Why we chose M.A. Kuzniar’s Midnight in Everwood

Mom selected this book for Family Reads nearly a year ago. She found it while browsing comps for another book she liked. The cover caught her attention. She liked the colour scheme and the gold foil font. The fact that it’s historical fiction with fantasy and winter aspects also appealed to her. I made her wait to read it until December because it’s inspired by The Nutcracker ballet.

There’s nothing Marietta Stelle loves more than ballet, but after Christmas, her dreams will be over as she is obligated to take her place in Edwardian society. While she is chafing against such suffocating traditions, a mysterious man purchases the neighbouring townhouse. Dr Drosselmeier is a charming but calculating figure who wins over the rest of the Stelle family with his enchanting toys and wondrous mechanisms.

When Drosselmeier constructs an elaborate set for Marietta’s final ballet performance, she discovers it carries a magic all of its own. On the stroke of midnight on Christmas Eve, she is transported to a snowy forest, where she encounters danger at every turn: ice giants, shadow goblins and the shrieking mist all lurk amidst the firs and frozen waterfalls and ice cliffs. After being rescued by the butterscotch-eyed captain of the king’s guard, she is escorted to the frozen sugar palace. At once, Marietta is enchanted by this glittering world of glamorous gowns, gingerbread houses, miniature reindeer and the most delicious confectionary.

But all is not as it seems and Marietta is soon trapped in the sumptuous palace by the sadistic King Gelum, who claims her as his own. She is confined to a gilded prison with his other pets; Dellara, whose words are as sharp as her teeth, and Pirlipata, a princess from another land. Marietta must forge an alliance with the two women to carve a way free from this sugar-coated but treacherous world and back home to follow her dreams. Yet in a hedonistic world brimming with rebellion and a forbidden romance that risks everything, such a path will never be easy.

Goodreads

Our Discussion 💬

**Discussion best enjoyed if you have already read the book – spoilers abound!**

Prose and Setting

Mom and I had contrasting opinions on the writing style. Mom liked the descriptiveness, whereas I found it overwritten. To me, it was like a store bought cookie, one that may have pretty icing but is stale and flavourless. (I asked Mom for a baking metaphor to counterbalance mine but she did not have one lol.) Mom particularly liked the worldbuilding descriptors. She pointed out how dazzling Everwood seems. However, it soons becomes apparent it’s a case of something looking too good to be true. The inhabitants try to warn Marietta that the world is not as pretty as it looks. Mom theorized that one reason Marietta may have ignored their warnings is that Marietta thought they were trying to hide something from her, like a case of ‘forbidden fruit’, when in reality they were truly attempting to warn her of danger within.

Marietta

Overall, I thought Marietta was pretty useless for the most part (and a bit of a Mary Sue, especially in the early part of the story set in the real world). Favour falls from her once she enters Everwood. She develops iniatitive as the story progressess.

I didn’t have a strong opinions on Marietta’s romance with Captain Legat. It didn’t irritate me like some do, nor did I feel moved by it. Mom thought the romance was fine but would have preferred it more defined. It was a little too vague and unclear whether there were romantic feelings between the two for most of the story. The story is also all fluffy fluff fluff and then SURPRISE sex scene near the end. It felt out of place among the rest of the narrative.

Mom wondered if Marietta’s a product of a time when women weren’t encouraged to act for themselves. But Marietta desires an independent life, to join the ballet and break away from her family and for women regardless of class and colour to get the vote… We discussed how Marietta has some taste for adventure. However, there can be a great difference between desiring adventure and knowing how to manage yourself once you’ve got it! Nanny wasn’t entirely wrong when she said the following:

Upon confessing her secret wish to be one of the princesses, Nanny had chided her, reminding her that, “A little magic may sound like a wonderful adventure, but disobeying your father is not the path to follow.” (pg. 120)

I was pleased that Marietta does gain some self-awareness and acknowledges that her own flaws got her into this mess:

No one was to blame for her current predicament save herself. She had disregarded mutliple warnings for petty vanity’s sake and a craving for defiance and admiration as if she had been a girl once more hoping for Madame Belinskaya to cast her in the principle role of Coppelia. (pg 150)

Other Characters

Mom and I found most of the other characters to be quite cookie character – apart from the two women that Marietta finds herself locked up with. Well, they may have been a bit cookie cutter too but they were fun and made good foils to Marietta. In contrast to Marietta, they had their own unique lived experiences and background to inform their actions. They weren’t just two other silly girls. The king held each woman girl for a different reason, not just beccause he was collecting “pretty things”.

Nutcracker

I asked Mom if she could recall the plot of the Nutcracker ballet/story. For example, I couldn’t remember if Drosselmeier was a bad guy in the original. Mom recalled even less than I did. Even after finishing Midnight in Everwood, I couldn’t say what the Nutcracker paralleles were. (Apart from the fact that Marietta enters a magical winter world because of Drosselmeier.) I imagine there were further paralelles that we didn’t recognize. I suppose Legat is supposed to be ‘the Nutcracker’, but apart form him being a soldier, I’m not sure how that relates to the original story.

Final Thoughts 💭

I gave this book ★★ and Mom gave it ★★★½. Mom recommends Midnight in Everwood to anyone who likes fairy tales. I suppose I can also recommend it you’re looking for something seasonal that’s a bit sweet and fluffy, and aren’t too particular about characterization.

Further Reading 📰

🍂 Read an excerpt
🍂 Author website
🍂 Interview @ The People’s Friend
🍂 Reviews: Lili @ Utopia State of Mind
🍂 Related: For a wintry read that Mom and I both enjoyed more than this one, check out our thoughts on Once Upon a River. (For a wintry read that Mom and I both enjoyed less than this one, check out our thoughts on The Winter Garden).

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