together to escape a diabolically magic hotel before midnight, and they are trapped there forever.
Anna Alonso is the daughter of a busy and emotionally unavailable Las Vegas hotelier. With her older sister (and best friend) marrying and moving away, she feels her perfectly planned-out future is about to implode. An early humiliation at the hands of new classmates at a birthday party had caused her to lock her true self away from the public, and she only breaks free when she becomes locked inside the Houdini.Max had grown up on old books and black-and-white films. Magically prevented from leaving the Houdini, his only companions since birth were his mother, the mean janitor who kept to himself in the basement, and the ghosts of guests from the hotel's 100-year-long past. Innocent from lack of exposure to the outside world, he still has the feelings and urges of any normal teenage boy. However, as his role models for how to behave are mostly from the gentile past, he is a complete gentleman around Anna even as his romantic feelings grow.
The story is intriguing and unique from page one, with an exciting storm catapulting Anna, her father, and his business partners into seeking shelter in one of their lesser hotel properties - the Houdini. The author creates an eerie, atmospheric setting inside the hotel with vivid descriptions and the complete absence of hotel staff. I was kept off-balance as weird and unusual features popped up at every turn. Max's mother lends the story a creepy level of evil, only outdone by Colin, the vengeful janitor. However, major plot twists turn the story and readers' understanding of characters completely upside down. This book is an absolute page-turner!I recommend MIDNIGHT AT THE HOUDINI to readers of young adult fantasy stories. This would be suitable for older middle-grade readers as well.
I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from the author or publisher through TBR and Beyond Book Tours.