heather01602to60660's review against another edition
1.0
At least as bad as the second in the trilogy, but laughably so (again, what IS the literary equivalent term for a camp movie??). Mitchard cannot write dialog that flows - every few sentences, I'd stumble over something that totally threw me out of the reading just to figure out what the heck she meant. Characters are forever having mood swings mid-sentence, and the twins sound exactly alike when speaking (considering how much is made of their different personalities and mirror-twin-differences, this isn't a small thing). And a LOT of the novel is dialog.
Even the adults, at the rare times they show up, talk in that "it's so nice to see you, have a seat, I HATE YOU HATE YOU YOU STINK would you like some tea?" mood swingy way.
Even when not stumbling through the dialog, I really wondered at times if the middle of some sentences were accidentally erased and just no one noticed or cared enough to try to put them back together.
Any decent book about the intersection of the supernatural with human characters will have at least a FEW moments where someone says "no way, that can't happen!" or at least have serious doubts. It helps the reader suspend their own disbelief. Yet, no one blinked a single eye over the lead character falling in love with someone no one else could see. I mean, they went to movies together and no one thought it was odd she paid for two tickets?? (Just one example.) Having discovered she's talking about a cute boy no one else can see, her friends... do absolutely nothing and never mention it again.
I will give it this - the resolution at the end, telling much of each of the characters futures, flowed nicely. Or maybe I was just so relieved it was over, anything sounded good!
Even the adults, at the rare times they show up, talk in that "it's so nice to see you, have a seat, I HATE YOU HATE YOU YOU STINK would you like some tea?" mood swingy way.
Even when not stumbling through the dialog, I really wondered at times if the middle of some sentences were accidentally erased and just no one noticed or cared enough to try to put them back together.
Any decent book about the intersection of the supernatural with human characters will have at least a FEW moments where someone says "no way, that can't happen!" or at least have serious doubts. It helps the reader suspend their own disbelief. Yet, no one blinked a single eye over the lead character falling in love with someone no one else could see. I mean, they went to movies together and no one thought it was odd she paid for two tickets?? (Just one example.) Having discovered she's talking about a cute boy no one else can see, her friends... do absolutely nothing and never mention it again.
I will give it this - the resolution at the end, telling much of each of the characters futures, flowed nicely. Or maybe I was just so relieved it was over, anything sounded good!
lyderature's review
Aaaah, all these good trilogies are leaving me.
WHY MUST YOU END? WHY?
Okay, bookworm-emotional-attachment problems aside, holy cow, Watch for Me by Moonlight.
Where do I begin?
I normally would've given it a three stars, but since it's the final installment (sob) in a series I've truly enjoyed, I'll cut it some slack.
In the Brynn twins' latest supernatural adventure, ghosts and spirits from beyond the dead arrive. Meredith has always been able to see into the past, so, it makes sense for her to be able to see, ghosts, spirits, stuff of the deceased from the PAST.
When Mitchard brought that up, it was one of that moments where a reader goes, "Ohhhhh!" and beams because they hadn't thought of it themselves.
And basically, Merry meets ghost with tragic past and good hair, they fall madly in love, but Merry realizes she can't be with him for obvious reasons, and eventually has to let him go.
There's a lot of visions and supernatural stuff and a shady nurse along the way.
So yes, a girl falling in love with a guy already dead (or the other way around) is a kinda cliche story. We've read it before. So maybe that wasn't the best plot to make this book about but whateves, let Mitchard do what she wants.
The best part about this book in my opinion, (and of the entire trilogy) isn't the magical-psychic power stuff. No, it's the relationships between characters.
Finally! There are actually parents that are active in their childrens' lives!
And a nice normal boy! Not a bad boy, not some angel-vampire boy, not one who has way too many smooth words, but a nice. Normal. Guy. With hilarious lines. An amazingly flexible pizza job. And amazing patience for having to be the taxi driver every single time the Brynns need to go off and save their city again.
I'm talking about Drew of course.
The Mally-Drew relationship is so sweet, and cute, and such a breath of fresh air from other relationships in most other YA books. They're not the most perfect couple, they're certainly not forbidden to love each other either, they're just neighbors. Buds. Friends.
And the parents-to-children relationship. THE BEST. I absolutely adore Campbell, and love how Mitchard balanced her sarcasm/wit toward her girls with that motherly instinct and love. And Ben and his mother. So sweet, so touching. Who wasn't getting a little misty-eyed as Ben gave his farewell speech (through Merry) to his mother, while she lay dying in the hospital? But he urged her to go one, she still has a life to live, and they'll meet again in the life afterward.
"But not too soon, Ma, not to soon."
So touching.
I do feel like the ending was a bit rushed, as Mitchard probably realized that she had to wrap-up this series in the final 50 pages (after 200 pages of Ben and Merry love). She even did the one thing that authors should be absolutely FORBIDDEN to do. That is, simply THROW at the readers what happens to their characters in the future.
Oh Merry becomes a soccer mom.
She marries Drew.
Mally becomes famous and fabulously wealthy.
She has another line of Brynn twins.
Wait, WHAT?
(Sorry for the spoilers, by the way).
And also, the romance. Girl and ghost, and the whole thing, it was just so cheesy, so overdone, and so unlike Merry to fall head-over-heels for this guy in a WEEK.
And the whole part where she actually considered for a second to kill herself to be with Ben...
I applauded Mally when she confronted her and was like, "WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU? IF YOU'RE ACTUALLY THINKING THAT, THIS RELATIONSHIP HAS TO END. NOW."
Because that was one of the stupidest things a female YA heroine has ever considered doing. And I don't care that Merry actually didn't go through with it (thank goodness), because the fact that she even THOUGHT about it, that Ben even maybe ENCOURAGED it a little, was so utterly facepalm worthy and irritating.
And Ben. Shady guy. Or ghost. I never liked him.
But still, the trilogy is over, and it's been a trilogy that I've mostly liked. I loved how Mitchard tied in the whole "Highwayman" poetry thing, even with the title! And there are some choppy bits that don't flow the best, but eh, we should be used to that by now from this trilogy.
If you weren't on board with the Midnight Twins, you really really won't like this book.
Watch for Me by Moonlight is definitely one only for the ones who truly like this series.
4 stars. Satisfying ending to a good series.
It wasn't amazing or anything.
But the series overall has been GOOD.
WHY MUST YOU END? WHY?
Okay, bookworm-emotional-attachment problems aside, holy cow, Watch for Me by Moonlight.
Where do I begin?
I normally would've given it a three stars, but since it's the final installment (sob) in a series I've truly enjoyed, I'll cut it some slack.
In the Brynn twins' latest supernatural adventure, ghosts and spirits from beyond the dead arrive. Meredith has always been able to see into the past, so, it makes sense for her to be able to see, ghosts, spirits, stuff of the deceased from the PAST.
When Mitchard brought that up, it was one of that moments where a reader goes, "Ohhhhh!" and beams because they hadn't thought of it themselves.
And basically, Merry meets ghost with tragic past and good hair, they fall madly in love, but Merry realizes she can't be with him for obvious reasons, and eventually has to let him go.
There's a lot of visions and supernatural stuff and a shady nurse along the way.
So yes, a girl falling in love with a guy already dead (or the other way around) is a kinda cliche story. We've read it before. So maybe that wasn't the best plot to make this book about but whateves, let Mitchard do what she wants.
The best part about this book in my opinion, (and of the entire trilogy) isn't the magical-psychic power stuff. No, it's the relationships between characters.
Finally! There are actually parents that are active in their childrens' lives!
And a nice normal boy! Not a bad boy, not some angel-vampire boy, not one who has way too many smooth words, but a nice. Normal. Guy. With hilarious lines. An amazingly flexible pizza job. And amazing patience for having to be the taxi driver every single time the Brynns need to go off and save their city again.
I'm talking about Drew of course.
The Mally-Drew relationship is so sweet, and cute, and such a breath of fresh air from other relationships in most other YA books. They're not the most perfect couple, they're certainly not forbidden to love each other either, they're just neighbors. Buds. Friends.
And the parents-to-children relationship. THE BEST. I absolutely adore Campbell, and love how Mitchard balanced her sarcasm/wit toward her girls with that motherly instinct and love. And Ben and his mother. So sweet, so touching. Who wasn't getting a little misty-eyed as Ben gave his farewell speech (through Merry) to his mother, while she lay dying in the hospital? But he urged her to go one, she still has a life to live, and they'll meet again in the life afterward.
"But not too soon, Ma, not to soon."
So touching.
I do feel like the ending was a bit rushed, as Mitchard probably realized that she had to wrap-up this series in the final 50 pages (after 200 pages of Ben and Merry love). She even did the one thing that authors should be absolutely FORBIDDEN to do. That is, simply THROW at the readers what happens to their characters in the future.
Oh Merry becomes a soccer mom.
She marries Drew.
Mally becomes famous and fabulously wealthy.
She has another line of Brynn twins.
Wait, WHAT?
(Sorry for the spoilers, by the way).
And also, the romance. Girl and ghost, and the whole thing, it was just so cheesy, so overdone, and so unlike Merry to fall head-over-heels for this guy in a WEEK.
And the whole part where she actually considered for a second to kill herself to be with Ben...
I applauded Mally when she confronted her and was like, "WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU? IF YOU'RE ACTUALLY THINKING THAT, THIS RELATIONSHIP HAS TO END. NOW."
Because that was one of the stupidest things a female YA heroine has ever considered doing. And I don't care that Merry actually didn't go through with it (thank goodness), because the fact that she even THOUGHT about it, that Ben even maybe ENCOURAGED it a little, was so utterly facepalm worthy and irritating.
And Ben. Shady guy. Or ghost. I never liked him.
But still, the trilogy is over, and it's been a trilogy that I've mostly liked. I loved how Mitchard tied in the whole "Highwayman" poetry thing, even with the title! And there are some choppy bits that don't flow the best, but eh, we should be used to that by now from this trilogy.
If you weren't on board with the Midnight Twins, you really really won't like this book.
Watch for Me by Moonlight is definitely one only for the ones who truly like this series.
4 stars. Satisfying ending to a good series.
It wasn't amazing or anything.
But the series overall has been GOOD.
More...