Five Midnights ~ Ann Dávila Cardinal
After the worst start to February reading-wise, I finally managed to finish a book with just a week left of the month 🙁 I honestly can’t put into words how much this annoys me when it happens. I just ended up in this slump that I couldn’t get out of. This book was also what I needed to read in order to complete the first part of the Continental Reading Challenge we are doing this year. Making the need to finish this book even worse.
Five Midnights by Ann Dávila Cardinal is a young adult novel, set in modern-day Puerto Rico, based on an old myth used to frighten children called El Cuco. Javier and Lupe are brought together through their mutual desire to solve the heinous and grisly murders that are sweeping the streets of Puerto Rico. As they delve deeper they are thrust into the world of myths and legends, not sure what may be lurking in the shadows. Is the culprit a murderer or a monster?
We mainly follow a group of boys dubbed Les Cangrejos by their mothers when they were little. As they grew they drifted further and further apart falling into the temptation of what the dark streets of Puerto Rico have to offer. I initially struggled with the multiple narratives at the beginning of the book. Within the first five chapters, we are introduced to five different characters. But as you get further into the book this becomes much easier to keep track of.
I think what I love about this Continental Reading Challenge that we are doing this year is that it is pushing me to read books in settings that I normally wouldn’t. Being able to see the Puerto Rican culture through this book was very refreshing. I also loved the myth/legend side of this read. El Cuco is seen in many cultures but often under a different name. Retribution is the centre of this myth and was used to scare disobedient children who would be ‘captured’ by El Cuco and would ‘disappear’.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this read and learning about a new culture. I just wished that maybe it would have been a tad scarier. I gave Five Midnights a 4⭐️ rating.
M🌸
