He gives her a tree, and though there are many branches, it is still just a tree. Ultimately, Haig gives Nora (and those of us following along with her) a straightforward path from suicide to closure, from regret to acceptance. And a character who doesn't actively want something - even when it is something so basic as to keep on living - is a hard character to identify with. Or maybe she does, but the arc of the plot hinges on her trying to figure out what exactly it is. what sucks a measure of the color and life from 'The Midnight Library' is that Nora, as a character, doesn't really want anything.īut what sucks a measure of the color and life from The Midnight Library is that Nora, as a character, doesn't really want anything. After meeting another "slider" (as those who can bounce around between multiverse possibilities are called), and discussing the pop-science implications of a multi-dimensional existence, Nora muses on her situation: A simplicity to the narrative that has to be taken as a choice on Haig's part, not an accident. When she finds herself excited again about living, things calm down.Īnd there's a deliberateness to it all.
When Nora loses hope, the library starts to collapse. Infinite possibility, sure, but only one shot at each of them. Infinite options, yes, but maybe not an infinite amount of time in which to choose. Elm's job is to present everything to Nora very clearly and to lay out the stakes very directly. The Midnight Library is unusual in that it follows a plot with no twists, no turns that don't feel like a gentle glide. Haig presents all of this as a straight line.
'The Midnight Library' is unusual in that it follows a plot with no twists, no turns that don't feel like a gentle glide.īut here's the problem. Still, Hank has a winning way of bouncing back from adversity, and like the frequent black-and-white line-and-wash drawings, the typeface is designed with easy legibility in mind.Īn uncomplicated opener, with some funny bits and a clear but not heavy agenda.Haig presents all of this as a straight line. As the aforementioned bully not only chokes in the clutch and gets a demeaning nickname, but is fat, boastful and eats like a pig, the authors’ sensitivity is rather one-sided. He even manages to turn lemons into lemonade with a quick bit of improv when Nick “the Tick” McKelty, the sneering classmate who took his preferred role, blanks on his lines during the performance. Following the pattern laid down in his previous appearances as an older child, he gets plenty of help and support from understanding friends (including Ashley Wong, a new apartment-house neighbor). He is not particularly comforted when his sympathetic teacher adds a nonspeaking role as a bookmark to the play just for him. Hank’s hopes of playing Aqua Fly, a comic-book character, in the upcoming class play founder when, despite plenty of coaching and preparation, he freezes up during tryouts.
#IMAGINE A DAY AND NIGHT BOOK SERIES#
Hank Zipzer, poster boy for dyslexic middle graders everywhere, stars in a new prequel series highlighting second-grade trials and triumphs.
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