I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Five Midnights by Ann Dávila Cardinal Published by Tor Teen on June 4 2019
Genres: Young adult, Horror
Pages: 304
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: Although atmospheric and well written, Five Midnights just didn’t provide the suspense and horror I was hoping for.
Five Midnights didn’t quite live up to my expectations, although there were elements that I really enjoyed. But some elements just didn’t mesh for me and I ended up feeling ambivalent at the end. However, this is an #ownvoices story, as Cardinal herself is Puerto Rican, just like her main character Lupe Dávila, and her descriptions of the Puerto Rican town of San Juan and Lupe’s experiences visiting the city and feeling almost like a fish out of water felt truly authentic. This was a quick read and that may have been part of the problem. I wanted more of the horror elements and less of the drug dealing/addicted teens, although I suspect that part may be authentic as well.
Lupe Dávila and her father visit her uncle in San Juan every summer, but this year her father is forced to stay behind in Vermont and sends Lupe on her own. When she arrives, her uncle Esteban Dávila, who is chief of police, is investigating the suspicious death of a boy named Vico, found dead in the bad part of town and most likely killed during a drug deal. Vico was friends with Lupe’s cousin Izzy, and because of that tenuous connection, she feels compelled to dig deeper into his death.
Javier was a drug addict, but he’s managed to turn his life around due to his friendship with Father Sebastian, and now he wants to help his friend Izzy do the same. But Izzy hasn’t been seen for weeks, and Javier is starting to worry. When another friend mysteriously dies, Javier realizes that the two boys who have died, Vico and Memo, were both part of Javier’s childhood gang. Lupe and Javier team up to solve the mystery, which might involve a mythical beast called El Cuco, a monster who can only do harm when it is summoned. Javier has vague memories of something ominous happening the night of his thirteenth birthday party, but the details are hazy.
I loved the author’s descriptions of San Juan, especially when her story moves to the shady, drug-addled side of town called El Rubí. Lupe has been visiting Puerto Rico since she was a child, but she still feels out of place due to her “white passing” skin. She’s been teased and bullied both here and back home in Vermont, but she’s a plucky girl who has learned how to stick up for herself. Cardinal’s story shows the growing drug problem in San Juan as a result of a declining economy, and I did enjoy the gritty stories of kids who are simply trying to get by and have fallen into the drug trade through no fault of their own.
I also enjoyed the mystery of what’s happening to Javier and his friends. The myth of El Cuco had promise, and there were some very creepy moments in the story. Cardinal creates tension by making the reader wonder whether the monster is real or not, and it definitely worked for me, at least in the beginning. But I did want a better pay-off at the end, and when she finally reveals what happened that fateful night, it was more of an anticlimax than a shocking twist.
For me, the ending of a book can sometimes change my rating at the last minute, either way depending on whether that ending worked or not, and in this case, the ending was so ridiculous and confusing that I was left with a feeling of “WTF did I just read?” Rather than explain the El Cuco monster that I was hoping would finally make an appearance, the ending was a jumble of disconnected events that didn’t make sense and weren’t the slightest bit scary. Several side characters mucked up the waters for me as well: Vico’s little sister, a girl named Marisol who turns homicidal at the end, and another childhood friend of the boys’, a musician named Papi Gringo who wasn’t necessary to the story at all, at least as far as I could tell. Cardinal also throws in a romance between Javier and Lupe that I could have done without. It was almost as if the author was forced to include it for YA readers who expect such things in their stories, but it felt completely out of place to me.
There are some atmospheric and creepy moments in Five Midnights, but if you’re looking for a scary horror story that features that monster on the cover of the book, then you might be disappointed. Ultimately, I didn’t really feel an emotional connection to any of the characters or events, which is the reason I’m rating this a “middle of the road/just OK” three star read.
Big thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy.
This one doesn’t really sound like it’s for me- but great review!
Thanks Sarah. Yeah, I’m having a hard time recommending this, although a lot of readers on Goodreads love it!
Well you’re in good company I’m sure- I find I disagree with GoodReads more often than I agree. Lol
You’re the second trusted “meh” review I’ve seen so I’m nervous. I think the relationship piece may annoy me, especially since you feel it may have just been thrown in to appease YA readers. Do you ever figure out what is on the cover? That’s the main reason I still want to pick it up!
Yes, the monster on the cover is El Cuco, the monster who comes after kids who misbehave. But it was more an idea of a monster than an actual beast, and I guess I wasn’t expecting that.
Glad you could enjoy it despite it not being what you wanted. I think I would be disappointed to as I would expect that monster on the front!
I feel like the monster on the cover is more of an interpretation of the myth, rather than a “real” monster.
Rushed and messy endings can indeed ruin what seemed a promising core concept at first: from your description, the author might have been trying to do too much, and so did not accomplish much in the end… Pity, because the premise sounded good…
Maddalena@spaceandsorcery recently posted…Wyrd & Wonder 2019 – A TIME OF BLOOD (Of Blood and Bone #2), by John Gwynne
I love stories that incorporate mythology, but this just didn’t have enough of that mythology for me, unfortunately.
They don’t always work, that’s for sure. But we keep reading and trying new ones looking for those special standout books that we know will come along eventually. Great review.
Exactly, you can’t find the next great book if you don’t try it first!
Thoughtful and well-balanced review, Tammy! That cover seems so foreboding and frightful, and it’s too bad the inside didn’t deliver.
I love the cover! And despite my feelings, there are a lot of readers on GR who love this book, so it’s a matter of taste, I think.
Sorry this didn’t work better for you. Not connecting with characters always sucks, but I’ve found it really kills horror quick because it can’t be scary if you don’t care what happens to them
Lisa @TenaciousReader recently posted…Review: Fray by Rowenna Miller
That’s so true, you do need to feel for characters in order to be worried about them:-)
Oof, considering I was interested in the book because of the monster thing on the cover…and then there’s your lack of connection to the characters…I’m probably not gonna love this :\
I’m so curious to see what you think. I feel bad because it’s got pretty high ratings on GR!
That cover is so wicked and I have this to read. Great review. And darn that rushed ending. I;m still going to give it a try since I have it.
Laura Thomas recently posted…Giveaway ~ Silent River ~ A Psychological Thriller by C.M. Weaver
I hope you enjoy it, Laura! I’ll be looking forward to your review if you do.
Sorry this one was a bit of a disappointment, it sounds like a few changes could have made it just a bit better.
I think you’re right, although I almost feel like I’m in the minority. There are lots of strong reviews on GR.
What a bummer that the ending was so bad. Between that and the lack of connection to the characters, I think I would probably struggle with this one too.
Suzanne @ The Bookish Libra recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday – 10 Retellings I Absolutely Love
Connecting with the characters is definitely important!
Great honest review, Tammy!
Thanks Laurie:-)
I tried this one for a few days but kept putting it down in favor of other books instead, which I feel is pretty telling. I’ve tried so many YA horror over the years and unfortunately, they just don’t do it for me anymore. I think I’ve desensitized myself with a horror overload.
I’m glad I’m not alone. I pushed through because I really did want to see what was going on, but the ending just disappointed me, unfortunately.
It’s so frustrating when something is built of throughout the book only to be anticlimactic when it’s finally revealed. And this just sounds like a messy ending. It does have a cool idea though, and I’m a bit curious now about how the monster turned out or if it was real.
I’m still not sure if the monster was real! (I guess that’s sort of a spoiler)
Sorry this didn’t work better for you – I was interested in seeing reviews and sitting on the fence but I don’t think it’s for me having read your thoughts.
Thanks
Lynn 😀
I wish I had liked it more, but then again a lot of readers on Goodreads are loving it. Just a matter of taste, I guess.
I can’t remember specifics from the blurb, but I definitely didn’t get the impression that the monster may just be a figurative rather than literal monster! that’s disappointing, I’m here for real monsters attacking people, damn it, not this wishy-washy ‘up to interpretation’ rigmarole! I suppose when I see a book under horror, I expect it to be OTT crazy, whereas a thriller is a genre where I could accept ambiguity. I had this on my TBR, but now I don’t think it’s for me – moving on…
I like that it’s atmospheric and involves a monster-beast. so that might be enough to keep me happy!
Too bad the monster aspect of the story didn’t fully manifest. Thanks.