Born at Midnight by c.c. hunter

Born at Midnight, C.C. Hunter.  New York: St. Martin's Press, 2011.  e-book, 288 pps.

@CCHunterBooks on Twitter;  http://www.cchunterbooks.com/

Born at Midnight is first in a series written by c.c. hunter.  In the tradition of Rick Riordan, c.c. hunter's novel focuses on the journey of one teen, Kylie Galen, to find her true self in the midst of so many lies.  Kylie, much to her horror, finds herself on a bus being sent to a camp for troubled teens.  Only the camp and the campers are not what they appear to be.

The "trouble" is not of the typical adolescent variety.  The campers are different.  They are vampires, witches, werewolves, fae.  And unknown.  Kylie is the Unknown one.  As such, she initially feels left out by even the teens at the camp.  There is a director who counsels Kylie through her difficulties, some fine cute teen boys, a bit of danger, ghosts, distant relations, a really pissed off lion, and a cute kitten.  The end leaves the reader hankering for more.

I could not help myself.  When at the bookstore this past Saturday, I read all of the other books in this series too. 

sapphoq reviews says:  Good:  Born at Midnight was the correct length to tell the story it told.  [So were the other books].  Bad: Holiday's counseling sessions with Kylie had too much of a feel of therapy for my liking.  Good: Kylie's two friends and all of the campers in the books each had a distinct personality.  Bad:  I thought Holiday's co-leader should have been a lesbian and Holiday her bisexual lover.  An opportunity not to cater to assumed heterosexuality was lost.  The teens at the camp by definition a non-mainstream bunch surely must have had a few non-straight kids within.  There seemed to be a bit of time devoted to the idea that teens should wait until marriage before going all the way.  It came off as propaganda rather than a value sincerely held by Kylie.  Good:  The story in Born at Midnight [and in the sequels] kept moving.  The plot and sub-plots were interesting.  The crises were well-thought out and plausible.  The ghosts were believe-able.  The resolution made sense.  Teens and young adults who were bored with all of the Greek gods and goddesses in the Riordan series will like this series better.  Recommended for the teen and young adult reader.