Midnight's Choice facts for kids
First edition
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| Author | Kate Thompson |
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| Cover artist | Darren Lock |
| Country | Ireland |
| Language | English |
| Series | Switchers Trilogy |
| Genre | Fantasy |
| Publisher | The Bodley Head |
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Publication date
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1998 |
| Pages | 167 pp |
| ISBN | 0-370-32495-1 |
| Preceded by | Switchers |
| Followed by | Wild Blood |
Midnight's Choice is an exciting fantasy novel written by Kate Thompson. It's the second book in the popular Switchers Trilogy series. This story continues the adventures of Tess and Kevin, two young Irish characters who can change their shape. They are called "Switchers" in the book. The novel also introduces a new character named Martin, who is another Switcher and the main challenge for Tess.
Contents
What's the Story About?
Where Does It Happen?
Midnight's Choice takes place in the city of Dublin, which is the capital of Ireland. The events in the book happen just a few days after New Year's, but the exact year isn't mentioned.
The Main Challenge
Tess faces a very difficult decision. She must choose between living forever as a pure and beautiful phoenix or becoming a dark and powerful vampire.
Tess's Adventure
The story begins with Tess as a phoenix, flying out of her room to meet Kevin. Kevin has now permanently become a phoenix himself. Tess tries to ask him what happened, but the amazing feeling of being a phoenix makes her forget her questions.
The next night, Tess notices her pet rat Algernon acting strangely. She senses a special call going out to all the rats in the city. Algernon escapes, and Tess, changing into a rat, follows him into the sewers. They arrive at an empty house filled with thousands of rats. There, she discovers that a male Switcher is sending the mysterious call.
The next day, Tess goes back to the house. She sees a boy with red hair standing across the street. She somehow knows he is the Switcher and decides to talk to him.
Tess reads in a newspaper that the phoenix (which is Kevin) has been caught in Phoenix Park and is now at Dublin Zoo. She decides to visit the new Switcher to ask for help. Tess finds the boy, whose name is Martin, sleeping in his dark room. She tells him she knows he is a Switcher. Martin agrees to help, but only if Tess returns to his house that night. He wants to show her his special switching skills.
When Tess returns, Martin takes her for a walk. He then shows her a truly amazing and scary skill: he changes into a vampire. Martin takes some of Tess's blood, which is a big shock for her. This makes Tess's survival instincts kick in, and she changes into the only form where she'll be safe from Martin: a vampire. Once she is a vampire, Tess doesn't feel disgusted by it anymore. Martin warns her not to kill anyone when she feeds, so they don't cause suspicion. After looking for a while, they find a young couple in a car and take some of their blood.
For the next few days, Tess acts mean to her parents, which makes them very sad. Finally, when her mother mentions the phoenix, the memory of being that glorious bird makes the vampire feelings go away. Tess apologizes for her behavior.
Tess and her parents visit the zoo to see the phoenix. There, Tess meets an old woman named Lizzie, who seems worried. Lizzie tells Tess that the phoenix is a powerful force for good. But, to keep things balanced in the world, a dark force must have appeared too. When Tess enters the building where the phoenix is, she feels a sudden rush of joy and warmth. She realizes the bird is making everyone feel this way. Outside, Tess and her parents have fun playing Frisbee, forgetting their arguments. They don't even get upset when Tess accidentally loses the Frisbee in the bushes. However, Lizzie tells Tess that she has "work to do" and is wasting time.
Tess visits Martin again. He tells her the sad story of how his father died. Tess is horrified, but Martin doesn't seem to care. He takes her into a crypt he plans to live in. Tess realizes he has been using the rats to dig out this crypt. She tells him she never wants to be a vampire again. But Martin says that because he bit her, she will become undead if she ever dies. He tells her his fifteenth birthday is the next day. Since he plans to stay a vampire, he offers her the chance to join him forever. Tess refuses, saying that if she chooses to be an immortal phoenix, she will never die or become a vampire.
To make Tess lose confidence, Martin sends the city's rats to attack Kevin at the zoo. But Kevin, with Tess's help, escapes. Kevin and Martin then face each other in the park. Tess steps between them, forced to choose between becoming like either of them. Martin tries to control her with his hypnotic powers, while Kevin uses his pure powers to draw her toward him. Tess keeps switching between them, and the struggle inside her starts to hurt her mind.
As she tries desperately to choose, Tess suddenly remembers advice Lizzie gave her. She realizes what she's doing wrong: she thought she had to choose between being a vampire or a phoenix. But the option of just staying human was always there! Tess chooses to remain human. This choice somehow turns both Martin and Kevin back into their human forms. Martin, no longer protected by his vampire form, becomes very sad about his father's death. When Tess tries to comfort him, he realizes he is vulnerable and runs into the trees. Tess follows but slips on the Frisbee she lost earlier.
Tess enters Martin's home as a cat but doesn't see him. She checks on Martin's mother, realizing Martin had been taking energy from her before Tess met him. Luckily, his mother is still alive, though very tired. Tess takes Kevin back to her home, where they talk about what happened. Kevin explains that because he and Martin balanced each other, Martin becoming human again meant Kevin also lost his special phoenix form. Their talk is interrupted by Algernon, who tells them Martin has disappeared and his control over the city's rats is broken. Tess and Kevin realize Martin has chosen to stay human and decide to help him through his sadness.
Who Are the Main Characters?
- Tess: She is the main hero of the story. Tess is a Switcher and is fourteen years old in this book.
- Kevin: Kevin used to be a Switcher, but he turned fifteen before this book starts, so he can no longer change his shape. At the end of the first book, Switchers, Kevin chose to become a phoenix forever. He spends most of Midnight's Choice as a phoenix but becomes human again at the end.
- Martin: He is the main challenge or "bad guy" in the book. Martin is a good-looking boy with red hair, and his fifteenth birthday is only a few days away. After his father died, Martin started changing into a vampire to avoid dealing with his sadness.
- Elizabeth "Lizzie" Larten: She is an older woman who used to be a Switcher. In this book, she warns Tess that something bad (Martin's vampire self) has come to the city.
Why Is This Book Important?
This is the only book in the Switchers Trilogy that takes place entirely in Dublin. The first book, Switchers, starts in Dublin, but most of the important parts happen in the Arctic circle. Most of Wild Blood is set in the countryside of County Clare.
Near the end of Midnight's Choice, Tess's father is called "Seamus." This is the only time in the whole series that either of Tess's parents is called by their name.
