Review: Together at Midnight by Jennifer Castle

Title: Together at Midnight 
Author: Jennifer Castle 
Format: ARC
Publisher: Harper Teen
Publish Date: January 2, 2018
Source: PR

What's the Story?:

From Goodreads.com: "What does it really mean to be kind . . . and why does it sometimes feel like the hardest thing in the world to do? High school senior Kendall, who just returned from a life-changing semester in Europe, and Max, who is drifting his way through a gap year before college, struggle with these questions when they witness a tragic accident in New York City during the holiday season. Racked with guilt, the two accept a dare to perform random acts of kindness to strangers. The challenge pulls these two teens, who have a history together from back home, closer and closer as they explore a vibrant city filled with other people’s stories and secrets.

Kendall and Max can’t deny their growing bond, even though they both have other romantic entanglements and uncertain futures. As the clock counts down on New Year’s Eve, will they find themselves together at midnight?"

My Two Cents:

"Tonight at Midnight" is the story of Kendall, who has just returned from a semester abroad in Europe. When she gets home, all she wants to do is leave again. When an opportunity presents itself so that she can spend the New Years holiday with her brother in his cool NYC apartment, she takes it. She can't begin to imagine how much her life might change after this one holiday, especially after just coming back from a life-changing semester abroad.

In NYC, Kendall runs into Max, a guy she knows from back home. They witness an accident and in a turn of events are challenged to commit several acts of kindness. This was probably my favorite part of the book. I am a big believer in kindness because as Kendall and Max find out, acts of kindness can have a major ripple effect, often bigger than one could begin to imagine. We get to hear from the people that they commit kindnesses for, which I loved. It added so much more to the story to see things from their side.

I do wish that the book had focused a little more on the kindnesses. They were glossed over a little bit but the blooming romance that seems to take center stage. It made the kindnesses feel less than they were. That being said, I did like the romance but felt that some of the goodness of the book was overshadowed.

This was a good end of the year read for me and made me think a little more about the impact that we can have on others if we just give a little bit of ourselves!