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The Midnight Dress

Karen Foxlee

3.62 · Rating details · 1,471 ratings · 309 reviews

Quiet misfit Rose doesn't expect to fall in love with the sleepy beach town of Leonora. Nor does she expect to become fast friends with beautiful, vivacious Pearl Kelly, organizer of the high school float at the annual Harvest Festival parade. It's better not to get too attached when Rose and her father live on the road, driving their caravan from one place to the next whe ...more

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Hardcover, 288 pages

Published October 8th 2013 by Knopf Books for Young Readers (first published January 1st 2013)

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Feb 01, 2014 Carolyn rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: relationships, australian-author, mystery, ya

The book opens with a girl wearing a dress the colour of midnight waiting in a park and sets a level of suspense and mystery for the rest of the story. Told in two time frames this is the story of a missing girl and the events that led to her disappearance.

Rose Lovell has arrived in the small town of Leonora in tropical Queensland with her drifter father. They have been on the road with their caravan constantly moving from one town to another since Rose's mother died when she was young. She know ...more

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Mar 02, 2013 Shelleyrae at Book'd Out rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: provided-by-publisher, arc-are, aussie-author

Will you forgive me if I tell you the ending?

The Midnight Dress begins with a girl waiting anxiously in the darkness, the sounds of the town celebrating echoing in the distance, wondering what she will say when he comes for her. This is the girl that will disappear, the girl wearing the midnight dress.

The narrative shifts between the present, as a Detective searches for the missing girl, and the past as present as the midnight dress comes to be. Rose arrives in the small northern Queensland town
Will you forgive me if I tell you the ending?

The Midnight Dress begins with a girl waiting anxiously in the darkness, the sounds of the town celebrating echoing in the distance, wondering what she will say when he comes for her. This is the girl that will disappear, the girl wearing the midnight dress.

The narrative shifts between the present, as a Detective searches for the missing girl, and the past as present as the midnight dress comes to be. Rose arrives in the small northern Queensland town of Paradise with her alcoholic father, is befriended by Pearl despite her reluctance and with the Harvest Parade celebration imminent agrees to work with the eccentric Edie Baker to create a dress for the occasion. A midnight dress of deep navy blue, mourning lace and glass beads, hand sewn by Rose while she listens to the stories Edie has to share.

I saw The Midnight Dress labeled as 'rural Australian gothic' (I am not really sure where - sorry about that) and thought it the perfect description. It has many of the elements associated with the genre - a wild, isolated landscape, a crumbling house, an illicit love affair, a lurking sense of something 'other'.

The suspense is finely crafted, despite the intertwining narrative that foreshadows the grief and loss. There is a haunted quality that reminds me of The Picnic at Hanging Rock, it has that sense of an inexorable slide towards tragedy, of menace waiting to take advantage of innocence.

The Midnight Dress is beautifully written with a lyrical rhythm and evocative language. I felt as though I could step inside Edie Baker's house, crowded with decaying junk, mildewed fabric and lost dreams. Gaze upon the looming mountain covered with dense forest, a waterfall burbling in the distance as the sweat of tropical humidity trickles uncomfortably down my spine. Spy on Pearl's flirtation with Paul amongst the tiny, musty rooms of the book exchange.

Despite the teenage protagonist I would say this novel exceeds the boundaries of young adult fiction, it is more than a coming of age tale even as it delves into the angst of adolescence. The Midnight Dress is compelling, a story of loss, of yearning and dark enchantment and leaves me eager to read more from Karen Foxlee.

...more

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May 03, 2020 Deborah Ideiosepius rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2020-reading-challenge, fiction, australiana, australian-authors, young-adult

This was a really, really well written enjoyable book. I am honestly a little surprised it took me so long to get to it.

Set entirely in Far North Queensland, the descriptions of the town, rainforest, sea an region are spot on! I living in FNQ for quite a while and this book skillfully brought the region luminously to life. The deft handling of the small details was utterly charming to anyone who has spent time in our tropics, I hope it would be as charming and as evocative to others as well. I c This was a really, really well written enjoyable book. I am honestly a little surprised it took me so long to get to it.

Set entirely in Far North Queensland, the descriptions of the town, rainforest, sea an region are spot on! I living in FNQ for quite a while and this book skillfully brought the region luminously to life. The deft handling of the small details was utterly charming to anyone who has spent time in our tropics, I hope it would be as charming and as evocative to others as well. I could see the town so clearly through the eyes of the author, I wonder if I can guess which town it was modeled on?

Now, as to the plot, the back cover does not do in justice "A GIRL IS MISSING" it blares at you, making you think it is a mystery. It is a mystery, in a way,but the mystery is subtle a curious,organic blending of past and present, emotions and the inner lives of the characters in the novel.

Fifteen year old Rose Lovell and her father are driffters, traveling around the country towing their caravan, Mr Lovell has a a very clear pattern, get to a new place, love it and stay sober for a few weeks, then get drunk wreck it all and move on. Rose has become miserable and numb over the years since her mother died and tags aimlessly along.

Then, the beginning of the story, they reach the town in ~~Innifail~~ *cough* sorry, Leonora and while Rose did not plan on enrolling in school, the caravan park owner seems all set to ring social services, so she does. This makes a huge difference in her life as she is befriended by the effervescent Pearl Kelly who we suspect becomes Rose's first ever friend. Pearl is beautiful and popular, but she is also quirky, curious and sees the best in everyone. Rose tries to push her away at first but Pearl never even notices and they become friends.

Now we encounter the main theme of the book, Leonora has a harvest festival each year and all the high school girls get fancy dresses, Rose ends up going to an old local woman, Edie who lives alone under the shadow of the past, in a disintegrating old Queenslander house on the edge of the rainforest. She will make Rose a dress for the festival, the midnight, magical dress of the title. But she will only do it if Rose helps her make it. he descriptions of planning and making the dress, and the stories Edie tells of her past while making it are the main narrative of the book.

Now, the narrative has past/present motif, from the start we have the story of Rose, Pearl and the midnight dress that is the backbone of this very, very nicely planned book. We also have the further past of Edie's story's of her life and ancestry, that are relevant to the location. But the part that brings in the tension, the knowledge that a crime of some kind has been committed, that the midnight dress is somehow a catalyst for something very bad....That part is downright masterful!

Throughout we have italicized sections which follow the aftermath of whatever happened, of the Cairns detective summoned to solve a mysterious crime which we never quite hear about, it is hinted at and teases you along through the story. The first sentence in the book is Will you forgive me if I tell you the ending? but it is deceptive, we never know the ending until we have read all the way through.

Great book, I was way more impressed that I expected to be. ...more

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Aug 10, 2013 Heather rated it really liked it

Shelves: aussie, arc-tour, october-2013, knopf-byr

It took me a little while to read through this one--but it was a lovely book--it's a mystery, it's got some magical realism in it, very subtle though--and it is a story-within-a-story format, which I LOVE. It's an Aussie setting, and unlike most of the Aussie books I've read, the setting isn't urban but VERY rural: a tiny town in Queensland. It's a tropical setting, there are cane farms and rocky beaches, and loads of jungle (bush). What struck me most was the mention of all the Australian flora It took me a little while to read through this one--but it was a lovely book--it's a mystery, it's got some magical realism in it, very subtle though--and it is a story-within-a-story format, which I LOVE. It's an Aussie setting, and unlike most of the Aussie books I've read, the setting isn't urban but VERY rural: a tiny town in Queensland. It's a tropical setting, there are cane farms and rocky beaches, and loads of jungle (bush). What struck me most was the mention of all the Australian flora and fauna--exotic names and descriptions of plants and trees I've never heard of before-- the landscape and the nature found in it played a HUGE role in this book. I loved that about it.

I guess technically this is a YA book--though it read like an adult book in my opinion, I think there would be wide crossover appeal there.

More soon:)

*Updated Review*

I didn't know, when I read the synopsis of The Midnight Dress, that it was written by an Australian writer and took place in that country. I adore just about very Australian work I have ever read--but something stood out in this synopsis and I was excited to get the opportunity to read it and all that was before I knew it was an Aussie. I think it was the hints at magical realism--missing girls, and outcast girls and beautiful midnight blue dresses sewn by supposed local witches-- that was SO appealing to me. Now throw in the fact that it's written by an Aussie (we all know how incredible they all seem to be) and set in Australia and we have the makings of a fantastic read.

And guess what? It was. But what was even more fantastic were the surprises. Like how literary it reads. Or how it feels like it could be written for both young adults and adults. And, for me, something that really stood out was the fact that it is set, not in the more populous, urban settings of Sydney or Melbourne, but in a rural setting near Cairns, Queensland. Queensland; the northern part of the continent, bordering the ocean and filled with jungles, cane farms and rocky seaside cliffs.

I LOVED this about The Midnight Dress. I loved the steamy, overgrown, wet setting of bush and cane fields. I have read Melina Marchetta and Kirsty Eagar and Cath Crowley with their gritty, raw city settings but in Foxlee's books it was just the opposite. It was small town life, where everyone knows everyone and is all up in their business all the time. And I loved all the incredibly mysterious, exotic, FOREIGN flora and fauna that Foxlee writes about. It played a big role in this book, and really made an impression on me.

I also loved that it's a story within a story--a style that I will probably never tire of in the books that I read. The book jumps back and forth in time. We read about protagonist Rose, the outcast, the drifter teen with the drifter/ alcoholic father, and then we read about the after--the events following a terrible event--the disappearance? the murder? of a yet-to-be-identified girl in the small town of Leonora.

But we also get the story of the local seamstress Edie, the woman Rose commissions to sew a dress for a local formal, and it's Edie's stories that absolutely captivated me. I have a soft spot for books that involve sewing, quilting, weaving-- I think it is because my grandmother was accomplished at crocheting, and it was always an important part of my life growing up with her. Rose and Edie eventually form a bond--magic in it's own right because Rose is as distant as closed off as they come. I loved the interactions between these two characters, as their trust and affection for each other grew. It is definitely my favorite part of this story.

I don't want to talk too much about the ins and outs of the book. It is a suspense and a mystery wrapped up in a coming of age story, and I think it is best to go into it NOT knowing a whole lot beforehand. But the writing drew me in and the story kept me engaged. The Midnight Dress is definitely one of those books that you will think about long after you've finished reading. It is a standalone (so far as I know) and while not all loose ends are tied up--it felt to me like it concluded well. There is a twist at the very, very end that had me smiling and wondering about these characters and their future.

So, in summation: do you love Aussie writers and books? Do you love mystery and suspense? Are you a fan of YA that straddles the line and almost reads like an adult work of fiction? Do you love literary writing, writing that definitely sets a mood and has a distinct tone? Then you should pick this book up and give it a try. I don't think you'll regret it:) ...more

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Mar 24, 2013 C.G. Drews rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-2014, aussie-authors, contemporary

What just...woah. What? No. This book is equally beautiful and breathtaking and just a little tiny bit confusing. I don't want to ever say anything against it (the writing was just that beautiful. But I'm not 100% sure what happened at the end.

Before we get into the review: Australian books rock. I read waaaay too many American books. I get excited every time I pick up an Aussie book because, a) I relate and b) Australian writers seem to have a very calm writing style (not all, just some) a What just...woah. What? No. This book is equally beautiful and breathtaking and just a little tiny bit confusing. I don't want to ever say anything against it (the writing was just that beautiful. But I'm not 100% sure what happened at the end.

Before we get into the review: Australian books rock. I read waaaay too many American books. I get excited every time I pick up an Aussie book because, a) I relate and b) Australian writers seem to have a very calm writing style (not all, just some) and then BOOM, they tear out your heart like the evil bandicoots they are. I love Aussie authors and their books.

The story is magical. And I don't mean in the hocus-pocus way. While the book kind of indicates it might be a little paranormal, it's not. It's a contemporary, but set in the 80s (I think? Early 90s?). The magic comes with the story style and the breath taking way the author writes. Plus, superstition. In all cultures, people get scared of what they don't understand. So if there's an odd dressmaker, they'll call her a witch and say she bewitched the dress. But the writing, holy cow, the writing ! I'm blown away! It's in third person, present tense, which is unusual and I adore it.

Characters? Rose is the narrator. Her father's a wandering bum type of guy. Kind of sick. They drift from town to town. But in this town, Rose meets Pearl. My oooonly tiny problem was their names! I don't know why! But "Rose" and "Pearl" just feel like really similar names to me and I mixed them up. Maybe it's because the book wasn't strictly narrated by Rose (we bounced heads a bit, which I'm not keen on) in third person. It took me a while to firmly pin the names. Rose is a really hard-core person. Black lipstick. Wild red hair that she hates. Pearl is like a fluffy cloud. I LOVE their contrast. I love how Pearl had to melt Rose and how Rose had to let Pearl in. They had an amazing friendship...even if it sort of torn... Ahem.

Look, I'm going to be honest: I don't really understand the ending. This sometimes happens to me. (Sometimes my brain just doesn't "get" it? I've always had trouble.) And I'm mortified, because I loved this book so much, and I feel really stupid for not understanding exactly what happened. I wish I did. (view spoiler)

I loved the bits of omnipresent narration before each chapter. They were tidbits of the "end". The book starts with "Will you forgive me if I tell you the ending?" They added huge mystery to each chapter. And then it started tying together...amazing. The thought of writing this book is amazing.

Okay, enough of this soppy gushing. This is an awesome book. Definitely read it. You will end up like this:

...more

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Dec 16, 2013 Jeretta Hall-Robinson rated it it was ok

Since the reviews were so good for this book I was excited to read it. However, after the first chapter my enthusiasm waned. I felt that the writing was disjointed, jumping from one storyline or character point of view to the next. As far as the plot goes, I figured out who the missing girl was, what happened to her, and who did it by page 95. But I kept reading to fill in the details.
As far as the characters go, I felt like Rose wasn't developed enough. She would randomly say something but the ...more

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Jul 12, 2013 Jen Ryland added it

Shelves: arcs, favorites

One of my favorites of 2013!

I went into this book expecting the typical YA paranormal -- new girl in town, big dance coming up at school, prom dress…. yada, yada -- the same story I've read a dozen times over.

What I got instead was a spellbinding story that's one part dark fairy tale, one part coming of age story, one part mystery. Told in beautiful -- yet compellingly readable -- prose, with vivid setting, and an inventive narrative structure, The Midnight Dress had me enthralled from the first One of my favorites of 2013!

I went into this book expecting the typical YA paranormal -- new girl in town, big dance coming up at school, prom dress…. yada, yada -- the same story I've read a dozen times over.

What I got instead was a spellbinding story that's one part dark fairy tale, one part coming of age story, one part mystery. Told in beautiful -- yet compellingly readable -- prose, with vivid setting, and an inventive narrative structure, The Midnight Dress had me enthralled from the first sentence.

I loved the way that the book's narrative flashed forward and back, alternating between the investigation of a tragedy on the night of the Harvest Festival to the story of Rose Lovell, who arrives in a sleepy beach town in Queensland, Australia, with her charming, ne'er-do-well father. In the wrong hands, this kind of technique can be confusing, but it worked beautifully here. Each storyline -- the investigation and Rose's integration into town -- moves forward on its own, but each illuminates the other.

The story is set in Queensland, Australia in 1986. (I hadn't even realized that the book was set in the 1980s until one of the characters referred to a major world event.) As in many Australian novels, the setting is a central part of the story. From the violent rainstorms of the "wet"season to the snakes that slither through the sugar cane fields, the book's descriptions convey the simultaneous beauty and menace of nature.

The Midnight Dress is one of those books that feels as if it was casting a magical spell over me as I read. There are the two main story lines, as described above, but then the narrative is also filled with other, smaller stories of love and betrayal and tragedy. Rose's friend Pearl tells Rose about the wildly romantic (and wildly improbable) plots of the romance novels she picks up at the Blue Moon Book Exchange. As Rose and town recluse Edie Baker work to sew Rose's Harvest Festival dress, Edie tells Rose strange and tragic stories about her family. As I read, I could feel the way that all Rose's emotions and all Edie's family history were being sewn right into Rose's dress. By the time the Harvest Festival arrives, I was almost expecting something really dramatic and crazy -- Carrie-prom-style. But, when the tragedy was finally revealed, it was like everything else in this book -- understated and deeply resonant.

I highly recommend this one, especially to fans of dark, lush, atmospheric books like Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by April Genevieve Tucholke or Chime by Franny Billingsley. ...more

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Feb 19, 2019 Jay G rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Want to see more bookish things from me? Check out my youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfer...

When Rosie moves to the small town of Lenora with her alcoholic father, she doesn't expect to stay long. She definitely doesn't think she'll stay long enough to take part in the Harvest Day Parade. Then she meets a girl named Pearl and she convinces her to get her dress from an old lady named Edie Baker, the towns rumored witch. They make a beautiful gown of midnight blue together which ...more

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Jan 25, 2014 Jill rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2014-favorites, australian, young-adult

A gorgeous slip of the book that excels in creating that elusive thing: atmosphere. And despite seemingly displaying its twists and turns for all to see from the very beginning, it manages to surprise, particularly in a stabby-heart kind of way.

Anyone who loved The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender will appreciate this. It has the same tragic family legends, the same magical devotion to a craft (here it is dressmaking instead of baking) and the same hard-earned wisdom about life. The ...more

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Mar 27, 2017 Roberta R. (Offbeat YA) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, high-school, edge-of-society, contemporary, mc-female, troubled-teens, visual-arts-and-crafts, family-issues, pov-3rd-person, thriller-or-mystery

Excerpt from my review - originally published at Offbeat YA.

Pros: Atmospheric read, with characters who get under your skin. Evocative writing.
Cons: Quiet (if gloomy) story, where not much happens - at least on the surface.
WARNING! Description of a dead body (not graphic). Suicide by hanging. Alcohol addiction. An inappropriate relationship. The prelude of a would-be sex scene. A couple of male anatomy references.
Will appeal to: Those who can appreciate a subtly woven, darkly magical tale.

This Excerpt from my review - originally published at Offbeat YA.

Pros: Atmospheric read, with characters who get under your skin. Evocative writing.
Cons: Quiet (if gloomy) story, where not much happens - at least on the surface.
WARNING! Description of a dead body (not graphic). Suicide by hanging. Alcohol addiction. An inappropriate relationship. The prelude of a would-be sex scene. A couple of male anatomy references.
Will appeal to: Those who can appreciate a subtly woven, darkly magical tale.

This is not only a reread book (which is usually the case when I write a full review), but a re-reread one. And I ended up giving it the full 5-star treatment (I originally rated it 4.5 in my 2018 mini-review), because even if not much happens, the story, the characters and the overall magic never get old for me. Also, just so you get your bearings: the story is set in 1986, in a small Australian beach town.

THE HEART OF THE MATTER

This is one of those quiet books where - despite a murder (and a murder mystery at that) being at its center, and a suicide occurring later in the story - it feels like nothing happens...except there's a lot boiling down the surface. I wouldn't even go as far as to say that it's character-driven, though some of the characters do stand out. The best way I can describe it is, it's magic-driven...and no, I don't mean magical realism. It's just that the atmosphere, the protagonist, the dressmaker's family tale, the (spellbinding) writing, all together create a thing of beauty, sad and melancholic, and yet warm and cozy like an old blanket. The mystery itself isn't hard to figure out, even if until the end there's an ambiguity about the perpetrator...but not about the victim, not anymore - if there ever was, because to me, it was clear early on which of the girls was killed...and then again I don't think that her identity was the point: it was more about how she ended up there. What I mean is, for a murder-mystery-centered book, TMD reads awfully (or, well, beautifully) like a mesmerising story about family and friendship, memories and choices, and about how love won't necessarily save you but can damn you instead. [...]

Whole review here. ...more

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Sep 29, 2015 Sheri rated it really liked it

Shelves: coming-of-age, male-female-power-sex-attractivenes, fantasy, kid-young-adult

This is in the same vein as Gone Girl or Girl on a Train; the author appears to be straightforward, but is really misleading the reader. I was not completely misled (figured out both "switcheroos" about half way through), but I did enjoy watching it unfold. Both Rose and Pearl were believable teenagers (although in different ways) and the story was complex enough without relying on convenience or obvious distractions.

I think my only complaint was that there was no real insights or witty commenta ...more

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Apr 09, 2017 Diane rated it liked it

I tried to like this book, really. Alas, it was just kind of boring. Most of the characters were boring. Oh well, they can't all be "my favorite book ever"! ...more

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Dec 05, 2013 Karissa rated it really liked it

I got a copy of this book to review through the Amazon Vine program. I thought the premise was fascinating and had heard some great things about this book. It ended up being a very interesting and creepy young adult horror/paranormal read.

This is about a girl named Rose who moves with her nomadic father to the city of Paradise. There she meets a girl named Pearl who convinces Rose to have an old woman named Evie help Rose make a dress for the upcoming Harvest Festival. As things start to unfold, I got a copy of this book to review through the Amazon Vine program. I thought the premise was fascinating and had heard some great things about this book. It ended up being a very interesting and creepy young adult horror/paranormal read.

This is about a girl named Rose who moves with her nomadic father to the city of Paradise. There she meets a girl named Pearl who convinces Rose to have an old woman named Evie help Rose make a dress for the upcoming Harvest Festival. As things start to unfold, tragedy befalls the town of Paradise...all because of the events surrounding the midnight blue dress that Evie and Rose make.

The book was formatted in a really interesting way. Each chapter starts with an italicized portion that is in current time, then the book goes back to the past and the majority of the chapter is spent in the past figuring out how Evie and Pearl got to where they are in the present.

The writing is beautiful, the pace of the story is deliberate and mysterious. This is basically about an unlikely friendship between two girls who are each suffering through their own problems. It is a creepy story, mainly because of Rose’s unpredictable and sometimes drunken father and because of an older man named Paul that Pearl is infatuated with.

Rose is an interesting character. She moves a lot and has a hard time making friends. Her father is also very poor, so she doesn’t have much in the way of material items. For some reason Pearl takes an interest in Rose and kind of adopts her; Rose is stunned by this but also somewhat grateful to finally have someone in her life that she can share things with.

Pearl is also an interesting character. She is a romantic and constantly dreams of leaving town and exploring the wider world. Pearl thinks everything is beautiful and that it is all a game. She expects the best of everyone, most of the time this brings out the best in everyone but sometimes it leads people to expect things from her they shouldn’t.

There is some magical realism in here, but when I think back to the story everything can pretty much be explained through non-magical means. There are hints that the dress Rose and Evie make is something more and that Evie has roots in witchcraft.

There are some pretty big twists right at the end of the story. You totally think you know what is going on and then bam! the story takes you by surprise. It doesn’t feel contrived or anything, and after you find out what really happened you find yourself thinking back to the story and then going “Huh, yeah, that completely makes sense.”

Overall this was an intriguing book. While not the type of book I would normally read, it was an engaging book that was beautifully written. The story was told in a very creative way and I love how we got glimpses of the present while we were being told the story that led to that present. I would recommend to those who love creepy thriller-like reads with some magical realism in them. ...more

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Mar 24, 2013 Steph rated it really liked it

The Midnight Dress is not classified as a YA novel (it's a coming of age tale, really, and many literary fiction titles for a general adult audience focus on this adolescent angst without explicitly being YA), though it features teenaged protagonists. The Midnight Dress is beautifully written, slightly surreal, just exquisite. Though it didn't interest me based on the blurb, once I started reading I was entirely entranced. It's unique and lovely, but also very dark - I recommend it to older teen ...more

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Jan 01, 2014 Kate Forsyth rated it it was amazing

Shelves: australian, aww2013, gothic, contemporary, murder-mystery

The Midnight Dress is a beautiful, haunting, tragic tale of love and loss and yearning. Told in a series of stories within stories, it circles around the mysterious disappearance of a girl one night in a far north Queensland town. The setting is superbly created, the characters are vivid and achingly alive, and the writing is exquisite. I particularly loved the character of the old seamstress Edie who, by teaching the young, sullen heroine Rose to sew and telling her stories of her own past, tea ...more

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Jan 17, 2019 Stacey Potter rated it it was amazing

One of my favourite reads in a very long time.

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Sep 05, 2020 Renita D'Silva rated it it was amazing

Just beautiful and heart breaking

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Dec 27, 2013 Naberius rated it it was amazing

I was completely captivated by this story. The combination of the exotic (well, exotic to me, at least) setting and the compelling main character made for a page-turning read, that once I finished, I wanted to start all over again. That doesn't usually happen to me in a book, which makes me glad that this is the last book of the year that I finished, letting me end my reading on a high note.

So let's start with the setting. Rose and her father move to a small, rural town in Australia, which is de I was completely captivated by this story. The combination of the exotic (well, exotic to me, at least) setting and the compelling main character made for a page-turning read, that once I finished, I wanted to start all over again. That doesn't usually happen to me in a book, which makes me glad that this is the last book of the year that I finished, letting me end my reading on a high note.

So let's start with the setting. Rose and her father move to a small, rural town in Australia, which is described so well by the author that I could feel the humidity closing in on me at times. Admittedly, I don't like heat and humidity at all, so reading this book sometimes made me want to fan myself (or at least step outside for a moment. I live in the Chicago area, so it's nice and cold right now). The town, itself, isn't described so much as some of the parts that are outside of town, like where Rose and her father live, and where the dressmaker's house is. I've never been to Australia, so I wasn't familiar with some of the plants and animals in the book. However, this just made me want to look them up, and hope they were all real.

And speaking of settings, the house that Edie (the dressmaker) lives in is a character all unto itself. The author creates something that seems to be more than a house, almost, where there might just be small bits of magic happening. It's not the loveliest house; actually, it's far from it. "The house is falling apart. There's a tree growing through the front stairs. Everywhere there's the detritus of the forest. The leaves drying in small piles in the corners of rooms and seedpods jammed in the floorboards. The curtains are dappled with mildew and festooned with spiderwebs." (p. 45-46). But somehow, despite its condition (and apparent smell, I'd imagine, considering the mildew and constant humidity), it's fascinating. It's hard to imagine Edie living in it, but at the same time, it's completely appropriate.

The characters are well-written, and not all of them are likable (which is perfectly fine with me - I don't need to like a character, as long as I find them interesting). Rose is a bit prickly and difficult, and a real opposite to Pearl. Her home situation is also the opposite of Pearl, so I found it interesting that we have two teen characters who are similar and different, and we have the adults that way, as well. I liked that not all of the adults were wonderful, and helpful, and supportive. What I mean is: Rose's father isn't that great of a father, and I liked that he's this way, because it felt more realistic to me.

One of the things that I enjoyed in this book was that there is a story within a story going on here. You get Rose's story, in the present (more or less), as well as the story that is going on right after someone (actually, two people) go missing. You get the perspective from Rose, but you also get the perspective from Detective Glass. I also liked that when Rose meets Edie and gets to know her, that Edie tells her stories of her own life. So, it's stories wrapped in stories (like a wonderful present in a beautiful box filled with layers of colorful tissue paper). I wasn't always sure what was going to happen, either, which made it a great read.

This is one of the most beautiful books that I've read, mostly because it's beautifully written, but also because I felt like it was intelligently written. It made me want to look up things, and places. It made me imagine things, and it made me feel like I wanted to know some of the characters better. It made me wonder about what happened to some of them after the book. It's a talent not all authors have, and one that I really appreciate. ...more

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Jan 03, 2013 Tonile {My Cup and Chaucer} rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013-release

This review originally appeared at http://mycupandchaucer.com/the-midnig....

Rose Lovell is used to moving around a lot. Her life with her father has followed a fairly similar pattern over the years: they will arrive and for a while her father will stay off the drink; until one day he won’t, and then they will pack up and move and start the whole process again. Rose has learnt not to become comfortable. She has learnt not to become attached to people or places, so as to avoid constant disappointm This review originally appeared at http://mycupandchaucer.com/the-midnig....

Rose Lovell is used to moving around a lot. Her life with her father has followed a fairly similar pattern over the years: they will arrive and for a while her father will stay off the drink; until one day he won’t, and then they will pack up and move and start the whole process again. Rose has learnt not to become comfortable. She has learnt not to become attached to people or places, so as to avoid constant disappointment. But this time, in a small north Queensland sugarcane town aptly named Paradise, things are different.

Rose’s father isn’t drinking. Working as a banana picker, it seems Mr Lovell has found an admirer in the woman who manages the caravan park the Lovell’s are living in. Rose too is acting differently. Despite her best efforts to be guarded and cold, her classmate Pearl Kelly has worn down Rose’s barriers and the two girls have grown close–and yet Rose always keeps Pearl at a certain distance. Pearl and her friends convince Rose to take part in the town’s annual Harvest Parade– but Rose’s father can not afford the extravagance of her classmates’ dresses, so she forms an unlikely friendship with Edie Baker, a local seamstress. As Edie teaches Rose the fine art of dressmaking, she tells Rose the story of her family and their association with the hidden cabin on the mountain. Though hesitant at first, Rose gets swept up in the magic and the romance of the mountain. But infatuation and obsession can be dangerous–one of the girls will not live to see the sun rise after the Harvest Parade.

The way this book is written makes it virtually impossible to put down. Foxlee uses two alternating narratives and moves between the current investigation into the disappearance of the girl in the midnight dress, and the events that occurred in the lead up to the Harvest Parade. This foreshadowing effect is genius–before the reader meets Rose, Pearl, and the other characters, they are immediately informed that one of the local girls is missing. Foxlee knows just how much to give readers before switching to the past events, and I found myself desperate to keep reading and find out what had happened. But this isn’t your usual mystery/thriller novel. Foxlee’s prose is lyrical and beautiful and her talents as a gifted storyteller are on full display here.

This story is about more than a missing girl in a beautiful dress. It’s about broken people and shattered families. It’s about love and the many different forms it can take. It’s about growing up and dealing with the consequences of your actions. It’s an exquisitely written coming of age story about dealing with the disappointment of reality and finding the courage and strength to keep moving forward. It’s a wonderful tale from a fantastic Australian author and it really should not be missed. ...more

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Sep 05, 2015 Alexandra rated it did not like it

I would write an introduction as to what this book is about, but I have no idea. Is it about a midnight dress? Maybe... or a girl who is supposedly goth, living in poverty with an alcoholic father? Is it about a seamstress or a hut in the forest? I missed the conflict, maybe because I was asleep for most of the time I was reading or because something else was missing, though I'm not sure what that was.
Maybe it was authenticity? I had a lot of trouble wrapping my mind around Rose's gothness; for I would write an introduction as to what this book is about, but I have no idea. Is it about a midnight dress? Maybe... or a girl who is supposedly goth, living in poverty with an alcoholic father? Is it about a seamstress or a hut in the forest? I missed the conflict, maybe because I was asleep for most of the time I was reading or because something else was missing, though I'm not sure what that was.
Maybe it was authenticity? I had a lot of trouble wrapping my mind around Rose's gothness; for some reason, it just didn't seem to fit the rest of her character for me. Her relationship with Edie, the seamstress, also seemed superficial. All the townspeople had said she was a witch, a detail that did not add much at all to the story, as there is no evidence as to why people should and do think this of her. Though Rose is aware of these opinions, it does not stop her from instantly forming a friendship with her in which dark secrets and life stories are spilled. But what is her visit to Edie in the first place: an act of rebellion or something else? I sure don't know. Also, I found Rose to be rude. The way she presents herself to people she just meets, swearing and etc., is unrealistic and a little jarring.
I felt that other details regarding plot were strung together sort of willy-nilly, and sometimes unnecessary. Some aspects were intriguing, however. The setting and the descriptions of it were my favorite part, though I had no idea that the time period was the 1980s until 200 pages in. The prologues to the chapters were a nice addition, though they, as mentioned on the first page, give away the ending. The only motivation to keep reading were the constant encouragements from my cousin, who said the first 2/3 of the book might be slow but that the ending will leave you thinking it is the best book you've ever read. I'm still looking for that last, amazing third, and am surprised to find how many positive reviews this book has received. I am usually such a big fan of Australian YA, but this books just didn't come together for me.
*I was reminded of On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta while reading this, primarily because of the italicized flashbacks/forwards and the setting, though I much preferred Jellicoe Road to The Midnight Dress. ...more

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Jun 19, 2014 marisa inez rated it liked it

Shelves: read-in-2014, emotions-circa-high-school

3.5/4 stars. It was outstanding but I'm stuck between liking it and loving it. I have so many mixed feelings. It wasn't what I was expecting, but the language was so gorgeous even though the story was rather confusing, and it was hard to follow with all the tense switches.
This is one of those books I need to reread. Because It's one of those books you have to read word for word and pay attention to the little details.
It was...beautiful.
Personally, I wish the had focused less on little bits tha ...more

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Apr 12, 2013 Lisa rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary-fiction, made-me-cry, australian-writer, australian-setting

This book broke my heart. See my full review here - http://rochfordstreetreview.com/2013/... ...more

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Aug 29, 2013 Kate rated it it was amazing

Shelves: arc, read-in-2013

Tragically, magically, beautiful.

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Jun 15, 2018 Kimberly Karalius rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: top-favorites

Way darker than I expected after reading OPHELIA, but beautifully written!

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Jun 09, 2014 Laura rated it really liked it

I actually like a book that starts with the ending. The Midnight Dress does exactly that, and it does a brilliant job of it. In fact, Foxlee manages to build the suspense by giving away the “ending” without any of the details: just a murky outline of what happens, so that you know there’s a threat, but you aren’t certain who’s in danger or what that danger is. Better yet, she tells the ending in parallel with the rest of the story, beginning each chapter with a brief snatch of the ending, so tha ...more

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Apr 28, 2015 EA Solinas rated it it was amazing

In the little town of Leonora, a girl is missing... and later found dead. She wears a dress the color of midnight, stitched by a woman said to be a witch.

And throughout "The Midnight Dress," we are haunted by the question of who killed the girl, and which girl she is (there are a number of them). This lush, bittersweet coming-of-age novel is the sort of thing Sarah Addison Allen would write if she were Australian -- beautifully written, fragrant, and with a hint of benevolent magic woven in.

Rose In the little town of Leonora, a girl is missing... and later found dead. She wears a dress the color of midnight, stitched by a woman said to be a witch.

And throughout "The Midnight Dress," we are haunted by the question of who killed the girl, and which girl she is (there are a number of them). This lush, bittersweet coming-of-age novel is the sort of thing Sarah Addison Allen would write if she were Australian -- beautifully written, fragrant, and with a hint of benevolent magic woven in.

Rose and her distant father are drifters, roaming from town to town. She doesn't expect to put down any roots when they settle in Leonora, but she does anyway -- an immediate friendship with the quirky, beautiful Pearl. Currently they're approaching the harvest festival, where it's tradition for all the teenage girls to wear beautiful dresses.

But since Rose has no money, Pearl whisks her off to Edie, the local dressmaker -- who is also rumored to be a witch. Edie is willing to help Rose sew a dress made out of midnight-colored cloth, and tells her stories as they work. As the harvest festival approaches, Rose and Pearl experience the pangs of growing up, love, family and -- ultimately -- tragedy.

"The Midnight Dress" is one of those stories that is steeped in beauty -- Karen Foxlee drapes it in ornate fabrics, colored pebbles, the scent of flowers, hidden beaches and many-colored dresses that shine in the darkness. Her prose is soft, lush, shimmering, with clever descriptive prose ("It smells like the bottom of an old lady's handbag, perfumed, powdery, dusty") that gives the mundane a touch of magic.

The story has a touch of magic too, but mostly it focuses on the coming-of-age of Pearl and Rose. Foxlee weaves many other tales into the story, mostly from Edie -- but mostly it's a simple story about how these two girls grow and change over a short period of time. It's a bittersweet story, because you know it cannot end well -- which makes the story all the more exquisitely lovely.

And of course, Foxlee keeps you hanging with the question of who the girl in the midnight dress is, and what happened to her. Every chapter begins with an italicized flashforward, which deftly avoids revealing who she is until the end.

It's a wrench when her identity is revealed, because by then, both the girls have become wonderfully well-rounded, intricate characters. Pearl is bright, enthusiastic and somewhat odd, sending letters to random Orlovs to find her long-lost father; Rose is introverted and hard-bitten from her lonely life, but begins to bloom out into greater confidence and love as she gains friends. And Edie is a character rounded out by her stories, revealing her compassion, sorrows and oddness.

"The Midnight Dress" is a sensual, bittersweet little novel about two girls' friendship, and it leaves you slightly sad but fascinated.
...more

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Jul 05, 2015 Kitty Jay rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: checked-out-from-library, fiction, mystery

In The Midnight Dress by Karen Foxlee, Rose moves to a small seaside town with her drifter, alcoholic father. She unexpectedly makes a friend in the bubbly and naive Pearl, who encourages Rose to attend the Harvest Dance, a touted event where all the girls show off their dresses and parade on stage. Rose goes to the local seamstress, and rumored witch, Edie Baker, for help making a dress, and slowly becomes wrapped in Edie's life story.

There are three layers to the story, though Foxlee does an a In The Midnight Dress by Karen Foxlee, Rose moves to a small seaside town with her drifter, alcoholic father. She unexpectedly makes a friend in the bubbly and naive Pearl, who encourages Rose to attend the Harvest Dance, a touted event where all the girls show off their dresses and parade on stage. Rose goes to the local seamstress, and rumored witch, Edie Baker, for help making a dress, and slowly becomes wrapped in Edie's life story.

There are three layers to the story, though Foxlee does an admirable job of keeping them distinct from each other, so that the storyline never becomes muddled. The first is the story of Rose herself, and her blossoming friendship with Pearl and nascent fascination with Edie. Edie has her own story to tell, going back to her father and mother's whirlwind romance, and the tragedy of his homecoming from the war. And finally there is the mystery of the girl in the midnight dress and her disappearance on the night of the Harvest Dance.

The mystery is intriguing, but not difficult to solve; aside from a few red herrings, astute readers will be able to pick out both the girl and the perpetrator with little difficulty. The better story is probably Edie's slow unfolding and the path her reputation takes to local witch, and Rose's coming of age.

But even that's not why this is a great book - that's purely the writing. The writing in this book has a dreamy, drifting quality that initially put me off, but then began to reel me in until I was well and truly caught. There are moments of occasional great writing in books - passages that make you stop and read them twice, to savor the words - but this does it throughout. There's no one passage or line that makes you do that; the whole book does. Take Edie's description of love: "Do you know what love is like, Rose? It's like having a sky, a whole sky racing inside of you. Four seasons' worth of sky. One minute you are soaring and then you are all thunderclouds and then you are deep with stars and then you are empty" (180).

If you're looking for verisimilitude, this is not the book. Teenage girls, to my knowledge, have never talked like Pearl or Rose, and women living in strange houses in the woods don't have majestic stories to share. But if you're looking for that mystery, that romance, the sweet breath of words like mist in your mind, that's what this book will give you. ...more

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Jul 13, 2013 Sabrina rated it it was amazing

Short and Sweet:

The Midnight Dress is beautiful, magical and heartbreaking. One of the best for me in 2013 for sure. Karen Foxlee is one of those authors who can create a captivating, gorgeous atmosphere worth losing yourself in. A truly unique and wonderful story!

To Elaborate....

Rose has 'landed' in the small town of Leonora where her and her father have run out of gas. They decide to stay a while but Rose has every expectation that she'll soon be leaving again.... like they always do. So she i Short and Sweet:

The Midnight Dress is beautiful, magical and heartbreaking. One of the best for me in 2013 for sure. Karen Foxlee is one of those authors who can create a captivating, gorgeous atmosphere worth losing yourself in. A truly unique and wonderful story!

To Elaborate....

Rose has 'landed' in the small town of Leonora where her and her father have run out of gas. They decide to stay a while but Rose has every expectation that she'll soon be leaving again.... like they always do. So she isn't looking to make friends. However, sweet & charismatic Pearl latches on to prickly Rose and doesn't let go. The friendship that is formed between them surprises and softens Rose and before long she finds that she has been convinced to participate in the annual Harvest Festival and is in need of a dress.

Pearl suggests that Rose go to Edith Baker, a mysterious old lady on the edge of town whom everyone believes to be a witch. Eventually Rose does go to her and finds the woman waiting for her on the porch of her run down home. Edith agrees to make the dress, but only if Rose assists her. Rose protests that she doesn't know how, but Edith only offers to teach her and asks her to return the following week on Wednesday. Which Rose reluctantly does.

As the Harvest Festival nears, Rose grows nervous watching Pearl play a dangerous game with a man twice her age. But she also grows more comfortable in the company of Edie as the two sit week after week stitching together her midnight blue dress. Edie has an incredible past which she reveals to Rose piece by piece each Wednesday night and through these stories Edie gives Rose what she may need most: a place of her own.

The book itself is told with bits of the ending sprinkled throughout in italics. You know from the first page that someone dies in the end. You even have a pretty good idea of who it is and who did it, but the ending is far from predictable. I really adored Edie's character and story. She definitely has a bit of magic woven into her and she was exactly what closed off, guarded Rose needed.

I recommend this book to fans of The Lovely Bones as it has a similar vibe and beauty about it for a murder mystery. Really an amazing book! Pick it up when it comes out this October!

(Originally posted at iheartyafiction.blogspot.com) ...more

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Jun 23, 2014 Jennifer rated it it was amazing

Summary:
The story is happens in three layers. The present time deals with the murder mystery of a young girl. Then, there are two aspects of flashbacks. The first is about Rose, a girl that doesn't allow herself to settle into one places because her father likes to move around. However, Rose finds herself liking this little town of Leonora and building a friendship with Pearl, a popular local girl that is planning the annual Harvest Festival. As the two girls grow in friendship, Pearl convinces ...more

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Mar 17, 2013 Nike Sulway rated it it was amazing

Shelves: australian, australian-women-writers-challenge

Have you read Karen Foxlee's first novel, The Anatomy of Wings? If not, you are missing out on one of the finest reading experiences ever. And this book, her second, consolidates the fact that Karen is an incredible writer. One who writes with astonishing insight and tenderness.

The Midnight Dress is the story of two young girls - Rose Lovell and Pearl Kelly. Rose is the daughter of a drifter (Patrick Lovell), who has moored his caravan in 'Paradise' (a caravan park) in the lush Queensland beachs ...more

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About Karen Foxlee

Karen Foxlee

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Karen Foxlee is an Australian author who lives and writes in Queensland. Her young adult novels The Anatomy of Wings (UQP/Knopf/Atlantic) and The Midnight Dress (Knopf/UQP/Hot Key Books) have been published internationally to much acclaim. The Anatomy of Wings won the Commonwealth Writers Prize Best First Book 2008 (South Asia/Pacific), the Dobbie Award 2008, and a Parent’s Choice Gold Award in th ...more

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“Girls are good at running away. It's a fact.” — 5 likes

“The Main Street is wide, ridiculously wide, as though when it was built, the town was expecting something amazing to arrive, a thousand people to stake their claim to a patch of soggy green land, a huge boat, Titanic-size, on the back of a truck.” — 4 likes

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