Victoria lives in the belief that her parents' desire for a new baby is fuelled by their disappointment in her own imperfections and she tries to explain her feelings and frustrations in a childish diary. As she surveys the world from behind her big blue-rimmed glasses, Paul, too afraid to approach her, keeps his distance yet watches her carefully, gradually developing an awareness of her that others may never understand. The contrast between the painfully poetic explanations of Paul's emotions and the basic, misspelt scribblings of Victoria_s diary emphasises the agony of the stirrings of first love, making their eventual and inevitable meeting on the Carousel all the more intense. Midnight Fair is a rich and challenging book which treats its characters and its readers with respect, cleverly and intricately proving that the first tinglings of love and attraction do not have to be treated with schmaltz or embarrassment.

 

This book is part of a book series called Signature Series .

There are 199 pages in this book. This book was published 1998 by Hodder & Stoughton Childrens Division .

William Mayne has been described as one of the outstanding children's authors of this century (Oxford Companion to Children's Lit. ). He has won all major awards including the Carnegie and Guardian fiction award.