The Midnight Zoo

The Midnight Zoo
By Sonya Hartnett

This book is about two brothers who are escaping across a country destroyed by war. They end up at a village which has been turned to rubble and is deserted, except for the zoo. Cautiously, the brothers explore the zoo and discover the magic that lies at the heart of it, and the help that it desperately needs...

I thought the idea for this book was excellent. It was unusual and put a different twist on the standard wartime story; I think the setting in another country also helped. The plot was very good as I really wanted know what happened, and I loved how everything was carefully woven together so it all made sense in the end. Unfortunately, I was a little disappointed by the ending as I found it too predictable and not satisfying enough, but the rest of the book was still very good.

Another thing about this book that I didn't quite get on with was the writing. It took me quite a while to get into the book because I found the style didn't flow very well with me, but I think it depends on your own opinion. Once I did get into the writing style I was able to enjoy the book a lot more, so it was not a lasting problem.

On a more positive note, I thought the characters and their back-stories were all excellent, especially the relationship between Andrej and Tomas. I loved how Tomas was the innocent younger brother and Andrej was the older one who carried the burden and was protective of his family. I also thought all the animals made believable and realistic characters - I liked how each one had its own personality and unique voice, particularly the Boar.

In spite of some issues with this book, overall I still enjoyed and felt it was a worthwhile read

Rachel, Yr 12