The Fault in Our Midnight Club

Like millions of you out there, I fell in love with John Green's The Fault in Our Stars, about two terminally ill teens who fall in love at their cancer support group, go on a hunt for an elusive author, and work their way through questions (and sometimes hard-earned answers) about infinity, the potential for God, why we're all here, and the nature of the Universe. In his expertise, Green manages to make us laugh, cry, & wonder in spades -- Hazel and Augustus's journey becomes our own.

With all the hype surrounding the upcoming feature film based on the book (sure do admire you, Shailene Woodley!), I decided to go back and re-read...Christopher Pike's The Midnight Club. Famous primarily for his thrilling, thought-provoking teen horror stories, those of us "in the know" are drawn to Pike's works because he dives deeper -- even in the midst of gory, gutsy whodunits -- into questions of spirituality, morality, and finding our unique place on this earth (or in the stars). The more famous he became, the more Pike took chances (and his publishers let him take chances) with edgier themes, esoteric concepts, and characters who live in ambiguous emotional gray zones. He's even written some books that land smack-dab in non-horror genres. One of these also happens to be one of his finest: 1994's The Midnight Club. While the book jacket's blurb may lead you to believe you're about to read a supernatural murder mystery, you're actually in store for the dramatic, beautiful tale of five teens who meet at a hospice for the terminally ill. The friends gather nightly -- you guessed it, at midnight -- to tell stories that scare, delight, and philosophize. By weaving together tales over candlelight, they also weave together their own destinies in their final days and weeks at Rotterham Home. Ilonka and Kevin fall in love, knowing their time is limited to the utmost degree, and seek solace from their sorrow in each other's words and arms. Christopher Pike navigates conversations about past lives, our petty and monumental regrets, cancer, AIDS, the meaning of family, the bonds of friendship, and what it means to let go. It's a story about life lessons even when one's life (in this body anyway) is limited. This is a perfection companion piece on your bookshelf to John Green's newly minted classic.