When high school senior Lily Hopper receives a note from the infamous Jester asking for help pulling off the traditional end of year prank, Lily agrees to help in a desperate attempt to ditch her good girl reputation. This year’s Jester turns out to be Lily’s ex-boyfriend, Tag Swell, whom Lily still has feelings for. Tag’s prank involves stealing the yearbooks and forcing the senior class president, who also happens to be Lily’s prom date, to go on an epic scavenger hunt to retrieve the yearbooks. As Tag, Lily, and their fellow pranksters hide clues across campus in the middle of the night whilst dodging campus security, Tag and Lily start to feel sparks again. But will old hurt prevent Lily and Tag from rekindling their relationship?
What Happens After Midnight is a YA second chance romance with hints of mystery elements. The plot was reminiscent of books like Since You’ve Been Gone and Take Me Home Tonight by Morgan Matson, 11 Paper Hearts by Kelsey Hartwell, I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston, P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han, Paper Towns by John Green, as well as Margot Mertz Takes It Down by Carrie McCrossen and Ian McWethy. Additionally, the boarding school gave me major Zoey 101 vibes and Lily’s relationship with her mother was similar to Rory and Lorelai’s relationship in Gilmore Girls. What Happens After Midnight is a perfect summer read for YA fans, especially high school seniors! Some themes and topics present include revenge, love and heartbreak, self esteem, identity, growing up, friendship, good versus bad, and diabetes.
Firstly, I loved all the references that Walther makes to some of my favourite topics—Taylor Swift and Schitt’s Creek—as I felt like this helped draw me into the novel and connect with the main characters. The end of school year vibe and the beachside, boarding school setting was enjoyable as it was seasonally appropriate and perfect for summertime reading. I liked how the book was broken up into different sections based on the scavenger hunt clues as this made the book easier to follow and read, plus the beautiful cover really matched the vibe of the book.
I was a bit disappointed that What Happens After Midnight was geared towards a younger YA audience as opposed to Walther’s 2021 novel, The Summer of Broken Rules. Even though the Jester’s prank was originally intriguing, I felt like the scavenger hunt itself was kind of underwhelming and I was disappointed that most of the Jester’s “fools” didn’t really participate (for example, one of the participants is sick and ends up spending the entire prank in the restroom).
Overall, I enjoyed this book; I thought that it was an easy, fun, and summery read that teen and YA readers should definitely add to their summer TBR lists!
What Happens After Midnight is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of June 27th.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
Lily Hopper has two more weeks until she’s officially finished with boarding school. With graduation quickly approaching Lily is worried that she’s somehow missed out on the fun of being in high school. So, when she receives a mysterious note inviting her to join the anonymous senior class Jester in executing the end-of-year prank, Lily sees her chance to put her goody-two-shoes reputation behind her.
When Lily realizes the Jester is none other than Taggart Swell, her ex- boyfriend, she’s already in too deep to back out. Lily might’ve dumped Tag, but she still has major feelings. Plus, his brilliant plan to steal the school’s yearbooks, targets none other than Lilly’s prom date: the Senior Class President, Daniel.
As the group of pranksters hide cryptic clues across campus for Daniel to find, Lily and Tag find themselves in close quarters. As the exes dodge Campus Safety guards, night owl teachers, a troop of freshmen, and even Daniel himself, new sparks fly. But old hurts and painful secrets refuse to be ignored. And with graduation on the horizon, Lily can only hope that breaking the rules will help mend her heart.
