Midnight at the Electric
Author: Jodi Lynn Anderson
272 Pages
Published: June 13, 2017
Reviewed By: Kim
Kim’s Rating: 5 Stars
Description from Amazon:
Kansas, 2065: Adri has been handpicked to live on Mars. But weeks before launch, she discovers the journal of a girl who lived in her house more than a hundred years ago and is immediately drawn into the mystery surrounding her fate.
Oklahoma, 1934: Amid the fear and uncertainty of the Dust Bowl, Catherine’s family’s situation is growing dire. She must find the courage to sacrifice everything she loves in order to save the one person she loves most.
England, 1919: In the recovery following World War I, Lenore tries to come to terms with her grief for her brother, a fallen British soldier, and plans to sail to America. But can she make it that far?
While their stories span thousands of miles and multiple generations, Lenore, Catherine, and Adri’s fates are entwined in ways both heartbreaking and hopeful. In Jodi Lynn Anderson’s signature haunting, lyrical prose, human connections spark spellbindingly to life, and a bright light shines on the small but crucial moments that determine one’s fate.
Kim’s Review:
Midnight at the Electric is a three-part story, ranging in years from 2065 to 1934 to 1919. In 2065, Adri has been chosen to be a colonist to Mars. She goes to the tiny town of Canaan, Kansas to see her long lost cousin, Lily, before she leaves the planet. While spending her remaining weeks on earth with Lily, Adri discovers letters and postcards and journals involving other women, living on the farm in past years. Catherine is a teenager in 1934 Kansas, right smack dab in the middle of the Dustbowl.
Catherine is faced with a sister who has dust pneumonia, a mother who refuses to leave her farm, and a serious crush on the farmhand, Ellis. While keeping a journal of her life on the farm and her struggles with family, economy, and love, Catherine discovers a woman named Lenore, from her mother’s past. Lenore is the daughter of a wealthy factory owner who dreams of going to America, to live with her best friend, Beth. While working at her father’s factory to save up money for her ticket, she meets a stranger living on her family’s estate. Their lives become intertwined and begins a saga that spans the ocean, continents, and time.
This book was awesome! I read Anderson’s previous book, Tiger Lily, based on a recommendation from Margot from Epic Reads. Unfortunately, I was not impressed. But after reading the jacket summary for Midnight at the Electric, I decided to give her another chance. And boy, am I glad I did! Another 5-star book! I couldn’t put this book down. I will admit that I didn’t necessarily like every character in this book, but the story got me emotionally hooked. By the time I finished the last page, I had tears welling up in my eyes. My husband took one look at me and said, “Are you ok? You look so sad!” Yes, I was sad, but the happy kind of sad. This book just brought in all the feelings and it felt good, and sad, and happy, and heartbroken, all at the same time. That’s always the hallmark of an enjoyable book, the feelings it elicits. ? Oh, and I would like a pet tortoise . . . so anyone who wants to get me one, that would be great!