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A Wish After Midnight

by Zetta Elliott (Goodreads Author)

3.6 of 5 stars 3.60 · rating details · 161 ratings · 44 reviews

Genna Colon desperately wants to escape from a drug-infested world of poverty, and every day she wishes for a different life. One day Genna's wish is granted and she is instantly transported back to Civil War-era Brooklyn.

Paperback, 244 pages

Published 2009 by CreateSpace

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Apr 05, 2010 Wilhelmina rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: african-diaspora, young-adult, sf-fantasy-speculative

A Wish after Midnight is definitely a Young Adult book - the concerns of the protagonist reflect those of a YA readership. That being said, this is a very fine book. The combination of the present day life of the protagonist and her time travel to the final days of slavery work very well together. Clearly a sequel will be coming and I hope that it is as well plotted and readable as this one.

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Sep 28, 2012 Vicki rated it 4 of 5 stars

Genna would love to change some things in her life. She lives in a tiny Brooklyn apt. with her mother and siblings, she’s afraid of all the crime in the neighborhood. She thinks she’s too dark, tall and smart, and she doesn’t really have any friends. She wishes her mother didn’t have to work so hard for so little money. She wishes she didn’t have to wear second hand clothes. She wants to do good in school so that she can go to college and be a psychiatrist. She wishes for a new life. And that’s...more

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Jan 26, 2012 Zandra rated it 5 of 5 stars

Fifteen-year-old Genna shares a tiny, cramped apartment in Brooklyn, New York with her mother and three siblings. Her family has been steadily falling apart ever since her father left and returned to his native Panama. Genna especially has a hard time since she has a sense she doesn’t belong. She feels like an outsider at school and she has a hard time connecting with her teenage brother and sister. She is also sad that her mother has to work so hard to support the family. Genna does her best to...more

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Apr 06, 2011 Doret rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: african, american, time, travel, historical, fiction

15 yr old Genna lives in a one bedroom apartment with her mother and three siblings. Her mother struggles to make enough money so the family can move to a better neighborhood. Genna does her part by staying out of trouble, getting good grades, looking after younger brother, Tyjuan. She finds solace in the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens. Genna befriends another Garden regular Mr. Christiansen an older white man. Mr Christiansen seemed like a nice man at first I couldn't understand why his appearance wa...more 15 yr old Genna lives in a one bedroom apartment with her mother and three siblings. Her mother struggles to make enough money so the family can move to a better neighborhood. Genna does her part by staying out of trouble, getting good grades, looking after younger brother, Tyjuan. She finds solace in the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens. Genna befriends another Garden regular Mr. Christiansen an older white man. Mr Christiansen seemed like a nice man at first I couldn't understand why his appearance was so short. Then I remembered this isn't a book about a troubled black girl who needs a nice old white man to teach her importance of dreaming. I believe Elliott includes this character, hoping the reader will learn from Genna to judge individuals on their merits not their race, gender or other things they can't control.Genna is not poisoned by her mother's hatred of white people.

"I don't want to think like Mama. I try not to lump Hannah and all white people together cause that's exactly what I don't want people doing to me. I want people to accept me for who I am with my own ways, and my own ideas and my own future that's separate from everything else going on. Separate from Rico dealing drugs and Toshi acting fast and Papi walking out on us. Separate from where I live or how I dress or the color of my skin. I'm not ashamed of none of those things. I just want people to see all of who I am, and not just the messed up parts."

With her wishes Genna dreams of a better future and forgets what waits for her when she leaves the garden. This book is essentially in two parts Genna in present day, Genna in 1863. When I finished the book, I enjoyed the second half so much I wished Genna time travelled sooner. Though now as I look back on it I appreciate Genna in the present day. Elliott fully developments Genna , allowing the reader to feel more connected to the character. This is a very smart move on the authors part, whether or not the reader is a fan of historical fiction is irrelevant because they'll be fulling invested in the character. Genna's tall, shy and thanks to a lack of slang her peers thinks she's not black enough. She doesn't hang out will anyone from school, until Judah comes along.

Judah is different, and he appreciates Genna. Their relationship is steadily growing, then Genna makes the wish. It comes about in anger and confusion. When Genna's mom slaps her for a wrong not committed Genna goes to the Garden. Apparently Genna isn't the only one who uses the Garden as a sanctuary at the midnight hour Genna sees ghosts. I love the idea of lost souls finding peace in a Garden, there aren't too many quiet places in NY. Soon after Genna comes to grips with what surrounds her, she transported back to Brooklyn 1863.

Before Genna can be sold into slavery someone claims she's a Reverends niece. Genna is taken to an orphanage, she needs days to recover from serious back wounds. I kept waiting for the author to say what happened to Genna's back, an explanation never came and feel like I missed a piece of the puzzle. Genna ends up working and living with the orphanage doctor, Dr Brant. Runaway slaves make their way to Brooklyn and Dr Brant does what he can to help. While helping one day Genna finds Judah. I love what Elliott did with the second half of the book.

Genna stays true to who she is, even in 1863 she speaks her mind and fights back. Elliott gives Judah a little competition with Paul, a blued eyed black boy. Genna had the power to wish Judah into another century that's some serious love but I still found myself rooting for Paul. At times in 1863 Brooklyn Judah seemed a little stubborn, and he wasn't considering Genna's feelings. When I think of the civil war I usually think about the south. Elliott touches upon the unrest in New York. When the New York Drafts riots hits Manhattan many people flee to Brooklyn. Genna and Judah get caught up in the riot that threatens to find its way to Brooklyn. The author reminds us that there's much history to be found in Brooklyn beyond the Polo Grounds and the Brooklyn Bridge. A Wish Before Midnight is a wonderful novel, giving the reader much to enjoy, think about and learn.

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May 05, 2010 Debbie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical, fantasy, ya

"A Wish After Midnight" is a slice-of-life story exploring what life is like for poor blacks now and what it was like in 1863 in Brooklyn from the Emancipation Proclamation to the New York Draft Riots. I'm calling it a slice-of-life book because it doesn't really have an ending or even a resolution of some difficulty. I would have enjoyed it more if it had a more typical problem-resolution story format.

The novel was written in first person, present tense. In part one, Genna told the reader about...more

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Apr 04, 2010 Jason Geske rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'm a sucker for time-travel novels, from Heinlein's The Door into Summer to Connie Willis' To Say Nothing of the Dog. I've liked all of them (well, except for the dreadful Household Gods). Usually the author has a heightened awareness of the time traveler's ability to change the future, whether it's an effort to adjust events (as with Heinlein) or ensure that the timestream is unaffected by the protagonist's actions (as in Willis'). But Zetta Elliot takes a slightly different tack -- and mostly...more I'm a sucker for time-travel novels, from Heinlein's The Door into Summer to Connie Willis' To Say Nothing of the Dog. I've liked all of them (well, except for the dreadful Household Gods). Usually the author has a heightened awareness of the time traveler's ability to change the future, whether it's an effort to adjust events (as with Heinlein) or ensure that the timestream is unaffected by the protagonist's actions (as in Willis'). But Zetta Elliot takes a slightly different tack -- and mostly, it works.

The viewpoint character in A Wish After Midnight is a 15-year-old girl in roughly present-day Brooklyn, growing up in the slums. Genna is smart and ambitious; she gets good grades in school and is determined to win a college scholarship so she can become a psychiatrist. But she is also very much 15, wistfully hoping that the cute guy in her class will notice her, getting angry with her siblings, and feeling as though her mother doesn't understand her.

Most time travel books spend little time in the present day before they whisk the heroine into the era she'll have to contend with. The author lingers in the present, as Genna connects with her sweetie Jonah, and as Genna's brother creates more family drama. The result is a story that's as much about what it means to be poor and black in current-day America as it is about Genna's life in 1863 Brooklyn -- to which she is, indeed, mysteriously and semi-magically transported after a big family fight. (Lesson: If there's a locked garden across the street from your tenement apartment, STAY OUT.)

The author does a good job of showing how a young woman would cope with Brooklyn culture during the Civil War, not to mention some of the historical incidents (some of which I knew, but I was a history geek in high school and I grew up in New York). The plotting is good, I care about the characters, and the author kept my interest all the way through.

But a few things yanked me out of the story. Elliott finds ways to sidestep Genna's ignorance (such as the assumption that she's an escaped slave), and many of them work well. However, I kept feeling that surely Genna would do something *incredibly* boneheaded -- after all, how many urban teenagers would know the first thing about (then-)rural Brooklyn? I can't imagine she would have spent any time in the city around a horse, for instance. How often would she expect to bathe? Would she know that women didn't always have tampons? Also, Genna never wondered if she was put in that place for a higher purpose (to ensure something happened) or worried that her actions would change history. That might be typical 15-year-old self-absorption, though.

The ending was a little bit unsatisfying... but then, I think it was supposed to be unsettling. Certainly, there's plenty of fodder here for discussions between parents and teenagers (the book is marked as suitable for grades 8+, which seems accurate) about racism and human rights.

I liked A Wish After Midnight and I think its details will stay with me a long time. But I didn't like it so much that I will press it upon you and insist you read it. (If you're new to time travel stories I'd recommend the Heinlein and Willis books mentioned above, instead.) But it's good, thoughtful fiction.(less)

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Mar 07, 2010 Jody rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is my first book from a "Good Reads" giveaway. I received it quite quickly and opened the cover to see that it was autographed by the author. That thrilled me, it was a nice touch to a good YA book.

In the book Zetta Elliot tackles some large social topics with finesse. I appreciated the social commentary without it being over the top.

A quick overview - 15 year od Genna Colon wishes, wishes to be someone else, somewhere else, doing something else. She is dissatisfied with her neighborhood, h...more

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Jun 04, 2011 Guy Gonzalez rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Guy by: Sarah Rettger

Shelves: self-published

Genna Colon, an ambitious half-Black, half-Panamanian 15-year-old, inadvertently wishes her way out of modern-day Brooklyn and into the middle of Civil War-era Brooklyn, and Zetta Elliot makes it work by focusing on her coming-of-age story and keeping the time travel hook in the background.

Despite some minor plot holes and one-dimensional supporting characters, Genna's voice and experience rings true throughout and Elliott deftly handles the historical setting, tackling the question almost every...more

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Jul 11, 2010 K. Bird rated it 4 of 5 stars

Genna is the "good one" in a pack of siblings living with their single mother in a Ghetto in Brooklyn. Her brother just got arrested for drug dealing, her mother seems to be slowly alienating her sister by her worried and critical ways, and Genna does well in school and gets picked on for not being "black" enough.

Judah, a Rastafarian whose dream it is to live in Africa, takes notice of her and begins a relationship.

But then one day in the garden where Genna goes for refuge, something strange hap...more

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Aug 09, 2010 Alan rated it 2 of 5 stars

I just finished Zetta Elliott's "A Wish After Midnight." I found her writing to be crisp and a joy to read. Her characters have a strong element of realism, and do not come across to be as being either formulaic or contrived. She also does an excellent job of creating a sense of place. Elliott has a good eye for detail, and that pulled me through the rest of the book.

As for the storyline, well, I think that it had a gaping hole in it. The fantasy aspect of the time jumping without any plausible...more

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Apr 07, 2013 Shilo rated it 3 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this book. I found it difficult to read in places - a 15-year-old African American girl wishes to escape her hard life in her tough Brooklyn neighborhood. Eventually, just as she begins to find a bit of peace in her life - she does just that. She is transported to 1863 - same place, very different time - and is assumed to be an escaped slave. She slowly learns to fit in to her new life, learning a lot of hard lessons along the way. Finally, as she is beginning to find some peace and fu...more

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Nov 10, 2009 Margaret rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: american-civil-war, children-s-and-ya-fiction, fantasy-and-science-fiction, poc-50-book-challenge, time-travel, new-york, authors-ef

Fifteen-year-old Genna lives in Brooklyn in a cramped apartment in a crime-filled neighborhood and dreams of a better future and a career as a psychiatrist. Her only consolations are her boyfriend Judah, who's from Jamaica and wants to go back to Africa, and her nearly daily visits to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, where she tosses a few coins into the fountain and makes a wish. One night, when she flees into the garden after a fight with her mother, she is transported back in time to Civil-War-er...more

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May 11, 2012 Miss rated it 4 of 5 stars

Guys check out this cover, is it not wonderfully attractive? :D I know they say don't judge a book by it's cover but a nice one definitely doesn't hurt.

Anyways! This is a YA time travel story in the same vein as Octavia Butler's Kindred. It's tight first person POV which really only works when you've got a good protagonist to carry it. Luckily this does! I really liked Genna and got invested in both her lives: present and past. I was a bit sad at each changeover actually, Elliott does such a goo...more

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Feb 18, 2010 Maggie Hargrave rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction, multicultural, sci-fi-fantasy, ya

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Mar 11, 2010 Michelle rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult

I received a copy of this book through the Goodreads' First Reads Giveaway. I was very excited to read it as I teach English to middle school students. I LOVE historical fiction so was anxious to read this account of 15 year old Genna, a mixed race teenager living in Brooklyn in 2001, who travels back to Civil War era Brooklyn.
Though book is very well written and the author pulls you into the story from the start, I was overall a bit disappointed in the book. The author tries to tackle the atr...more

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Oct 16, 2012 Candace rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was predictably hard to read but worth it. I really enjoyed it and it didn't feel like just a slave book with all the black people being talked down to. It showed something just as ingratiating as racism, people who seek to "help" black people but with the view of helping a child instead of a people. The relationship between her and Judah was interesting. I understood her love for him but he wasn't as likable once they got to Civil War Era Brooklyn, even though that is understandable. I rea...more

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Oct 15, 2012 Alexis Villery rated it 2 of 5 stars

Genna Colon lives in Brooklyn and faces struggles that many teens face in a single parent household where there is just enough to get by. Genna's brother gets arrested and her sister runs away. All the attention is focused on everyone else and Genna is left to take care of her baby brother and continue to be the "good" kid. Feeling lonely and distraught Genna wishes for a different life and is taken back in time to Civil War-era Brooklyn where she is mistaken for a runaway slave. As you can imag...more

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Jun 04, 2011 Suzanne rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: peach-consideration

Finished this ages ago, (pneumonia sucked almost five weeks out of my life) and I have learned that it's tough for me to write reviews with much detail long after the fact; but does that stop me from piling books up to get to later? Nuh-uh.

I was surprised that we didn't end up putting this one on the Peach Nominees for 2011-2012 because I quite liked it. If I recall, there was some concern that we might be choosing it because of its African American characters rather than its intrinsic worth, bu...more

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Sep 06, 2010 Love YA Lit rated it 4 of 5 stars

When I first saw A Wish After Midnight, what stood out for me aside from the beautiful cover design (front and back are both lovely) and the name Zetta Elliott (I love her picture book, Bird), were the words “In the tradition of Octavia Butler’s Kindred.” Kindred, which tells the tale of a modern black woman who is forced back in time to the antebellum South, is one of my favorite books of all time and Butler is a brilliant author (be sure to check her out at some point!). Though there are some...more When I first saw A Wish After Midnight, what stood out for me aside from the beautiful cover design (front and back are both lovely) and the name Zetta Elliott (I love her picture book, Bird), were the words “In the tradition of Octavia Butler’s Kindred.” Kindred, which tells the tale of a modern black woman who is forced back in time to the antebellum South, is one of my favorite books of all time and Butler is a brilliant author (be sure to check her out at some point!). Though there are some definite connections between the two stories, they are both unique and exciting examples of speculative fiction.

In Zetta Elliott’s tale, Genna Colon, a 15-year old living in 21st Century New York City, escapes her tough Brooklyn neighborhood with visits to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. There she enjoys the quiet and beauty and makes wishes in a fountain. She wishes for a better life for herself and her family and she wishes to be different (not so tall, not so dark, and with straight hair like the girls in the music videos). After a rough night at home she runs away to the garden and makes another wish. She comes to, with her back badly injured from a beating, and slowly realizes that she is in an unfamiliar place. Eventually, she ascertains that she is still in Brooklyn, but it’s 1863, the middle of the Civil War, and the second Emancipation Proclamation has just been issued. Her journey of survival and self-identity continues in this new timeline.

Zetta Elliott chose a very interesting place and time for our character to be transported to – giving the author much to explore and examine. The only “trouble” that I had with the past section of the novel was that it wasn’t the present. I was so fond of the characters and story developing in 21st Century Brooklyn (the first third of the novel is focused in this time period), that it was hard to leave and embrace a new time and new characters. However, I do not view this “trouble” as a fault of the author but rather as an inspired choice. Elliott did a wonderful job of painting a portrait of home, a complex home that one might not always want to go back to, but that is still home. When Genna is taken away from the familiar Brooklyn, abused, and left without any knowledge of how to get back, it draws connections for the reader to the experience of slavery. Elliott makes connections to the theme of freedom from the very beginning. In the opening chapter, Genna explains, “I feel free when I walk through the garden gates, like I’m somebody new. I wish I could always feel that way.” (p.2) Back in 1863, Genna is believed to be a free black woman but what does freedom mean for a young black woman in 1863 and what does it mean for her in present day?

What carried me through this story is Zetta Elliott’s talent for writing believable, complex characters and discussing issues of race and identity. Genna is a strong and amiable protagonist/narrator, one a reader would be glad to spend a novel (or more) with. Her family relations are rocky at times but there are signs of the underlying love between them all. While Genna’s mom seems to see people in black and white, Genna is conscious of the gray. She recognizes the difference between Mr. Christiansen, her elderly Danish immigrant friend, and the white woman who yells at her for even contemplating renting a room in her building. And the white people who Genna works for in both timelines definitely fall into this gray area. Both Hannah and Dr. Brant are, at the very least, relatively kind to Genna and both offer their help and encourage her to explore college options. But “help” for both of them seems a bit more like an obligatory gesture than one offered out of friendship and caring. Dr. Brant, though kind at times, also turns a blind eye to his wife’s abuse of the workers in the house and speaks to Genna about her promise despite her “diminished capabilities.” And then there is Genna’s boyfriend Judah, who is a dreamboat (I got butterflies when they talked over the library counter) but not without his “I’m going to tell you how things are”ness about him. Word from Zetta Elliott is that the sequel to A Wish After Midnight (a sequel which you will be wanting to arrive on your doorstep very soon after reading the last words of AWAM), will be told from Judah’s perspective. I’m curious to see how Elliott has envisioned him and his journey and to see where his story takes us. Though he was not my favorite character, I trust Elliott to help him win me over.(less)

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Jun 18, 2010 Kate rated it 4 of 5 stars

Genna is a teenage girl living with her mother and three siblings in a rough Brooklyn neighborhood. They live in a tiny apartment where not everyone has a bed to sleep in and people deal drugs outside of the front door of their building. It's a sad place to be, but a real place that many urban kids would be familiar with. One of her favorite places to go and escape her life's realities is a neighborhood garden. Whenever she visits, she always makes a wish in the fountain. Among the myriad of wis...more Genna is a teenage girl living with her mother and three siblings in a rough Brooklyn neighborhood. They live in a tiny apartment where not everyone has a bed to sleep in and people deal drugs outside of the front door of their building. It's a sad place to be, but a real place that many urban kids would be familiar with. One of her favorite places to go and escape her life's realities is a neighborhood garden. Whenever she visits, she always makes a wish in the fountain. Among the myriad of wishes that she makes for her mother, her siblings, and herself is this one: "I wish I could go somewhere different, another country, someplace far away. A place where I don't have to feel ashamed of my home, and my clothes, and my short nappy hair that just won't grow. I toss a penny into the fountain and wish I could live inside someone else's body, even for just one day" (2).

After a particularly difficult fight with her mother over her blossoming relationship with a boy named Judah, Genna finds herself at the fountain after midnight, and her wish is granted. Only it's granted in a way she really didn't expect. She finds herself in Civil War-era Brooklyn, a very different place from the Brooklyn she knows. Because she is black and seemingly homeless, everyone assumes she is a runaway slave. She runs the risk of being sold to slave catchers and struggles to understand the very different society that exists in her new reality. Although the Emancipation Proclamation has declared slaves free, and even though she is living in the "free" north, African Americans are still treated by whites as people of inferior intelligence and given little respect. The historical detail and attitudes portrayed is remarkable and I think pretty accurate. The climax of the book takes place during the New York Draft Riots of 1863, during which at least 120 people were killed and thousands were wounded--a fascinating time period and place for a book to be set in.

I admit I have a soft spot for time-travel tales. I found the beginning to be a bit slow; there was a lot of background and build-up to get through before Genna made her jump into the past. Her present was kind of depressing, but it was a nice change to read a story with a different setting than I am used to--I don't think I've ever read a book set in the inner-city. It was eye-opening for me to experience Genna's life and feelings through this book--her experiences as an African American teen are definitely far from my own experiences. I really feel like it opened a door to a world (in both time periods) that I know very little about but am glad to have a glimpse into. The conclusion of the story felt a bit open-ended, and there is some great sequel potential there (especially since we don't know what happened to Judah!). Ms. Elliott is working on the sequel, Judah's Tale right now, and I am really looking forward to diving back into the worlds of these characters.

Ms. Elliott self-published this book in 2008 and Amazon chose it to reprint under their AmazonEncore label earlier this year, which identifies "exceptional, overlooked books and authors with more potential than their sales may indicate" and partners with the authors to "re-introduce their books to readers through marketing support and distribution into multiple channels and formats" (link). I think they made a very good choice with A Wish After Midnight. I am so glad I read it.(less)

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Nov 09, 2012 Jennifer Wardrip rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: trt-posted-reviews

Reviewed by AdrienneBe for TeensReadToo.com

All Genna Colon wants is to find a way out of her current life. She doesn't want to win the lotto or meet a vampire. No, all Genna wants is to leave Brooklyn. She can't stand living in a crowded and dark apartment with her druggie brother, overworked mother, estranged sister, and innocent baby brother.

Genna wants to go to college, and she is fighting to make that goal come true. To her mother, Genna is the family's only potential for a better life. To h...more

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Feb 19, 2010 Stephanie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy-syfy-with-poc-protagonist

Oh, happiest day! This is the first book I have ever read in my entire life that has contained a Panamanian character! And she is black. It's so nice read about a protagonist of your own ethnicity. How nice it must be for people that get to relate to the characters they read about on that level on a regular basis.

So, I'm admitting up front that reading about a Panamanian character put me in an extra good mood, but I don't think it effected my opinion of the book... much.

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Elliot's choice...more Oh, happiest day! This is the first book I have ever read in my entire life that has contained a Panamanian character! And she is black. It's so nice read about a protagonist of your own ethnicity. How nice it must be for people that get to relate to the characters they read about on that level on a regular basis.

So, I'm admitting up front that reading about a Panamanian character put me in an extra good mood, but I don't think it effected my opinion of the book... much.

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Elliot's choice to reveal the sci-fi (time traveling) element well into the book was an interesting one. I was prepared for it by the blurb on the back, so it didn't throw me off, but still wondered why Elliot chose not to weave any lore about the magical properties of the fountain (all fountains?) into the story. Were the fountains not magical at all? Is it Genna herself that contains the magic that allows her to time travel? It was also unclear if Genna traveled back in time in her own body or if her... essence... was placed in another body. Why did she arrive back in time in a severely beaten body? These unanswered questions were problematic for me since I very much like logistical questions to be answered by the end of the book. However, it is clear there will be a sequel, so perhaps all will be explained in the next book.

Despite these unanswered questions, I found the story to be enjoyable, though lacking in a central theme. Why was Genna allowed to time travel? Was the time traveling random or did it serve a purpose? Why did she time travel back to Civil War era Brooklyn? Was it because she wished in a fountain in Brooklyn? Why not travel back to another time or place (like Panama :)? So many questions would usually lead me to deduct a star, but as I said before, I'm prejudiced in the book's favor, and it was well-written.

I would love to read the next book but I have an aversion to stories about September 11th. I was previously forced into reading two works of fiction centering on that day and did not enjoy them. I'm sure Elliot's book will be better than those were, but it's not a time I'm ready to relive. I guess that means I won't be getting answers anytime soon--sadness!(less)

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May 22, 2010 Amy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: amazon-vine, time-travel, young-adult, 2010-books-read

This story has an interesting premise. Okay. I have to admit time travel of any sort is an interesting premise in my world. Like Octavia Butler's Kindred, this novel has its protagonists of distant African heritage traveling back in time to Civil-War-period New York. However, I was very put off by the attitudes of the characters in the book because, even in modern times, they harp constantly on being oppressed and segregated because of the color of their skin when, quite frankly, they are choosi...more

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Nov 09, 2012 Marti rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: teen, adult

Very touching book about a teenage African-American girl trying to figure out a way to escape her Brooklyn ghetto neighborhood. Unfortunately she "escapes" from 2001 to 1863 and must deal with all new challenges of being a black woman during that time period. Overall, I thought it was very well done but there were some anachronistic mistakes that irked me. For example, she talks about the springs of the beds in the orphanage. According to Wikipedia, innerspring mattresses didn't come out until t...more

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Jan 16, 2012 Alicia rated it 2 of 5 stars

This book was okay, until the end. I HATED the ending. I wanted more of a resolution than was given. Drove me crazy. Other than that I really enjoyed it. I've always loved historical fiction novels so I figured this would be up my alley. So close, and yet no cigar.

Just as a random note - this was the first book that I read completely on my new Kindle. I really enjoyed that experience. :)

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Nov 09, 2011 Kristi rated it 2 of 5 stars

This book started out slow to me and didn't interest me much for the first half. I continued reading it because I'd bought it and it wasn't bad, just slow. However, once it got to the historical portion of the book it really became interesting to me. I got more invested in the characters and the story. The pace picked up and it became a thoroughly enjoyable book.

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Oct 18, 2012 Kim rated it 5 of 5 stars

This was a great story for young adults and adult readers. The author takes you back in time and you truely feel that you are living there along with all the characters. The only thing that I didn't like was the ending. I felt it didn't give enought closer to the characters and left you wanting to know more about what happened when she returned.

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Aug 23, 2011 Gwendolyn Dabney rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was an enjoyable book to read. It got really interesting after the main character Genna was transported back in time to the 1800's. Once she returned to the present, I would have liked her story to continue, but it ended leaving me with a lot of loose ends. With that said I'd still recommend this book to others.

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Dec 20, 2011 Aerin rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, speculative-fiction, social-commentary, middle-grade, historical-fiction

I hate that I can't rate this book more highly - it had some excellent moments, and overall I love Elliott's style and use of language. For me, it was too close in plot and development to Octavia Butler's Kindred. Wish After Midnight is like the teenage version of Butler's wrenchingly intense novel.

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Aug 02, 2012 Elizabeth Felt rated it 4 of 5 stars

Actually, 4-1/2 stars. This is an amazing book. Great creation of two different settings (Brooklyn 2001 and Brooklyn 1863),excellent character development, gripping plot, and believable dialogue. I found the ending a little disappointing--but only a little. Read it and see what you think.

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Genres

Young Adult

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Historical Fiction

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Fantasy

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Science Fiction > Time Travel

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Young Adult > Teen

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Cultural > African American

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Adult

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Science Fiction

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Speculative Fiction

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Travel

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About Zetta Elliott

Zetta Elliott’s poetry has been published in the Cave Canem anthology, The Ringing Ear: Black Poets Lean South, Check the Rhyme: an Anthology of Female Poets and Emcees, and Coloring Book: an Eclectic Anthology of Fiction and Poetry by Multicultural Writers. Her novella, Plastique, was excerpted in T Dot Griots: an Anthology of Toronto’s Black Storytellers, and her essays have appeared in The Blac...more

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