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Megan Hege
Young Adult Literature
Dr. Hartman
April 26, 2015
Character Analysis of Born at Midnight
Born at Midnight is a young adult book that was written by C. C. Hunter in
2011.

This book is part of the Shadow Falls series that has five main books

following Kylie Galen, and two side stories that follow Kylie's best friend Della. Born
at Midnight and the entire series is about a summer camp, called Shadow Falls, for
kids of the un-human nature like fairies, werewolves, and shapeshifters. Kylie is
sent to Shadow Falls under the assumption that she was just a troubled human kid
who was at a party that the cops broke up, but she gets a big surprise at orientation
when Percy, a shapeshifter, changes into a unicorn. The way that supernaturals can
tell each other apart is by looking at brain waves on each others foreheads, even
humans have them, but Kylie's waves are not like anyone else's in camp meaning
no knows what she is, just that she isn't human.
The goal that Hunter had when writing these books was to try and show kids,
around high school age, that not everyone is sure of who they are and that is okay.
This book shows that sometimes the people with the most uncertainty in life are the
ones who make the most impact on the world. Hunter does this by making Kylie so
different that she does not even fit in with vampires and werewolves, but in the end
it is Kylie's powers that help her save the planet from an evil super vampire. Many

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of the characters in Born at Midnight struggle with self identity and if they want to
keep their abilities or give them up and join the "normal" human world, which is not
an option for all supernaturals mainly just fairies. Even when given the choice to
become normal all of the characters find a reason to keep and embrace their
natural selves in all of the weird glory that comes from being different.
There are many different types of characters with doubts about who they are
and what they should do in life in Born at Midnight. To explore each character would
be a book of its own, but the main three characters are the most diverse. Kylie
Galen knows she isn't human but she does not know what kind of supernatural she
is or if she even want to keep her powers at all. Lucas Parker a werewolf who must
decide if his family's plans are worth giving up his own. Finally, Della Tsang is a
vampire who is struggling to accept herself and do what she feels is right despite
how others may perceive her.
Kylie Galen is the first character introduced she is the main protagonist, but
she isn't introduced with her appearance, she is introduced with a page long list of
all the ways her life is falling apart. On top of all the other problems in her life Kylie
is sent to Shadow Falls camp, seemingly for troubled youth, because a psychiatrist
that Kylie sees for night terrors suggested it and after Kylie gets busted by the cops
at a party Kylie's mom takes her up on the suggestion. Hunter uses a mixture of
Kylie's thoughts and narration as a way to show the big picture but also how Kylie is
feeling. A big portion of Kylie's character comes from the fact that she has never
felt like she fit in with the people at her high school and goes to a camp for outcasts
only to find out she does not fit in there either.

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Kylie's appearance is not given until she starts to go through changes that
develop as her powers do, but she always giving descriptions of what she cannot
relate to, like the "freaks" from Shadow Falls that dress weird. Other characters
reference Kylie's appearance like her enemy Fredrica who calls Kylie blondie or when
characters talk about how different her brain waves are then everyone else's,
because they think she is being rude by not letting them see her waves.
Kylie is a multi-dimensional character who changes her opinions and her
actions drastically from the beginning of the book to the end. At the start of her
journey Kylie was very unsure of herself and what she wanted and by the end of the
book she knows that she is going to find out what she is and where she comes from
by any means necessary. Kylie no longer sees the people at Shadow Falls as freaks
she sees them as friends and people who with whom she belongs despite how
different everyone appears to be on the outside.
Lucas Parker is Kylie's childhood next door neighbor, and a werewolf, who
mysteriously disappeared right around the time Kylie's new kitten disappeared. In
the beginning Lucas is thought to be a cat killing antagonist but as Kylie learns the
truth about who Lucas really is and how he has protected her, even as children, he
has glimpses as a protagonist. Lucas comes from a family of rogue werewolves,
werewolves who do not register and follow the rule of law abiding werewolves.
Lucas is always compared to his father who is a ruthless leader and killer. Lucas is a
slowly developing character who often has setbacks that make him look less than
honorable, like when he was seven and he abruptly moves after telling Kylie to keep
her cat inside or something bad will happen to it after which the cat disappears.
Lucas always redeems his seemingly underhanded actions in the most romantic

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ways possible, he got Kylie a cat named Socks Jr. to replace her old cat and told her
that he was just protecting his father. In order to get out of his father's shadow
Lucas would have to betray his father and when this books ends that is easier said
than done.
Della Tsang is on the bus that Kylie takes to get to Shadow Falls and she is
also Kylie's cabin mate. Her description is given as being a goth girl who is pale and
has super cold hands, so it is not hard to place her as being a vampire once it is
revealed that vampires exist. Della is a questionable character because we see her
from Kylie's point of view, which is that vampires drink blood and Kylie has blood so
she is automatically going to be a meal. Della was not bitten to become a vampire
she was born with the virus in her blood which was activated at puberty. Della is
very conflicted between faking her death and going with her cousin a vampire in a
gang or staying at the camp and continuing to disappoint her parents who have
very traditional Chinese goals set for Della. This constant internal struggle between
staying good or becoming evil does not effect Della's protagonist role because when
Kylie is in trouble she is always by to lend a hand, many time before Kylie even
realizes she is in trouble. The bond Kylie and Della create is ulitmilty what helps
Della choose herself over her family when she decides to turn in her cousin and stay
at the camp, which is turning into a school, to help keep other young vampires from
feeling like gang life is there only option.
Born at Midnight has many strengths for example a wide variety of characters
and social issues are represented that will make a greater number of readers feel
represented. Also an array of genres are highlighted like action, romance, fantasy,
and even comedy. A weakness of this book, and many of the other books in this

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series, are that at times the storyline feels rushed, like certain paragraphs would be
more effective as chapters. Another weakness would that because there are so
many characters that are all introduced fairly early and at one time it is hard feel
connected to them all. Anyone who like reading books about the supernatural
would read this book. Also, anyone who feels like they do not belong could relate to
Kylie, anyone who wants to get out of their parents shadow and create their own
path would relate to Lucas, anyone who feels outcast by their family would find
comfort in Della's story. Many other characters and situations are dealt with in
Born at Midnight and the following books make this series extremely relatable.

Works Cited
Hunter, C. C. Born at Midnight. New York: St. Martin's, 2011. Print.