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Midnights with You
“Where were you thinking of going?”
“Nowhere.”
“Great,” he says lightly, putting the car in gear. “Then we’ll go there.”
Seventeen-year-old Deedee’s life is full of family ghosts and questions she can’t ask. She longs for an escape, but guilt holds her back—that, and the fact that her strict Filipino single mom won’t let her learn to drive. But one sleepless night leads Deedee down a road she never thought possible: secret driving lessons with the new boy next door, Jay, whose turbulent family life also keeps him up until sunrise.
As midnights stretch into days, Jay helps Deedee begin to unravel her past, and as shared secrets blossom into love, Deedee starts to imagine a life where happiness is possible. But the deeper she digs into the trauma that has shaped her, the more that trauma threatens to tear Deedee and Jay apart. Together, these two must decide if the pain they’ve both inherited has the power to choose their fate, or if they have the power to choose for themselves.
“Nowhere.”
“Great,” he says lightly, putting the car in gear. “Then we’ll go there.”
Seventeen-year-old Deedee’s life is full of family ghosts and questions she can’t ask. She longs for an escape, but guilt holds her back—that, and the fact that her strict Filipino single mom won’t let her learn to drive. But one sleepless night leads Deedee down a road she never thought possible: secret driving lessons with the new boy next door, Jay, whose turbulent family life also keeps him up until sunrise.
As midnights stretch into days, Jay helps Deedee begin to unravel her past, and as shared secrets blossom into love, Deedee starts to imagine a life where happiness is possible. But the deeper she digs into the trauma that has shaped her, the more that trauma threatens to tear Deedee and Jay apart. Together, these two must decide if the pain they’ve both inherited has the power to choose their fate, or if they have the power to choose for themselves.
388 pages, Paperback
First published November 12, 2024
39 people are currently reading
14499 people want to read
About the author
Clare Osongco
2 books115 followersClare Osongco is a mixed Filipino American author living in Los Angeles who likes to write about falling in love, messy family relationships, and ghosts (real or figurative, sometimes both). She is the author of the young adult romance Midnights With You. Her adult rom com debut, UNFINISHED BUSINESS, is forthcoming from Dell in summer 2026. You can find her on Instagram at @clareosongco.
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March 17, 2024I’m not normally into YA books but omg this cover 🥹💜
Arc requested fingers crossed 🤞🏼
Arc requested fingers crossed 🤞🏼
July 4, 2024
Wow, wow, wow! Some stories silence me, and this is one of them. Just take a look at that stunning cover! It’s so quiet and, at the same time, so vibrant. Exactly like Deedee and Jay are. I love it when a cover and a story fit so well together.
Sometimes, I want to hug bookish main characters badly, and Deedee and Jay are two of them. Deedee tries to be the perfect daughter. She has to follow all of her Filipino mom’s rules (many!), but she thinks she’s bad and longs to be unconditionally loved. Deep inside, she’s screaming for acknowledgment and, most of all, for freedom. Jay is the perfect son, having an almost full-time job to help his mom to pay the bills. But he has buried so much underneath his seeming ease.
This story is raw and messy, about two lonely teens who are stuck in life, never showing to the world who they really want to be, needing each other so much, and maybe even thinking they can fix the other. My chest tightened quite a lot, especially when Deedee got sadder and sadder with all those intrusive thoughts that she’s never good enough. But don’t think this story only has dark sides. It’s a powerful story and, in the end, hopeful too.
Thank you so much, Clare, for sending me an ARC of your book! You’re such a talented author, and after reading this impressive debut, I can’t wait for what you have in store for us next!
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Sometimes, I want to hug bookish main characters badly, and Deedee and Jay are two of them. Deedee tries to be the perfect daughter. She has to follow all of her Filipino mom’s rules (many!), but she thinks she’s bad and longs to be unconditionally loved. Deep inside, she’s screaming for acknowledgment and, most of all, for freedom. Jay is the perfect son, having an almost full-time job to help his mom to pay the bills. But he has buried so much underneath his seeming ease.
This story is raw and messy, about two lonely teens who are stuck in life, never showing to the world who they really want to be, needing each other so much, and maybe even thinking they can fix the other. My chest tightened quite a lot, especially when Deedee got sadder and sadder with all those intrusive thoughts that she’s never good enough. But don’t think this story only has dark sides. It’s a powerful story and, in the end, hopeful too.
Thank you so much, Clare, for sending me an ARC of your book! You’re such a talented author, and after reading this impressive debut, I can’t wait for what you have in store for us next!
Follow me on Instagram
dnf
December 7, 2024DNF - 75%
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I've had my eye on this one for months, but I just read the TWs and am now scared.
--------------------------------
I've had my eye on this one for months, but I just read the TWs and am now scared.
Read
August 20, 2025Midnights With You is a heart-achingly beautiful debut. I read this across three sittings, and I was blown away by not just Clare’s ability to weave a cast of real and raw teenage characters, but also by her writing. I was fully immersed in Deedee’s head from page 1, feeling her emotions, her awkwardness, her trauma, and her desires with her.
What I especially loved about the book is how none of the characters are all good or all bad, but layered, and humanly flawed. I dove into this expecting a romantic road-trip story, but ended up feeling gutted (in a good way). Deedee and Jay are both such complex characters, and I was blown away by how REAL Clare made them feel, like I could reach through the pages and touch them, like they exist in some part of the world. I seldom come across YA books that so impeccably portray the complex dimensions of the teenage mind, and this one had some of the best characters developments and arc resolutions I’ve seen in a long, long while.
There were so many moments that I found myself feeling frustrated by the characters’ actions, and mind you, these two teens, while in love, weren’t perfect for each other. So often, media makes us feel as if a romantic relationship will magically cure all of our problems for us, but MWY dismantled exactly that. The lesson that the main character eventually learns is that Jay and her whirlwind romance with him isn’t going fix her life, and she’s going to have to attempt to do it herself if she wants a fruitful and long-lasting relationship with Jay.
Spoiler: The ending was PERFECT. It took them both years to heal from their trauma and put their lives into perspective and settle their issues with their families, and I love and appreciate how Clare took the narrative decision for them to wait to be with each other. So many times people get into relationships when they’re not ready yet, in the process of putting their own pieces back together, thinking a relationship will fix them, developing this toxic co-dependency that can only be further damaging to their psyche. I’m so glad Deedee and Jay took time apart and found their way back to each other (though I admit when I read the part about Jay seeing someone else I screamed at my Kindle in frustration).
And oh, Jay! When I went into this book, I was expecting him to be a dreamy, rose-coloured love interest that you see so often in teen novels, ones that can seemingly do no wrong. But he was…gosh! He was vulnerable and beautifully written, and while he wasn’t always good for Deedee, his growth and willingness to change and accept responsibility for his actions helped me see him as his own person rather than just a love interest for Deedee. Their romance was tense, electric, and poignant, and I felt every push and pull in their relationship.
I spent so much of the book being annoyed with Deedee’s mom, and I do still stand by the fact that there are a lot of parents who aren’t good parents and/or ready to be parents and that results in their children having traumatic childhoods. I was so ready to villainise Deedee’s mom…but yet again, Clare showed us the truth behind the person she was, what made her the way she was, and made us empathise even with her. I don’t know how she did it, but that’s what makes this book all the more special.
As for Suzy, at first, I wasn’t sure what to feel about her, but I was struck and touched by how good of a friend she was, and pleased by the narrative priority that was given to her friendship with Deedee rather than dismissing her as just that side character best friend. I adored Suzy so much.
The setting descriptions were brief and beautiful, and every detail, down to the tiniest thing, was written from Deedee’s view, so I didn’t feel an unnatural break in the prose at any point. There were instances where Clare could’ve easily taken a deep-dive into describing say, New York, and the Met, but she chose to instead make us experience these places through Deedee’s eyes and emotions, which I loved.
It’s been so long since I read a gutting YA book like this, with diaspora feels and mental health, and paired with the road trip motif I love most? I’m so grateful to have experienced this stunning book.
What I especially loved about the book is how none of the characters are all good or all bad, but layered, and humanly flawed. I dove into this expecting a romantic road-trip story, but ended up feeling gutted (in a good way). Deedee and Jay are both such complex characters, and I was blown away by how REAL Clare made them feel, like I could reach through the pages and touch them, like they exist in some part of the world. I seldom come across YA books that so impeccably portray the complex dimensions of the teenage mind, and this one had some of the best characters developments and arc resolutions I’ve seen in a long, long while.
There were so many moments that I found myself feeling frustrated by the characters’ actions, and mind you, these two teens, while in love, weren’t perfect for each other. So often, media makes us feel as if a romantic relationship will magically cure all of our problems for us, but MWY dismantled exactly that. The lesson that the main character eventually learns is that Jay and her whirlwind romance with him isn’t going fix her life, and she’s going to have to attempt to do it herself if she wants a fruitful and long-lasting relationship with Jay.
Spoiler: The ending was PERFECT. It took them both years to heal from their trauma and put their lives into perspective and settle their issues with their families, and I love and appreciate how Clare took the narrative decision for them to wait to be with each other. So many times people get into relationships when they’re not ready yet, in the process of putting their own pieces back together, thinking a relationship will fix them, developing this toxic co-dependency that can only be further damaging to their psyche. I’m so glad Deedee and Jay took time apart and found their way back to each other (though I admit when I read the part about Jay seeing someone else I screamed at my Kindle in frustration).
And oh, Jay! When I went into this book, I was expecting him to be a dreamy, rose-coloured love interest that you see so often in teen novels, ones that can seemingly do no wrong. But he was…gosh! He was vulnerable and beautifully written, and while he wasn’t always good for Deedee, his growth and willingness to change and accept responsibility for his actions helped me see him as his own person rather than just a love interest for Deedee. Their romance was tense, electric, and poignant, and I felt every push and pull in their relationship.
I spent so much of the book being annoyed with Deedee’s mom, and I do still stand by the fact that there are a lot of parents who aren’t good parents and/or ready to be parents and that results in their children having traumatic childhoods. I was so ready to villainise Deedee’s mom…but yet again, Clare showed us the truth behind the person she was, what made her the way she was, and made us empathise even with her. I don’t know how she did it, but that’s what makes this book all the more special.
As for Suzy, at first, I wasn’t sure what to feel about her, but I was struck and touched by how good of a friend she was, and pleased by the narrative priority that was given to her friendship with Deedee rather than dismissing her as just that side character best friend. I adored Suzy so much.
The setting descriptions were brief and beautiful, and every detail, down to the tiniest thing, was written from Deedee’s view, so I didn’t feel an unnatural break in the prose at any point. There were instances where Clare could’ve easily taken a deep-dive into describing say, New York, and the Met, but she chose to instead make us experience these places through Deedee’s eyes and emotions, which I loved.
It’s been so long since I read a gutting YA book like this, with diaspora feels and mental health, and paired with the road trip motif I love most? I’m so grateful to have experienced this stunning book.
June 30, 2025
🍦 🍓 The Ripped Bodice's 9th Annual Summer Romance Bingo 🕶️ 🏄🏼
/ Road Trip
I've been sitting on this one, because I knew this would wreck me. And it did. Everyone in this book is broken, and so am I. Did reading this heal me a little? Maybe. Will I continue to read Clare's books? Definitely.
Deedee is a sad, angsty girl. So was I, as a teenager. Some may say I still am. Her Filipina mom has her own trauma and anger issues. These aren't discussed until much later. Her white father died when she was young. Her mother blames her. It's a lot. There is a lot of screaming. There is a lot of PTSD.
Across the street, Jay and his family move in. Also ethnically ambiguous (to the too-white town), Deedee finds out later Jay (formerly Jason) is mixed Vietnamese American with his own mommy and daddy issues. His father is the literal definition of yellow fever. He is disgusting. He is a lot of the white men on dating apps.
So with the anger, emotional abuse, and generational trauma, we get a couple of broken teenagers. They meet one night on their rooftops when Jay spots Deedee spotting him. Could be creepy. But it's not. The premise of this story is she isn't allowed to drive due to her mom's fear of car accidents. In exchange for tutoring Jay, he offers to teach her. They fall for each other.
But as they're broken, and as it's secret, and as they're teenagers with weird hormones and emotions and the like, life doesn't magically work out. And I loved that. Because it's rare to be happy with your high school sweetheart. And they both needed to fix themselves before they could attempt to fix each other. A relationship won't heal you. Only you can heal you.
And we fast forward. And they're not fully healed. No one is ever fully healed. But they meet again. Deedee is finally doing something she loves. Her mother is mostly accepting. Jay shows up. They haven't seen each other in years, but they've been writing letters. This is so romantic, and water-sign coded. I like this in theory, but would flinch if a man wrote me a letter. But this isn't about me. They've been apart. They've dated other people. And now, when they're both single, years later, they can maybe come together again. And I like that it ends there. Because sometimes hope is more important than clarity.
/ Road Trip
I've been sitting on this one, because I knew this would wreck me. And it did. Everyone in this book is broken, and so am I. Did reading this heal me a little? Maybe. Will I continue to read Clare's books? Definitely.
Deedee is a sad, angsty girl. So was I, as a teenager. Some may say I still am. Her Filipina mom has her own trauma and anger issues. These aren't discussed until much later. Her white father died when she was young. Her mother blames her. It's a lot. There is a lot of screaming. There is a lot of PTSD.
Across the street, Jay and his family move in. Also ethnically ambiguous (to the too-white town), Deedee finds out later Jay (formerly Jason) is mixed Vietnamese American with his own mommy and daddy issues. His father is the literal definition of yellow fever. He is disgusting. He is a lot of the white men on dating apps.
So with the anger, emotional abuse, and generational trauma, we get a couple of broken teenagers. They meet one night on their rooftops when Jay spots Deedee spotting him. Could be creepy. But it's not. The premise of this story is she isn't allowed to drive due to her mom's fear of car accidents. In exchange for tutoring Jay, he offers to teach her. They fall for each other.
But as they're broken, and as it's secret, and as they're teenagers with weird hormones and emotions and the like, life doesn't magically work out. And I loved that. Because it's rare to be happy with your high school sweetheart. And they both needed to fix themselves before they could attempt to fix each other. A relationship won't heal you. Only you can heal you.
And we fast forward. And they're not fully healed. No one is ever fully healed. But they meet again. Deedee is finally doing something she loves. Her mother is mostly accepting. Jay shows up. They haven't seen each other in years, but they've been writing letters. This is so romantic, and water-sign coded. I like this in theory, but would flinch if a man wrote me a letter. But this isn't about me. They've been apart. They've dated other people. And now, when they're both single, years later, they can maybe come together again. And I like that it ends there. Because sometimes hope is more important than clarity.
November 22, 2024
two insomniacs, a girl learning to drive against her mother’s wishes, a boy wanting to escape his responsibilities, will love be their salvation or damnation?
thanks to clare osongco and disney hyperion for sending me an eARC through netgalley! this does not affect my thoughts about the book in any way. out now! check out my instagram post, to see some edits i made for this book T-T midnights with you
“I’m sure the things that haunt us wouldn’t be the same. But I kind of wonder if they’d rhyme.”
[★★★★★]
this book. i-- idk what to say to do justice this masterpiece of writing. this is a painstakingly raw book that deals with the life of an immigrant child and how her mother's inability to process her grief healthily, deeply affected her.
reading this book was hard, cause i could see bits of my life reflected on those pages and i did not know whether i should be grateful, that my situation was never as bad, or guilty that what deedee went through, is real life for someone else out there. writing this review, is more personal than anything i’ve ever reviewed, and for that this one will always hold a part of my soul evermore.
miss clare's words twists upon your heart with each page and wrenches it dry. this book will sink its claws into your heart and leave flesh wounds for life. i don't know if i will ever be able to completely reread this book. especially not the first half.
“I’m like the aswang in reverse—a child draining the life out of her parents, one quick, one slow. It’s not the traditional story, but these shapeshifters are tricky. They adapt.”
ᯓ★ deedee my darling little girl, you did not deserve that life, hiding yourself at home and school, constantly feeling out of place and lost. and if i could i would hug you close for life and never let you experience any sort of pain ever again. that constant need to hide everything you love in the fear of losing it, is something i can relate to and god do i wish life was different for all of us. deedee is me in another universe, who thankfully gets her closure and gets to mend her broken relationships.
this book is eyes brimming with tears, trying hard to blink them away, screams stuck in your throat, so painful you try to swallow it all down, but it feels as impossible as ingesting knives. it’s the pressure building in your throat, your nose burning from choked emotions. it's love, it's hope, it's pain, it's everything. it's life.
“The thing that surprised me was: It’s not actually an either-or choice. Sympathizing with your parents or with yourself. I think that’s what can get easier. Learning to do both. But it kind of falls apart if you don’t start with yourself first.”
ᯓ★ deedee’s relationship with her mom is a very painful thing to experience even as just the reader. and when we read the book, especially in the beginning you can’t help but hate her mother for the way she treats deedee. i mean come on! you are her mother!! and the amount of tears i shed over this fictional mother-daughter is endless. maybe because it slightly reflected my own relationship with my mother. and just like me and my mom, i cant hate deedee’s mom cause ms. clare humanizes her and tells us her story. now as a reader, you can't help but sympathize and understand that they were mere victims of generational trauma. but as a person, as a daughter, even if i can define it, it doesn’t make it hurt any less. and i admire the way she and her mom were able to understand and rectify the mistakes.
“How are . . . things with your mom?” Jay whispers.
Why would he ask me that now?
I scoff. “Aren’t you just going to tell me to try harder?”
“No.” He sounds so serious, and his hand squeezes my arm, through my jacket. “I don’t want anyone to be mean to you.”
ᯓ★ and at the heart of it all, this is a love story that was so right person wrong time coded. jay and deedee are the most perfect imperfect couple. the way they helped each other become better people was everything. and even if i wish the ending happened differently, i know deep down this was the best and healthiest way for them. because as young people, we tend to think that love will fix everything, even if we know it doesn’t. the only thing it can do is make you want to become a better person, if not for yourself, at least for the person you love. and this is shown in mwy in a heartwarming manner.
ms clare also does a fantastic job of showing the different kinds of immigrant family dynamics, because while deedee’s is one, it’s not the norm. we get to see that through the other characters, and i absolutely adored that!
all in all, miss clare you will be getting my future therapy bills (cause yes i ugly cried like a baby reading this 😭😭) and please never stop writing! your book is the light at the end of the tunnel, that ray of hope that everything will be better 🥹🫶
-----------------------
incoherent review: WHAT THE HELL WAS THIS MISS CLARE?!?!? I LITERALLY BAWLED MY HEART OUT READING THIS and i don't like this ���💔 my therapy bills are definitely coming your way, kindly keep your inbox open 🫶 if this book hadn't ended the way it did, you'd have a short girl on your doorstep in like 10 hrs (cause i need to catch a flight). reading mwy was like having someone pull out the deepest darkest parts of my mind and put it out for the world to see and idk how to feel about that. but it was oddly comforting?! and miss clare wrote the immigrant child & asian parent-child experience so well, i have no words. anyways everyone go pre-order cause this book is AMAZING!! full rtc
thanks to clare osongco and disney hyperion for sending me an eARC through netgalley! this does not affect my thoughts about the book in any way. out now! check out my instagram post, to see some edits i made for this book T-T midnights with you
“I’m sure the things that haunt us wouldn’t be the same. But I kind of wonder if they’d rhyme.”
[★★★★★]
this book. i-- idk what to say to do justice this masterpiece of writing. this is a painstakingly raw book that deals with the life of an immigrant child and how her mother's inability to process her grief healthily, deeply affected her.
reading this book was hard, cause i could see bits of my life reflected on those pages and i did not know whether i should be grateful, that my situation was never as bad, or guilty that what deedee went through, is real life for someone else out there. writing this review, is more personal than anything i’ve ever reviewed, and for that this one will always hold a part of my soul evermore.
miss clare's words twists upon your heart with each page and wrenches it dry. this book will sink its claws into your heart and leave flesh wounds for life. i don't know if i will ever be able to completely reread this book. especially not the first half.
“I’m like the aswang in reverse—a child draining the life out of her parents, one quick, one slow. It’s not the traditional story, but these shapeshifters are tricky. They adapt.”
ᯓ★ deedee my darling little girl, you did not deserve that life, hiding yourself at home and school, constantly feeling out of place and lost. and if i could i would hug you close for life and never let you experience any sort of pain ever again. that constant need to hide everything you love in the fear of losing it, is something i can relate to and god do i wish life was different for all of us. deedee is me in another universe, who thankfully gets her closure and gets to mend her broken relationships.
this book is eyes brimming with tears, trying hard to blink them away, screams stuck in your throat, so painful you try to swallow it all down, but it feels as impossible as ingesting knives. it’s the pressure building in your throat, your nose burning from choked emotions. it's love, it's hope, it's pain, it's everything. it's life.
“The thing that surprised me was: It’s not actually an either-or choice. Sympathizing with your parents or with yourself. I think that’s what can get easier. Learning to do both. But it kind of falls apart if you don’t start with yourself first.”
ᯓ★ deedee’s relationship with her mom is a very painful thing to experience even as just the reader. and when we read the book, especially in the beginning you can’t help but hate her mother for the way she treats deedee. i mean come on! you are her mother!! and the amount of tears i shed over this fictional mother-daughter is endless. maybe because it slightly reflected my own relationship with my mother. and just like me and my mom, i cant hate deedee’s mom cause ms. clare humanizes her and tells us her story. now as a reader, you can't help but sympathize and understand that they were mere victims of generational trauma. but as a person, as a daughter, even if i can define it, it doesn’t make it hurt any less. and i admire the way she and her mom were able to understand and rectify the mistakes.
“How are . . . things with your mom?” Jay whispers.
Why would he ask me that now?
I scoff. “Aren’t you just going to tell me to try harder?”
“No.” He sounds so serious, and his hand squeezes my arm, through my jacket. “I don’t want anyone to be mean to you.”
ᯓ★ and at the heart of it all, this is a love story that was so right person wrong time coded. jay and deedee are the most perfect imperfect couple. the way they helped each other become better people was everything. and even if i wish the ending happened differently, i know deep down this was the best and healthiest way for them. because as young people, we tend to think that love will fix everything, even if we know it doesn’t. the only thing it can do is make you want to become a better person, if not for yourself, at least for the person you love. and this is shown in mwy in a heartwarming manner.
ms clare also does a fantastic job of showing the different kinds of immigrant family dynamics, because while deedee’s is one, it’s not the norm. we get to see that through the other characters, and i absolutely adored that!
all in all, miss clare you will be getting my future therapy bills (cause yes i ugly cried like a baby reading this 😭😭) and please never stop writing! your book is the light at the end of the tunnel, that ray of hope that everything will be better 🥹🫶
-----------------------
incoherent review: WHAT THE HELL WAS THIS MISS CLARE?!?!? I LITERALLY BAWLED MY HEART OUT READING THIS and i don't like this ���💔 my therapy bills are definitely coming your way, kindly keep your inbox open 🫶 if this book hadn't ended the way it did, you'd have a short girl on your doorstep in like 10 hrs (cause i need to catch a flight). reading mwy was like having someone pull out the deepest darkest parts of my mind and put it out for the world to see and idk how to feel about that. but it was oddly comforting?! and miss clare wrote the immigrant child & asian parent-child experience so well, i have no words. anyways everyone go pre-order cause this book is AMAZING!! full rtc
Want to read
April 7, 2024A gorgeous cover AND Filipino-American rep?? I’m buckled in.
![Profile Image for lami ♡ [free palestine].](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.gr-assets.com%2Fimages%2FS%2Fcompressed.photo.goodreads.com%2Fusers%2F1751091525i%2F145244264._UX200_CR0%2C25%2C200%2C200_.jpg&w=128&q=75)
June 3, 2024
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and Clare Osongco for sending me an e-arc in exchange for an honest review!
4.5 stars ✧˖°.
This was written for a specific person, and that's me at fourteen. Deedee is so dear to me. Reading about her is like looking at a croaked mirror that reflects your past self and wanting to hold her, but she isn't realanymore.
Plot and Writing - This is no doubt an amazing debut. I'm honestly glad it came across my radar. I loved reading about these characters because they frustrated me and made me empathize with them. The plot, as simple as it may seem leads to such a beautiful story. I'm glad it took the route it did. Clare clearly knows what she's doing and I can't wait for whatever she writes next.
Characters - I say this for so many characters and most times it's true but Deedee and her feelings so perfectly describe me at a time. Her disconnect with who she wants to be and who she is is so perfectly real. She's complicated, messy and a bit hot-headed but also quiet and afraid. |I love her so much for her flaws and for growing and making choices that seemed hard to her.
Jay holds a lot in his heart and I get it he has so much weight on his shoulder and no one to help ease the load. I'm happy he got a lot of closure and his story was just as important as Deedee's. The love interest always orbits around the main character like they don't exist outside the context of them and I'm happy that didn't happen with Jay.
Deedee's mom was a bad mother. Her trauma doesn't excuse that. She said and did so many horrible things constantly. I'm glad she got the help she needed and had an honest conversation with Deedee. Nobody is perfect but some people are so messed up they don't even see when they're hurting the people they think they're protecting.
So many of the side characters had so much going for them and I love it.
Conclusion - I really did enjoy this and learnt new things about Filipinos. I would love to read a horror book featuring an aswang. Finding out how the CIA used them to strike fear into the hearts of Filipinos, yikes. The USA is almost always on the wrong side of history. I would definitely recommend this book to everyone, even though it deals with a lot of hard topics it's really well-written and beautiful.
4.5 stars ✧˖°.
This was written for a specific person, and that's me at fourteen. Deedee is so dear to me. Reading about her is like looking at a croaked mirror that reflects your past self and wanting to hold her, but she isn't real
Plot and Writing - This is no doubt an amazing debut. I'm honestly glad it came across my radar. I loved reading about these characters because they frustrated me and made me empathize with them. The plot, as simple as it may seem leads to such a beautiful story. I'm glad it took the route it did. Clare clearly knows what she's doing and I can't wait for whatever she writes next.
Characters - I say this for so many characters and most times it's true but Deedee and her feelings so perfectly describe me at a time. Her disconnect with who she wants to be and who she is is so perfectly real. She's complicated, messy and a bit hot-headed but also quiet and afraid. |I love her so much for her flaws and for growing and making choices that seemed hard to her.
Jay holds a lot in his heart and I get it he has so much weight on his shoulder and no one to help ease the load. I'm happy he got a lot of closure and his story was just as important as Deedee's. The love interest always orbits around the main character like they don't exist outside the context of them and I'm happy that didn't happen with Jay.
Deedee's mom was a bad mother. Her trauma doesn't excuse that. She said and did so many horrible things constantly. I'm glad she got the help she needed and had an honest conversation with Deedee. Nobody is perfect but some people are so messed up they don't even see when they're hurting the people they think they're protecting.
So many of the side characters had so much going for them and I love it.
Conclusion - I really did enjoy this and learnt new things about Filipinos. I would love to read a horror book featuring an aswang. Finding out how the CIA used them to strike fear into the hearts of Filipinos, yikes. The USA is almost always on the wrong side of history. I would definitely recommend this book to everyone, even though it deals with a lot of hard topics it's really well-written and beautiful.
October 3, 2023
I was fortunate to read multiple drafts of this book and when i tell you it is one of the best books ive ever read, I'm not exaggerating.
This book is full of yearning, confusion, love, diaspora, and so so so much heart. its one of the only books that's ever kept me up at night. it ripped my soul to shreds and helped me cry a giant weight off my shoulders.
And most important to me, mixed southeast asian rep 🤍
You won't stop thinking about this book for months, truly
This book is full of yearning, confusion, love, diaspora, and so so so much heart. its one of the only books that's ever kept me up at night. it ripped my soul to shreds and helped me cry a giant weight off my shoulders.
And most important to me, mixed southeast asian rep 🤍
You won't stop thinking about this book for months, truly
February 29, 2024
devastated me, pulled me into a soft haze of night running and running until the sunrise. i loved how prickly and complex this was allowed to be and how incredibly real it felt, how soft the want for wonder. ya contemporary at its finest. treacherous by taylor swift meets love rosie, in my head !
nope
November 21, 2024DNF @ 9% because of the insta-love and the pathetic MC.
The book begins and the MC takes a photo of a stranger she spoke to for 20 seconds. Bizarre, right off the bat.
She randomly finds this guy the following day and does the following: “I (…) tug my shorts down slightly so it’s more obvious I’m wearing a crop top”…… That has to be the most ridiculously pathetic thing I’ve ever seen someone do. 😭 All this so a STRANGER will…… what?? Notice your bellybutton?? Bitch STAND UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 😭😭😭
The dude (who at this point she spoke to for a total of 1 minute in her entire lifetime) is making her feel “pins-and-needles” in her chest, and when their fingers accidentally brush it “sends a little jolt” down her spine………… 🤡🤡🤡 Yup. It’s insta-love………………
When she gets home, she can’t stop thinking about this random boy: “Jay’s laugh rings in my ears. I’m trying not to think about his eyes in the golden afternoon light. Or his hands, the way they do that nervous flexing thing. Or his mouth when it curled into a smirk.”. Mind you, she doesn’t even know him, at this point…
I looked through the ebook and they kiss at around 40%, and she says she’s “wanted this for so long”, which, yeah, I could tell, because she’s literally catching feelings from the moment they first talk…… 🙃
Aff… Anyways. I was really excited to read this book, but I am sooooooooooo sick and tired of insta-love!!!!!!! So I just refuse to set myself up for another mediocre read. I’m not gonna waste more time on a book that most definitely wont go above 3 stars. If you don’t mind looking past the insta-love, maybe you’ll enjoy this. I, however, am already annoyed, and I only read like 30 pages, so goodbye forever.
The book begins and the MC takes a photo of a stranger she spoke to for 20 seconds. Bizarre, right off the bat.
She randomly finds this guy the following day and does the following: “I (…) tug my shorts down slightly so it’s more obvious I’m wearing a crop top”…… That has to be the most ridiculously pathetic thing I’ve ever seen someone do. 😭 All this so a STRANGER will…… what?? Notice your bellybutton?? Bitch STAND UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 😭😭😭
The dude (who at this point she spoke to for a total of 1 minute in her entire lifetime) is making her feel “pins-and-needles” in her chest, and when their fingers accidentally brush it “sends a little jolt” down her spine………… 🤡🤡🤡 Yup. It’s insta-love………………
When she gets home, she can’t stop thinking about this random boy: “Jay’s laugh rings in my ears. I’m trying not to think about his eyes in the golden afternoon light. Or his hands, the way they do that nervous flexing thing. Or his mouth when it curled into a smirk.”. Mind you, she doesn’t even know him, at this point…
I looked through the ebook and they kiss at around 40%, and she says she’s “wanted this for so long”, which, yeah, I could tell, because she’s literally catching feelings from the moment they first talk…… 🙃
Aff… Anyways. I was really excited to read this book, but I am sooooooooooo sick and tired of insta-love!!!!!!! So I just refuse to set myself up for another mediocre read. I’m not gonna waste more time on a book that most definitely wont go above 3 stars. If you don’t mind looking past the insta-love, maybe you’ll enjoy this. I, however, am already annoyed, and I only read like 30 pages, so goodbye forever.
May 11, 2025
it was not my intention to read this the day before mother’s day and most definitely fucked me up a little
November 21, 2024
What I adored about this book was how real it felt. Deedee’s struggles with being caught between two cultures and wanting to make her family proud hit home so hard. Her growth—from feeling small and unsure to standing tall and brave—was so raw and inspiring. And Jay? He’s the kind of love interest you root for—flawed, tender, and perfectly imperfect. Their bond felt less like a love story and more like two souls finding solace in each other’s scars.
This is the kind of prose that sneaks up on you, wrapping you in warmth one moment and tearing you apart the next. This isn’t just a romance; it’s a deep dive into what it means to love, to lose, and to find yourself. I’m still thinking about it days later. Truly unforgettable
This is the kind of prose that sneaks up on you, wrapping you in warmth one moment and tearing you apart the next. This isn’t just a romance; it’s a deep dive into what it means to love, to lose, and to find yourself. I’m still thinking about it days later. Truly unforgettable
July 11, 2024
This was so brutal and so good.
July 23, 2025
‧₊˚ 🍂 ᭪ started 16.05.25
˖ finished 16.05.25
❝what's wrong with you, inside there,
deedee? are you missing a part?❞
˖ finished 16.05.25
❝what's wrong with you, inside there,
deedee? are you missing a part?❞
December 30, 2024
A devastating, moving and ultimately hopeful story of grief, parental emotional abuse, first love diaspora and generational trauma. This was raw, brutal, messy and beautiful. The romance tugged at every one of my heart strings and the ending was pure perfection.
TW: emotional abuse from a parent, racism, anti immigration rhetoric
TW: emotional abuse from a parent, racism, anti immigration rhetoric
October 26, 2024
"Midnights with You" by Clare Osongco is one of those books that pulls you in with a quiet intensity and leaves you thinking about it long after the last page. It follows Deedee, a seventeen-year-old whose life is wrapped in layers of family secrets, guilt, and the heavy weight of unspoken trauma. She meets Jay, the boy across the street, with his own baggage, and the two connect through sleepless nights and secret driving lessons, finding solace in each other’s messy lives.
Deedee and Jay’s relationship is raw, real, and not without its complications. The beauty of their midnight escapades is both an escape and a mirror for their pain—they’re two people just trying to understand themselves in the middle of family trauma(and drama) they didn’t choose but have to live with. And there’s something so relatable in the way Deedee is just stuck, feeling the pressure to be the perfect daughter while wanting so much to break free and live her own life.
What I loved most is that Clare doesn’t shy away from hard truths. The story doesn’t wrap up with a neat, fairy-tale ending. Instead, it’s full of heartache and hope, asking if we can really let go of the pain passed down to us and choose something better. It’s a story about finding strength in vulnerability and learning that sometimes, facing the truth is the bravest thing you can do.
If you’re into coming-of-age stories that tackle family, love, and mental health with honesty and sensitivity, "Midnights with You" is worth adding to your list. It’s haunting in the best way, and Deedee and Jay will stay with you, making you wish for just one more midnight spent together.
stayed up until 5am to complete this book in one setting, that's how good it is😔🙏
Deedee and Jay’s relationship is raw, real, and not without its complications. The beauty of their midnight escapades is both an escape and a mirror for their pain—they’re two people just trying to understand themselves in the middle of family trauma(and drama) they didn’t choose but have to live with. And there’s something so relatable in the way Deedee is just stuck, feeling the pressure to be the perfect daughter while wanting so much to break free and live her own life.
What I loved most is that Clare doesn’t shy away from hard truths. The story doesn’t wrap up with a neat, fairy-tale ending. Instead, it’s full of heartache and hope, asking if we can really let go of the pain passed down to us and choose something better. It’s a story about finding strength in vulnerability and learning that sometimes, facing the truth is the bravest thing you can do.
If you’re into coming-of-age stories that tackle family, love, and mental health with honesty and sensitivity, "Midnights with You" is worth adding to your list. It’s haunting in the best way, and Deedee and Jay will stay with you, making you wish for just one more midnight spent together.
stayed up until 5am to complete this book in one setting, that's how good it is😔🙏
February 18, 2025
Midnights With You was such a surprising read and in a good way. It's a poignant and heartfelt YA story revolving around themes like complex parent-child relationship, being an immigrant, intergenerational trauma, grief etc. There are very few books that make me cry and this was on of them. And that ending was so good. I wasn't expecting it to end like that but it was perfect. Both the characters were well written and their character arc was amazing but Deedee is especially going to be in my head for a long time. I am not going to forget about this book any time soon.
November 26, 2024
This was so good, omg
December 11, 2024
✩┄•͙✧⃝•͙┄review✩•͙͙✧⃝•͙✩
3.5 Stars
*ੈ✩‧₊˚
˚☽˚.⋆ ᶻ 𝘇 𐰁
(っ˕ -｡)ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁
Midnights with You by Clare Osongo is an atmospheric story following two teens who fall in love over a series of midnights filled with late-night conversations. Deedee struggles to sleep, wandering the neighborhood in search of herself and buried truths. When Jay comes into her life, Deedee finds someone who finally understands her.
The vivid imagery Osongo uses enhances the atmospheric quality and importance of Deedee's midnight drives. I found both Deedee's and Jay's characters to be written in such a realistic way. This book highlights the significance that people can have in our lives. Furthermore, Osongo explores topics of mental health, family, friendship, and healing. Deedee and Jay are both hurting people, and as the saying goes: hurt people hurt people. This book is far from light-hearted, showing the pain and heartbreak that can come with love.
I loved the raw way that trauma is explored and the way it impacts one's day-to-day life. While there are many things to like about this book, my overall rating was brought down due to a couple of aspects. As someone who generally prefers slow-burn romances, the pace of the romance in this book seemed to move at a faster pace than I had expected. In addition, family and friendship are two parts of the novel that take a backseat compared to the romance. I would have appreciated it if Deedee's relationship with Suzy was explored on a deeper and more detailed level. Certain scenes in the novel felt unnecessary, either reiterating a part scene or not being explored as much as it deserved. When it came to Deedee and Jay's relationship, I wished for more emotional depth between them. Often, the two would run into issues created by the same problem: a lack of communication. Despite this, the novel was still an enjoyable and emotional read.
3.5 Stars
*ੈ✩‧₊˚
˚☽˚.⋆ ᶻ 𝘇 𐰁
(っ˕ -｡)ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁
Midnights with You by Clare Osongo is an atmospheric story following two teens who fall in love over a series of midnights filled with late-night conversations. Deedee struggles to sleep, wandering the neighborhood in search of herself and buried truths. When Jay comes into her life, Deedee finds someone who finally understands her.
The vivid imagery Osongo uses enhances the atmospheric quality and importance of Deedee's midnight drives. I found both Deedee's and Jay's characters to be written in such a realistic way. This book highlights the significance that people can have in our lives. Furthermore, Osongo explores topics of mental health, family, friendship, and healing. Deedee and Jay are both hurting people, and as the saying goes: hurt people hurt people. This book is far from light-hearted, showing the pain and heartbreak that can come with love.
I loved the raw way that trauma is explored and the way it impacts one's day-to-day life. While there are many things to like about this book, my overall rating was brought down due to a couple of aspects. As someone who generally prefers slow-burn romances, the pace of the romance in this book seemed to move at a faster pace than I had expected. In addition, family and friendship are two parts of the novel that take a backseat compared to the romance. I would have appreciated it if Deedee's relationship with Suzy was explored on a deeper and more detailed level. Certain scenes in the novel felt unnecessary, either reiterating a part scene or not being explored as much as it deserved. When it came to Deedee and Jay's relationship, I wished for more emotional depth between them. Often, the two would run into issues created by the same problem: a lack of communication. Despite this, the novel was still an enjoyable and emotional read.
February 15, 2024
thank you to netgalley, the publisher and clare osongco for sending me this e-arc. it in no way affected my review.
deedee is seventeen. she can’t drive, she isn’t allowed to practice photography and her relationship with her mother is worth at least a mitski album or two. her filipino heritage raises a horde of questions that her mother isn’t willing to answer and most days, deedee feels completely alone.
until she meets jay - the new neighbour, the boy who sits on the roof across hers, lets her photograph him and teaches her to drive.
this is the most beautiful story. it’s full of the aching and yearning of your favourite coming-of-age movie, the secret midnight drives, complex family dynamics of southeast asian households and mother-daughter bonds. clare osongco somehow manages to combine everything i love about books, about love and life and family, and condensed it into a novel i cannot wait to have on my shelf (and the cover is gorgeous too??)
i cannot thank clare enough for giving me the privilege of reading this. she’s so wonderful to speak to and i cannot wait for this book to bring her the success she absolutely deserves. it’s without a doubt the best arc i have ever read and i cannot wait for you all to grab a copy 🩷
‘midnights with you’ releases nov 12th !!
deedee is seventeen. she can’t drive, she isn’t allowed to practice photography and her relationship with her mother is worth at least a mitski album or two. her filipino heritage raises a horde of questions that her mother isn’t willing to answer and most days, deedee feels completely alone.
until she meets jay - the new neighbour, the boy who sits on the roof across hers, lets her photograph him and teaches her to drive.
this is the most beautiful story. it’s full of the aching and yearning of your favourite coming-of-age movie, the secret midnight drives, complex family dynamics of southeast asian households and mother-daughter bonds. clare osongco somehow manages to combine everything i love about books, about love and life and family, and condensed it into a novel i cannot wait to have on my shelf (and the cover is gorgeous too??)
i cannot thank clare enough for giving me the privilege of reading this. she’s so wonderful to speak to and i cannot wait for this book to bring her the success she absolutely deserves. it’s without a doubt the best arc i have ever read and i cannot wait for you all to grab a copy 🩷
‘midnights with you’ releases nov 12th !!
May 6, 2024
What an evocative, immersive, refreshing debut by Osongco. I devoured this YA contemporary in one sitting because I simply could not put it down. Osongco crafted a masterpiece of an anxious, reclusive teen, one who battles herself (and her mother's influence) from the first page all the way to the last, making such a satisfying emotional journey. DeeDee was an authentic teen who brought me to tears several times; she was so relatable even though my lived experience was so different than hers. THE PROSE-- you could lick these beautiful words off the page, they're so stunning. AND THE ROMANCE! Ugh, the sweetness of the romance, and its slow burn, friendship to lovers perfection. Thank you for the chance to read this early; I can't wait to see what Osongco writes next.
February 13, 2023
this is literally the best book i’ve ever read
January 14, 2024
Edit 1: THE COVER IS OUT. LOOK AT IT!!!!!! can’t wait to be a mess of tears again when i get a physical copy
Beta read in 2022 and when I say I CRIED SEVERAL TIMES.
Beta read in 2022 and when I say I CRIED SEVERAL TIMES.
January 13, 2025
I love the cover and thought this sounded so good. I really enjoyed the beginning but the second half made me anxious and feel so tense and upset. At first, It’s exactly what I was wanting and what the cover gives. I love when that happens. It makes me feel so nostalgic for when I was in high school, driving late at night with a friend or a boy and the way it feels. I also love taking pictures so I love relating to the main character in that way. I just love how the way the cover looks is exactly how I feel when reading it. It goes so perfect together. The first 150 pages of that were great. But after that everything changes. The love interest becomes mean and creates a toxic relationship with Deedee. The main character, Deedee, her mom says terrible things to her. She’s probably the worst mom I’ve ever read in a book before. It was hard to read the awful things she would say to Deedee. Being with Jay was a nice escape from her terrible home life. I loved reading Jay and Deedee bonding and I thought he would be a good guy. He seems sensitive and caring. It was sweet he offered to teach her how to drive and he always asks her what’s wrong when she seems upset.
I love that he gives her a Polaroid camera. I loved him as a love interest at first because he was so sweet and made her happy. I really liked their relationship until right after they start dating it just skips to a month after they’re dating and Jay is acting different and then he just breaks up with her? He breaks up with her and says things like ‘it’s not my fault you hate yourself’ and ‘I can’t fix you’ okay, she doesn’t hate herself. Her mom is always telling her how she ruined her life and how terrible she is. Her mom is creating a terrible home life for her and Deedee needs to tell someone and get out of that situation. He shouldn’t be assuming things about her and using them as a reason to break up with her. I don’t like time jumps that take away letting us see something important. Like why didn’t we get to see them being together for a month, why did we skip to Jay breaking up with her? Ugh. Those chapters were just so hard to read because they made me anxious. And I hate that Deedee just lets her mom be so mean to her and she doesn’t tell anyone. She barely tries to tell anyone and she doesn’t stand up for herself at all until later. After that I just really didn’t enjoy reading it because it was just making me frown and anxious. Later Jay is so confusing too, he says he misses her and is acting really sweet again after breaking up with her only to start yelling at her again and saying really mean things to her. It’s just messed up. I really really liked the first 150 pages of this book but then it’s never the same again, and It sucks that Deedee kind of got back together with him only for him to yell at her the next morning after leaving her alone for hours in a hotel room. I know she told him that her mom is mean and that she blames her for ruining her life so he shouldn’t be saying mean things to her, he should be the rock that is there for her and helps her. I just hate that it seemed like he was exactly what she needed like a good person to escape with but then he turns into someone who is also mean to her. I’ve read books like this before where the boyfriend is someone completely there for the main character and wants to help her get out of the bad home situation. And succeeds. But since Jay is so stressed about his own life and Deedee didn’t fully explain how awful her mom is to her every day he can’t really understand how much she needs help. I just wish this was written differently because it was just making me so anxious and upset anytime he would say he can’t fix her or he needs two seconds away from her ugh. He literally sleeps with her and then the next morning yells at her and leaves her alone in a hotel room for hours and comes back and says ‘I didn’t answer your messages because I needed 2 seconds away from you.’ Wtf??? They were apart for weeks or months I don’t even knew how long and they had only been spending time together again for one day and then he says that. I wanted to be able to root for their relationship but after he said those things to her I just couldn’t anymore. My enjoyment and rating went down a lot, I don’t want to feel so anxious and tense for hours while reading a book. I have read An Arrow To The Moon which also has similar themes but the relationship was happy so I was able to enjoy the book way more because the love interest was not mean to the main character.
I think this book is well written but the plot just becomes unenjoyable. Another thing that started to bother me was every character started ending a sentence with an exclamation point, at first it was just Deedee so i thought that was a personality trait of hers when she got upset but then everyone started to do it. I just hate everything that happens after that, like they’re having a conversation. Jay says he wants to be with her and that he loves her and just because they get interrupted he assumes she doesn’t feel the same way. They could have finished their conversation but instead she goes with them to a party and he immediately ditches her??? Oh my god it’s so frustrating. She doesn’t like being alone at parties. Anytime there’s a party nothing good happens with other people. Like just say I love you too before he walks away. Ugh. Most of the entire second half of the book just made me feel so bad and anxious. I don’t think that makes it a bad book because I’m sure some people didn’t feel that way but it wasn’t enjoyable to me so I can’t give it a 4 star rating like I had hoped and wanted to. And reading other reviews made me feel less alone because other people said this was tough for them to read as well. I hate lack of communication, I hate that Jay still didn’t understand how mean and abusive her mom is even after she screamed at them. I hate that he just left and didn’t come back to see if she was okay. How did he not get it? It was just too frustrating. I get the message is that he can’t save her but dude he could try to get her out of an abusive home life. That’s more important. Just getting her out of there. It makes me sad and confused that no one understands that Deedee needs to get out of her mom’s house.
I think the ending of this story can be comforting in a way to people that have gone through this. It’s nice they could make their way back to each other after years but I feel like the message is too strong of you can’t be in a relationship if you’re in the thick of going through something hard. That’s just not true for everyone and I feel like the author is saying you can’t. It’s possible for your significant other to help you out of a bad situation, if Deedee had told him really how bad her mom treated her I feel like he would have tried to get her help. And it just made me upset that he never did that because the author didn’t want a boy to save her? Ultimately the people who loved her, Jay and Suzy, never helped her out of that situation. It’s good her mom went to therapy but we never got to see Deedee really talk or realize that her mom never should have treated her that way and that she could have left her since she was treating her so bad. The book is just pushing too hard a message that therapy fixes everything and a boy shouldn’t and can’t save you. Sure that can be true for some people but not everyone.
I love that he gives her a Polaroid camera. I loved him as a love interest at first because he was so sweet and made her happy. I really liked their relationship until right after they start dating it just skips to a month after they’re dating and Jay is acting different and then he just breaks up with her? He breaks up with her and says things like ‘it’s not my fault you hate yourself’ and ‘I can’t fix you’ okay, she doesn’t hate herself. Her mom is always telling her how she ruined her life and how terrible she is. Her mom is creating a terrible home life for her and Deedee needs to tell someone and get out of that situation. He shouldn’t be assuming things about her and using them as a reason to break up with her. I don’t like time jumps that take away letting us see something important. Like why didn’t we get to see them being together for a month, why did we skip to Jay breaking up with her? Ugh. Those chapters were just so hard to read because they made me anxious. And I hate that Deedee just lets her mom be so mean to her and she doesn’t tell anyone. She barely tries to tell anyone and she doesn’t stand up for herself at all until later. After that I just really didn’t enjoy reading it because it was just making me frown and anxious. Later Jay is so confusing too, he says he misses her and is acting really sweet again after breaking up with her only to start yelling at her again and saying really mean things to her. It’s just messed up. I really really liked the first 150 pages of this book but then it’s never the same again, and It sucks that Deedee kind of got back together with him only for him to yell at her the next morning after leaving her alone for hours in a hotel room. I know she told him that her mom is mean and that she blames her for ruining her life so he shouldn’t be saying mean things to her, he should be the rock that is there for her and helps her. I just hate that it seemed like he was exactly what she needed like a good person to escape with but then he turns into someone who is also mean to her. I’ve read books like this before where the boyfriend is someone completely there for the main character and wants to help her get out of the bad home situation. And succeeds. But since Jay is so stressed about his own life and Deedee didn’t fully explain how awful her mom is to her every day he can’t really understand how much she needs help. I just wish this was written differently because it was just making me so anxious and upset anytime he would say he can’t fix her or he needs two seconds away from her ugh. He literally sleeps with her and then the next morning yells at her and leaves her alone in a hotel room for hours and comes back and says ‘I didn’t answer your messages because I needed 2 seconds away from you.’ Wtf??? They were apart for weeks or months I don’t even knew how long and they had only been spending time together again for one day and then he says that. I wanted to be able to root for their relationship but after he said those things to her I just couldn’t anymore. My enjoyment and rating went down a lot, I don’t want to feel so anxious and tense for hours while reading a book. I have read An Arrow To The Moon which also has similar themes but the relationship was happy so I was able to enjoy the book way more because the love interest was not mean to the main character.
I think this book is well written but the plot just becomes unenjoyable. Another thing that started to bother me was every character started ending a sentence with an exclamation point, at first it was just Deedee so i thought that was a personality trait of hers when she got upset but then everyone started to do it. I just hate everything that happens after that, like they’re having a conversation. Jay says he wants to be with her and that he loves her and just because they get interrupted he assumes she doesn’t feel the same way. They could have finished their conversation but instead she goes with them to a party and he immediately ditches her??? Oh my god it’s so frustrating. She doesn’t like being alone at parties. Anytime there’s a party nothing good happens with other people. Like just say I love you too before he walks away. Ugh. Most of the entire second half of the book just made me feel so bad and anxious. I don’t think that makes it a bad book because I’m sure some people didn’t feel that way but it wasn’t enjoyable to me so I can’t give it a 4 star rating like I had hoped and wanted to. And reading other reviews made me feel less alone because other people said this was tough for them to read as well. I hate lack of communication, I hate that Jay still didn’t understand how mean and abusive her mom is even after she screamed at them. I hate that he just left and didn’t come back to see if she was okay. How did he not get it? It was just too frustrating. I get the message is that he can’t save her but dude he could try to get her out of an abusive home life. That’s more important. Just getting her out of there. It makes me sad and confused that no one understands that Deedee needs to get out of her mom’s house.
I think the ending of this story can be comforting in a way to people that have gone through this. It’s nice they could make their way back to each other after years but I feel like the message is too strong of you can’t be in a relationship if you’re in the thick of going through something hard. That’s just not true for everyone and I feel like the author is saying you can’t. It’s possible for your significant other to help you out of a bad situation, if Deedee had told him really how bad her mom treated her I feel like he would have tried to get her help. And it just made me upset that he never did that because the author didn’t want a boy to save her? Ultimately the people who loved her, Jay and Suzy, never helped her out of that situation. It’s good her mom went to therapy but we never got to see Deedee really talk or realize that her mom never should have treated her that way and that she could have left her since she was treating her so bad. The book is just pushing too hard a message that therapy fixes everything and a boy shouldn’t and can’t save you. Sure that can be true for some people but not everyone.
Want to read
April 9, 2024arc secured 🥹❤️
April 20, 2024
“i love you, it’s ruining my life” but it's in the context of mother-daughter relationships.
Midnights With You literally feels like midnight, that space in time where you find yourself vulnerable and hanging around in a melancholic liminal space. It’s written with a quiet anguish that perfectly encapsulates the rage and sadness of the characters as well as convey such emotions to the reader. There's a heartbreaking quiet in the way Clare Osongco writes that makes you stop, reflect, and contemplate.
Deedee’s life is closed off, thanks to her emotionally abusive mother. But then she meets Jay, and they find comfort in each other. However, their trauma threatens to ruin their relationships—with each other, with their families, and with their friends.
Although this is pitched as a romance, this is also a coming-of-age, slice-of-life story. It’s a complex and nuanced book. Diaspora and generational trauma, emotional abuse and how it’s spilled over and manifested in Deedee’s self-worth and other relationships, difficult and seemingly irreparable mother-daughter relationships, the common plight of Asian immigrant kids—all put on plain print with such raw and honest words. It's also realistic how there's a push and pull with all these relationships and realizations. It shows us that healing is not linear at all.
There’s so many lessons to be learned from this book. I often found myself in Deedee’s shoes while reading, and I feel like I just grew up alongside her once I finished this. It had me bursting into tears two pages in. So, so beautiful.
Safe to say, this ruined me on a personal level and I will now be begging everyone to read this once it comes out.
Thank you so much to Clare Osongco for the ARC :>
Midnights With You literally feels like midnight, that space in time where you find yourself vulnerable and hanging around in a melancholic liminal space. It’s written with a quiet anguish that perfectly encapsulates the rage and sadness of the characters as well as convey such emotions to the reader. There's a heartbreaking quiet in the way Clare Osongco writes that makes you stop, reflect, and contemplate.
Deedee’s life is closed off, thanks to her emotionally abusive mother. But then she meets Jay, and they find comfort in each other. However, their trauma threatens to ruin their relationships—with each other, with their families, and with their friends.
Although this is pitched as a romance, this is also a coming-of-age, slice-of-life story. It’s a complex and nuanced book. Diaspora and generational trauma, emotional abuse and how it’s spilled over and manifested in Deedee’s self-worth and other relationships, difficult and seemingly irreparable mother-daughter relationships, the common plight of Asian immigrant kids—all put on plain print with such raw and honest words. It's also realistic how there's a push and pull with all these relationships and realizations. It shows us that healing is not linear at all.
There’s so many lessons to be learned from this book. I often found myself in Deedee’s shoes while reading, and I feel like I just grew up alongside her once I finished this. It had me bursting into tears two pages in. So, so beautiful.
Safe to say, this ruined me on a personal level and I will now be begging everyone to read this once it comes out.
Thank you so much to Clare Osongco for the ARC :>
November 11, 2024
Chapter Two starts with the line "If I could drive, i could fix it." and as someone who resorts to midnight driving whenever things became out of control, I could not agree more.
Midnights with You is one of my most anticipated 2024 YA releases since the author posted the prompts about this book and I became even more excited when I saw the cover art looking both calm and mysterious.
In this story, we follow two high school seniors as they get to know each other over late-night driving lessons while also talking about the one thing they have in common: family trauma.
First thing that I want to highlight is how beautiful the author's writing style. MWY is written in a way that it celebrated the characters' honesty and vulnerability as something synonymous to strength. Both MCs are aware of the reality in their respective houses and they decided to try to control it on their own thinking that they should carry the burden alone along with the fear of bothering others. But the story progression showed that through mutual connections, heavy things became bearably lighter.
The story is wrapped in a theme that is relatable to many - intergenerational trauma. Deedee and Jay grew up in a house with single mothers who are suffering from painful experiences and it was heartbreaking how these translated to the MCs feeling accountable not only for their own survival but for their household as well.
Filipino representation is the biggest factor why I want to read, review, and promote this book. I am always on the lookout for Akdang Pinoy (releases from Filipino authors both locally and internationally) and after reading, I want to commend how fitting November as its release month given the plenty of scary references - both fictional and anecdotal.
Romance happened realistically and I like how the discussion of their feelings did not overshadow the equally-important discourse about the MC's respective mental health. Who would have thought that having a new neighbor will result to being able to conquer your fear of acknowledging your feeling and learning to drive a stick? Definitely not Deedee.
There are so many things to talk about this book and I highlighted so many lines that really resonated with me but what made this debut novel stood out is the realistic and soulful interpretation of young adults who are attempting to find answers even when their closest ones try to bury the truth.
There are different ways of handling and healing from trauma - in the story of Deedee and Jay I'm grateful that they found solace through each others' presence and conversations about their shared wounds.
This is definitely a five-star read and I highly recommend if you want a hard-hitting YA that tackles generational trauma, family secrets, grief and healing, while taking you to multiple late-night drives.
Midnights with You is one of my most anticipated 2024 YA releases since the author posted the prompts about this book and I became even more excited when I saw the cover art looking both calm and mysterious.
In this story, we follow two high school seniors as they get to know each other over late-night driving lessons while also talking about the one thing they have in common: family trauma.
First thing that I want to highlight is how beautiful the author's writing style. MWY is written in a way that it celebrated the characters' honesty and vulnerability as something synonymous to strength. Both MCs are aware of the reality in their respective houses and they decided to try to control it on their own thinking that they should carry the burden alone along with the fear of bothering others. But the story progression showed that through mutual connections, heavy things became bearably lighter.
The story is wrapped in a theme that is relatable to many - intergenerational trauma. Deedee and Jay grew up in a house with single mothers who are suffering from painful experiences and it was heartbreaking how these translated to the MCs feeling accountable not only for their own survival but for their household as well.
Filipino representation is the biggest factor why I want to read, review, and promote this book. I am always on the lookout for Akdang Pinoy (releases from Filipino authors both locally and internationally) and after reading, I want to commend how fitting November as its release month given the plenty of scary references - both fictional and anecdotal.
Romance happened realistically and I like how the discussion of their feelings did not overshadow the equally-important discourse about the MC's respective mental health. Who would have thought that having a new neighbor will result to being able to conquer your fear of acknowledging your feeling and learning to drive a stick? Definitely not Deedee.
There are so many things to talk about this book and I highlighted so many lines that really resonated with me but what made this debut novel stood out is the realistic and soulful interpretation of young adults who are attempting to find answers even when their closest ones try to bury the truth.
There are different ways of handling and healing from trauma - in the story of Deedee and Jay I'm grateful that they found solace through each others' presence and conversations about their shared wounds.
This is definitely a five-star read and I highly recommend if you want a hard-hitting YA that tackles generational trauma, family secrets, grief and healing, while taking you to multiple late-night drives.
November 3, 2024
Oh how i cried right before falling asleep, reading this. In recent times i don’t think a book has made me feel like this.
Trigger warning : on page - depictions of a parent being emotionally abusive, slapping, depression, grief and racism, and brief scene of sexual harassment, off page - parental death, domestic violence.
for everyone who;
༘⋆ feel lost
༘⋆ have been blaming themselves for stuff they have no control over
༘⋆ feel like nobody understands them
༘⋆ are night owls
I don’t quite know how to start writing the review of a book like this but let me first tell you how beautiful the writing was, Clare Osongco definitely has one of the best ya debuts i have read, the book is filled with grief, heartbreak and trauma but to write it in a way that is beautiful is quite the talent.
plot : Deedee and Jay are neighbours, bonding over their habit of staying up late for their own reason. They become an anchor in each other’s life, they start to fall in love between those stolen moments and late night drives they go on to forget their family situations and worries.
characters : Deedee, first of all deserves all the love and warmth in this world, growing up with just her immigrant mother, after the death of her father she was always made to feel like she was the problem the cause of everything wrong with their lives, unlucky, unlovable deedee and when she encounters jay she carries that insecurity in that relationship with her as well, she is messy and lost and a little like all of us. Her growth through the book and her standing up for herself was satisfying to a great extent.
jay, well my boy wasn't exactly the greenest flag but he was trying at least, he was just like deedee a little messy caught up in his own issues caused due to his family or by himself sometimes…at least he was trying to be better, to get better.
Both deedee and jay are raw and real characters sometimes clueless, sometimes taking the wrong decisions but just like all of us they too have their reasons and triggers.
Another very important character was deedee’s mom and it’s hard to completely judge her. Yes she had her struggles, she had her fair share of traumatic incidents but that doesn't really justify what she did with deedee, however you can’t even claim her to be the root of all evil. Was she a bad mom? yes but was she a bad individual? not completely she is complex to say the least, Clare wrote a character like her so well because even though she did all that she did, i can't say i completely hate her.
romance This is marketed as a romance but i think it’s more than that, it's a coming of age novel about a girl whos living through the ghosts of her ancestral trauma, carrying and freeing herself through generational trauma and the cycle of abuse, unlearning all of the self hate that was installed in her and trying to love herself.. Jay and her chemistry was sometimes cute, sometimes messy with this on and off relationship which didn’t feel forced, they loved and cared for each other but sometimes couldn't find the right words or actions to do so
i really enjoyed reading it and i'm looking forward to reading more work by Clare Osongco in the future.
Thank you Clare for reaching out and sending me an arc in return for an honest review
initial review
OKAY WOW WOW I HAD TO STOP TO SOB, I LOVED IT AND IT MADE ME SO SAD ( in a good way ) i just, it's too my to process rn, but to say the least, i highly recommend it with every bone in my body
Trigger warning : on page - depictions of a parent being emotionally abusive, slapping, depression, grief and racism, and brief scene of sexual harassment, off page - parental death, domestic violence.
for everyone who;
༘⋆ feel lost
༘⋆ have been blaming themselves for stuff they have no control over
༘⋆ feel like nobody understands them
༘⋆ are night owls
I don’t quite know how to start writing the review of a book like this but let me first tell you how beautiful the writing was, Clare Osongco definitely has one of the best ya debuts i have read, the book is filled with grief, heartbreak and trauma but to write it in a way that is beautiful is quite the talent.
plot : Deedee and Jay are neighbours, bonding over their habit of staying up late for their own reason. They become an anchor in each other’s life, they start to fall in love between those stolen moments and late night drives they go on to forget their family situations and worries.
characters : Deedee, first of all deserves all the love and warmth in this world, growing up with just her immigrant mother, after the death of her father she was always made to feel like she was the problem the cause of everything wrong with their lives, unlucky, unlovable deedee and when she encounters jay she carries that insecurity in that relationship with her as well, she is messy and lost and a little like all of us. Her growth through the book and her standing up for herself was satisfying to a great extent.
jay, well my boy wasn't exactly the greenest flag but he was trying at least, he was just like deedee a little messy caught up in his own issues caused due to his family or by himself sometimes…at least he was trying to be better, to get better.
Both deedee and jay are raw and real characters sometimes clueless, sometimes taking the wrong decisions but just like all of us they too have their reasons and triggers.
Another very important character was deedee’s mom and it’s hard to completely judge her. Yes she had her struggles, she had her fair share of traumatic incidents but that doesn't really justify what she did with deedee, however you can’t even claim her to be the root of all evil. Was she a bad mom? yes but was she a bad individual? not completely she is complex to say the least, Clare wrote a character like her so well because even though she did all that she did, i can't say i completely hate her.
"okay" he says, tucking the two pictures into the pocket of his jacket, over his heart. "they can live next to each other".
romance This is marketed as a romance but i think it’s more than that, it's a coming of age novel about a girl whos living through the ghosts of her ancestral trauma, carrying and freeing herself through generational trauma and the cycle of abuse, unlearning all of the self hate that was installed in her and trying to love herself.. Jay and her chemistry was sometimes cute, sometimes messy with this on and off relationship which didn’t feel forced, they loved and cared for each other but sometimes couldn't find the right words or actions to do so
i really enjoyed reading it and i'm looking forward to reading more work by Clare Osongco in the future.
Thank you Clare for reaching out and sending me an arc in return for an honest review
initial review
OKAY WOW WOW I HAD TO STOP TO SOB, I LOVED IT AND IT MADE ME SO SAD ( in a good way ) i just, it's too my to process rn, but to say the least, i highly recommend it with every bone in my body
May 22, 2025
2.5 - I would recommend Midnights with You for readers who don't mind 1) the lack of communication trope and 2) unlikeable characters with intense trauma. I will disclaim that Midnights with You hit me very hard, as I strongly relate to the emotionally abusive parenting. The fact that it felt so real and that my own journey is very different from Deedee's makes me biased. I bring this up because I also read a YA book with a TON of trauma called All My Rage, but I had more distance from the characters, and that story was written in a way that made me want to root for the characters, unlike this one. Deedee's mother's dialogue was the closest I have ever seen on a page to what I experienced, so I will give Osongco credit on that aspect of the book. I also liked the premise, but I felt like the book needed some tweaks in execution.
What Didn't Work for Me
Lack of communication never works for me. I get that the characters are teens and lack of communication is realistic, but I have never seen it executed well. I also think there is a difference in avoidant dialogue versus hurtful dialogue. Both Deedee and Jay would always cover up their true feelings by saying awful things to the other person.
On that note, teenage life is messy, and I have no problem with messy relationships being portrayed in books. However, there was an element of making the reader root for Deedee and Jay, which was not a healthy relationship. The end resolved it a tiny bit, but I do think it is problematic to put such toxicity front and center with minimal acknowledgment of the wrongs in a YA book.
I think Osongco should have cut some of the pages and aimed to both tighten the plot and make it less repetitive. I almost DNF-ed this book because it went like this for the first 60%: Deedee and Jay go on a drive --> one or the other tries to get the other to open up --> the person who doesn't want to open up gets triggered and shouts something awful to the other person --> they make up the next day for the new drive. It was so heavy, and I hated both of them. If I didn't read a review that mentioned a resolution arc at the end of the book, I would have given up because I felt hopeless reading about people who hate themselves and are hurting each other.
Therefore, I would have preferred a book focused on Deedee and her mother, as well as further developing Deedee's friendship with Suzy. Or, if romance was the intention, to cut the beginning repetition and focus on the repair. Because the issues are so heavy, they are usually not satisfactorily solved in one short chapter. I think the author was trying to tackle too much and the subplots took away from the main plot instead of enhancing it.
One subplot that was interesting to me was the integration of the aswang. I would have loved to see that aspect of Filipino culture more connected to Deedee, like how the jinn played a role in Evil Eye. Instead of this, the author was trying to throw in random bits of Filipino history, but it wasn't solidly integrated.
Overall, I wanted to see Deedee take more accountability for defining her future, though the ending had some nice first steps. I would read another book by this author, in the hopes that there would be clearer direction and less relatability (so I'm less judgmental).
What Didn't Work for Me
Lack of communication never works for me. I get that the characters are teens and lack of communication is realistic, but I have never seen it executed well. I also think there is a difference in avoidant dialogue versus hurtful dialogue. Both Deedee and Jay would always cover up their true feelings by saying awful things to the other person.
On that note, teenage life is messy, and I have no problem with messy relationships being portrayed in books. However, there was an element of making the reader root for Deedee and Jay, which was not a healthy relationship. The end resolved it a tiny bit, but I do think it is problematic to put such toxicity front and center with minimal acknowledgment of the wrongs in a YA book.
I think Osongco should have cut some of the pages and aimed to both tighten the plot and make it less repetitive. I almost DNF-ed this book because it went like this for the first 60%: Deedee and Jay go on a drive --> one or the other tries to get the other to open up --> the person who doesn't want to open up gets triggered and shouts something awful to the other person --> they make up the next day for the new drive. It was so heavy, and I hated both of them. If I didn't read a review that mentioned a resolution arc at the end of the book, I would have given up because I felt hopeless reading about people who hate themselves and are hurting each other.
Therefore, I would have preferred a book focused on Deedee and her mother, as well as further developing Deedee's friendship with Suzy. Or, if romance was the intention, to cut the beginning repetition and focus on the repair. Because the issues are so heavy, they are usually not satisfactorily solved in one short chapter. I think the author was trying to tackle too much and the subplots took away from the main plot instead of enhancing it.
One subplot that was interesting to me was the integration of the aswang. I would have loved to see that aspect of Filipino culture more connected to Deedee, like how the jinn played a role in Evil Eye. Instead of this, the author was trying to throw in random bits of Filipino history, but it wasn't solidly integrated.
Overall, I wanted to see Deedee take more accountability for defining her future, though the ending had some nice first steps. I would read another book by this author, in the hopes that there would be clearer direction and less relatability (so I'm less judgmental).
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