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Red Midnight Audiobook
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(3.16) - 284 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
When guerrilla soldiers strike Santiago's village, they destroy everything in their path -- including his home and family. Santiago and his four-year-old sister escape, running for their lives. But the only way they can be truly safe is to leave Guatemala behind forever. So Santiago and Angelina set sail in a sea kayak their Uncle Ramos built while dreaming of his own escape. Sailing through narrow channels guarded by soldiers, shark-infested waters, and days of painful heat and raging storms, Santiago and Angelina face an almost impossible voyage hundreds of miles across the open ocean, heading for the hope of a new life in the United States.
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"The book that I read this quarter was "Red Midnight" by Ben Mikaelsen and it was an extremely good book. This book was about a boy named Santiago and how his village in Guatemala was swept through by the guerillas soldiers who killed everyone and burned the whole village. Santiago and his younger sister made it out alive but before they escaped the village they came across their Uncle Ramos who says "Take the cayuco (kayak) and sail to the United States of America." Santiago and Angelina his sister who is very young must go all the way to Lake Izabal to get the cayuco and then from there make the extremely long journey to the United States. Santiago and his sister make it to Lake Izabal where they are met and helped get prepared for the long trip. Once they are helped out into the ocean by a friend of Uncle Ramos it is all up Santiago to take his sister all the way to America. During the trip they are met by many obstacles such as massive storms, pirates and many other things. This book is very good and i enjoyed it a lot, I encourage you to read this book because it is very intense and easy to get attached to the characters. Overall this was a great book and I might even read it again later down the road."
— Chad (5 out of 5 stars)
Red Midnight Listener Reviews
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" Finally finished my overdue library book last night! I must admit that I skipped over a good deal of the boy-versus-sea sections toward the end, but this book nicely illustrates the outstanding courage of a young boy who has escaped, by sea in a canoe, guerilla-torn Guatemala. The story features his innate survival skills and his unaltering dedication to his younger sister. Because the book is written through the perspective of our young hero, information about the guerilla movement is limited. However, the epilogue does addresses the Guatemalan movement and the US involvement under the auspices of anti-communist support. "
— Tracy, 2/20/2014 -
" it was good it was a scary yet sad story "
— Nina, 2/19/2014 -
" Amazing read aloud that I did with 7th grade. Powerful story of a boy and his younger sister escaping from Guatemala after the military destroys villages. These children have a 24 day journey to try to reach freedom in the U.S. "
— Ann, 2/16/2014 -
" So far it's pretty good, the book had you from the very first sentence. I was in the library and someone suggested it to me,and I was like no way it's not something I'd ever read, but it's good. Really good. Like really really good. It has such vivid imagery, you can imagine the pain in the character's voices and there's also a lot( not really a lot) of irony, you're always on your toes. "
— Tauti3ra, 2/16/2014 -
" Red Midnight was really good and well written. But, it was so sad, I cried on the first page. "
— Catherine, 2/13/2014 -
" This book was great and the adventure was amazing.The point of death and fear drove the children farther and farther.They also had to escape military boat passing by!The young guatamulan boy is is liitle sisters hero.Will they surrive for just long enough or will they die? "
— Cole, 2/7/2014 -
" It is a good read and a good book but really sad and it made me cry a lot. "
— Karissa, 2/6/2014 -
" A young boy escapes from 1980s Guatemala to the United States by boat. Pair this with his other novel, Tree Girl. "
— Krista, 2/4/2014 -
" if you like adventure books than this is the right book for you! i love really any book from this author and i highly reccomend it to anyone who doens't know what to read! "
— Kayley, 1/20/2014 -
" It was like hatchet except it took place in a little canoe, and a little Spanish. It was our summer book, 2012. My teacher made a great choice for us to read over the summer "
— Hunter01, 1/12/2014 -
" its good but slow and you have to keep up with it "
— Marissa, 1/11/2014 -
" it was an odd book, i personally didn't like it but lots of other people have. "
— Sarah, 1/8/2014 -
" 12 yr old Picasso & Angelina (4 yr) escape the horror of Guatemala after their family is killed by soldiers, to the US by canoe thru the Gulf of Mexico. Great "
— Vicki, 12/26/2013 -
" The book did have some good moments, but it was constantly losing my intrest. "
— Justin, 12/14/2013 -
" Where was I when these events were happening in Central America? Why didn't we hear about this? "
— Mary, 12/7/2013 -
" I loved this book it was so entertaining!!!!! I got sucked in! "
— Riley, 5/19/2013 -
" i am astonished at the horrible tragedies this book shows. it makes me feel better about being born & bred in this great country. "
— Jane, 5/2/2013 -
" Paul & I listened to this on cd on the way to Tn...we both really enjoyed it. "
— Kassie, 2/9/2013 -
" Get a tissue ready "
— Deborah, 10/22/2012 -
" i really liked this book. ALOT!!!! there are alot of sad parts, but it tells a great story. READ IT!!!! "
— Sally, 7/27/2012 -
" Read this when I was younger and it was probably one of my favorite books! "
— Tessa, 4/11/2012 -
" really interesting story. loved the narrator. "
— Alana, 4/1/2012 -
" This was an exciting adventure story written for the 5th-6th grade reader. "
— Danielle, 11/21/2011 -
" I would recommend this book for people who have had a rough time and had to struggle coming to a new country. "
— Damien, 9/5/2011 -
" Amazing read aloud that I did with 7th grade. Powerful story of a boy and his younger sister escaping from Guatemala after the military destroys villages. These children have a 24 day journey to try to reach freedom in the U.S. "
— Ann, 6/22/2011 -
" really interesting story. loved the narrator. "
— Alana, 5/1/2011 -
" I used this book as a read-aloud with a class of 7th graders and they really enjoyed it. The history was interesting, and the book was good for a multi-cultural discussion. "
— LuAnn, 4/28/2011 -
" it was an odd book, i personally didn't like it but lots of other people have. "
— Sarah, 11/23/2010 -
" If you like Tree Girl, you'll also like this one. "
— Mr., 3/9/2010 -
" A story of the a young boy saving his little sister from the genocide of Guatemala by sailing to the US in a kayak. A great companion for Tree Girl. Recommended for 6th grade and up. "
— Catherine, 3/2/2010 -
" Red Midnight was really good and well written. But, it was so sad, I cried on the first page. "
— Catherine, 11/9/2009 -
" This book is amazing! It startes in Guatamala, soldiers come and kill everyone but two kids. They must leave Guatamala and never come back. Where will they go? "
— Sarah, 10/2/2009 -
" This was an exciting adventure story written for the 5th-6th grade reader. "
— Danielle, 8/18/2009 -
" if you like adventure books than this is the right book for you! i love really any book from this author and i highly reccomend it to anyone who doens't know what to read! "
— Kayley, 2/10/2009
About Ben Mikaelsen
Ben Mikaelsen is the winner of the International Reading Association Award and the Western Writers of America Spur Award. His novels have been nominated for and won many state readers’ choice awards, including Red Midnight, Rescue Josh McGuire, Sparrow Hawk Red, Stranded, Countdown, Petey, and Tree Girl. His articles and photos appear in numerous magazines around the world. He lives near Bozeman, Montana.