BURNING MIDNIGHT by Will McIntosh (Review + Giveaway)

Title: Burning Midnight
Author(s): Will McIntosh
Edition: ARC, 320 pages
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: February 2, 2016
Source: Rockstar Book Tours 
Buy: Amazon - Barnes & Noble - Book Depository

The Summary

For fans of The Maze Runner and The Fifth Wave, this debut YA novel from Hugo Award winner Will McIntosh pits four underprivileged teens against an evil billionaire in the race of a lifetime.

Sully is a sphere dealer at a flea market. It doesn’t pay much—Alex Holliday’s stores have muscled out most of the independent sellers—but it helps him and his mom make the rent. No one knows where the brilliant-colored spheres came from. One day they were just there, hidden all over the earth like huge gemstones. Burn a pair and they make you a little better: an inch taller, skilled at math, better-looking. The rarer the sphere, the greater the improvement—and the more expensive the sphere.

When Sully meets Hunter, a girl with a natural talent for finding spheres, the two start searching together. One day they find a Gold—a color no one has ever seen. And when Alex Holliday learns what they have, he will go to any lengths, will use all of his wealth and power, to take it from them.

There’s no question the Gold is priceless, but what does it actually do? None of them is aware of it yet, but the fate of the world rests on this little golden orb. Because all the world fights over the spheres, but no one knows where they come from, what their powers are, or why they’re here.

(Goodreads)

My Opinion

When I picked this book up, I couldn't put it down!  I loved everything about it except for the length!  I wanted more of this engaging world that Will McIntosh had built within Burning Midnight!  A must read YA scifi, it has everything that a good scifi story needs: action, mystery, danger, and romance!

I felt like this story was seamless.  Typically, I prefer one aspect of a book to the other, like the characters over the plot, or the narration over the characterization. But with Burning Midnight, all the aspects moved together in such a way, that it was either going to fall flat or harmonize.  And, boy, did this book sing.  I loved each character, as each one, both the heroes and the villains, add to the overall book.  The world the action is set in, is just different enough from our Earth to make it interesting, and, of course, the addition of the mysterious spheres is the driving force of the action!

Sully and his group of friends all bring something to the table.  I found Sully to be a great narrator for the events that were happening.  He has a distinct moral code, and is a good guy without a hidden agenda.  I really liked that about him.  Hunter, the biggest supporting character, works as a juxtaposition to Sully, because she isn't what you'd call a "good" girl, but definitely has her own set of morals, which lend more towards helping herself.  And there is a reason for that.  Add in Sully's best friend, Dom, the muscle, and Mandy, one of the few true protestors to the industry in the book, then you have a complete group.  While none of the characters are not fleshed out enough to make them complete dynamic characters, I don't think it was necessary.  Each character adds something to the group dynamic and move the plot along.  So even though we don't get to see each and every facet of a round character individually, I think the ensemble manages to make a "round character".

I think McIntosh makes an interesting commentary on ownership and the reality of how far humans will go to be better, faster, stronger.  But then the question is, at what cost?  With the spheres all around the world, it has given rise to an industry built on who has/who can afford the best?  If you were able to give yourself the ability to have resistance to the common cold or to move faster than an average human, what would you give up to get it?  Of course there are even bigger and better abilities out there to find, and that is what drives the plot.

I don't want to give a lot away because this is definitely an action mystery.  With two big twists that I didn't see coming, you have to read the book in order to fully appreciate the story.  I feel that Will McIntosh's debut in young adult literature was a splash!  With an interesting plot, fun characters, twists around every corner, and an epic mission, Burning Midnight is a must read for everyone this year!

Final Rating

About the Author

Will McIntosh’s debut novel, Soft Apocalypse, was a finalist for both a Locus award and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award. He is a frequent contributor to Asimov’s, where his story “Bridesicle” won the 2010 Reader’s Award, as well as the 2010 Hugo Award for Best Short Story. His third novel, Love Minus Eighty (based on “Bridesicle”) was published by Orbit books in June, 2013, and was named best Science Fiction novel of the year by the American Library Association. His upcoming novel, Defenders has been optioned by Warner Brothers for a feature film. Will recently moved to Williamsburg, Virginia with his wife Alison and twins Hannah and Miles. He left his position as a psychology professor in Southeast Georgia to write full time, and still teaches as an adjunct, at the College of William and Mary. Will is represented by Seth Fishman at The Gernert Company. Follow him on Twitter @WillMcIntoshSF

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Giveaway

3 winners will receive a finished copy of BURNING MIDNIGHT

Giveaway is open to US ONLY

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule

Week One:
1/18/2016 - Swoony Boys Podcast - Interview
1/19/2016 - Fangirlish - Guest Post
1/20/2016 - A Dream Within A Dream - Review
1/21/2016 - Such a Novel Idea - Interview
1/22/2016 - Seeing Double In Neverland - Guest Post

Week Two:
1/25/2016 - Once Upon a Twilight - Review
1/26/2016 - The Young Folks - Interview
1/27/2016 - Falling For YA - Guest Post
1/28/2016 - Just Commonly - Review
1/29/2016 - Paranormal Book Club - Interview

Week Three:
2/1/2016 - Curling Up With A Good Book - Guest Post
2/2/2016 - Wandering Bark Books - Review
2/3/2016 - The Cover Contessa - Interview
2/4/2016 - Two Chicks on Books - Guest Post
2/5/2016 - Eli to the nth - Review

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