Novel’s sequel puts teens in big danger
In 1993, seventh-grader and Redding native Ian Dawson was abducted in what is now the community’s Clover Creek Preserve. Held for a time by two older boys, he escaped major injuries but, as time passed and the assailants were never identified, he decided to write a fictionalized account. Twenty-five years after the event, Dawson, now living in Los Angeles, published “The Field.”
The YA novel centered around Daniel and his best friend Kyle, both 14, and two adductors, James and Austin. In self defense Daniel causes Austin’s death, James is imprisoned, and the threat is over. The end.
Not exactly. Now, in “Midnight House” ($19.15 in paperback from BookBaby; also for Amazon Kindle, see thefieldya.com) Dawson offers a crackling-good YA sequel that will have readers hooked. Daniel Robinson and Kyle Hanson are now 16, attending Redding’s Enterprise High School, still besties, though Daniel’s trauma-fueled nightmares have made him secretly dependent on sleeping pills and caffeine.
Will there ever be closure?
Kyle is the captain of the junior varsity basketball Hornets, too admiring of Luke Darden, the varsity captain. When Luke invites him and a few other teammates to some “games” at the mysterious Midnight House near Whiskeytown Lake — ostensibly to determine who will be the next varsity captain — Kyle is all in. Daniel is suspicious, but can’t dissuade his friend. Turns out Luke’s older brother, Tyler, was best friends with Austin, and now he schemes to see Kyle and Daniel dead. The
plot … sickens.
The first part of the novel is filled with lighthearted banter about sports and girls. Kyle’s girlfriend is in London on a study abroad program; Daniel meets Amber, who “was behind the counter at The Beadman, a popular arts and crafts store on Park Marina Drive in Redding.” New in town, she
and Daniel hit it off. Both are the same age, both attend EHS. Sparks, anyone?
Then the story becomes darker after Luke and Tyler discover who is responsible for Austin’s death. Kyle’s obsession with pleasing Luke puts Daniel and Amber in mortal danger.
The extreme hazing at Midnight House gives way to a nightmarish life-anddeath showdown at the Sundial Bridge which will test the very meaning of true friendship.