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Book Reviews of What We Saw At Night

What We Saw At Night
What We Saw At Night
Author: Jacquelyn Mitchard
ISBN-13: 9781616951412
ISBN-10: 1616951419
Publication Date: 1/8/2013
Rating:
  • Currently 3/5 Stars.
 1

3 stars, based on 1 rating
Publisher: Soho Teen
Book Type: Hardcover
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

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Summary (contains some spoilers):
Allie, Rob, and Juliet have XP (allergy to sunlight), so they live their lives at night. Between doctor appointments, the three friends begin Parkour to make them feel alive. This discipline allows someone to fly through the night, jump from buildings, and become more in-tune with nature. One stunt they want to do involves a large apartment building. They begin at the Penthouse level which is supposed to be empty, but it's not. Does Allie witness a crime? After that night, Allie becomes obsessed with investigating what she believes is a series of murders happening in her small town. What is worse is that Juliet seems to have some involvement with the main suspect. What happened that night? What did Allie really see? How far is Juliet involved?

Review:
Honestly, there is a huge build-up to absolutely nothing in this book. I enjoyed the suspense and following the mystery, but as I was nearing the end of the book, I knew that it wasn't going to be resolved. I was right. This almost makes me dislike the book enough not to recommend it to my students. There are several little ways part of the storyline could have been wrapped up. Unfortunately, I'm left with more questions than answers. I can't stress how unsatisfactory that is. There is the possibility of having a series and cliffhanger ending while still making sure to close off some loose ends.

Other than that, I really like Allie. She is intelligent, a great example of a true friend, and very insightful when it comes to family. I also like how goal oriented she is. The fact that she is very clear about her future and the fact that she will do what she can to be successful is a good lesson for young adults. I do not like the casual sex between teenagers though. I could do without parents, teens, and doctors being alright with and almost encouraging of sex. Allie mentions that her mother is a nurse and they have had "the talk" several times before, so this is why her mother is alright with her engaging in sexual activity. Since that talk does not happen within the book, I feel that everything is too casual.

I will be reading the next book, but if I don't have some answers within the first 50 pages or so, I will probably put it down. I don't want to go through two books without any resolutions.