Wait Until Twilight by Sang Pak

In Wait Until Twilight, Samuel discovers a set of triplets in his hometown. The problem is that they are seriously deformed and their much older brother is mistreating them. He is initially repulsed by them, but now he can't stop thinking about them and soon comes to realizes that it's up to him to save them. Samuel's a pretty typical teenager. That is, until he discovers that he must tackle the monsters around him and those deep within himself.

I really wasn't sure what to make of this book. It's a coming of age story mixed with a bit of fantasy, horror and humour. A little bit of everything really. The solid story was memorable, scary and very suspenseful. I really like that it was written in the first person from Samuel's point of view. It really felt really authentic because Pak used words and phrases that a teenager would use. My favourite part was the ending that finished strong with a nice tie-in to the Samuel's haunting dreams.

All in all I enjoyed it, but it felt somewhat disjointed in parts. A couple of times I was anxiously awaiting for something to major to happen between Samuel and Darryl or Samuel and the triplets. I didn't feel like the babies had consumed "Samuel's every waking and sleeping thought" as the back of the book had promised. Well, at the end they did, but I guess I was looking for it a little sooner.

Sang Pak is a new novelist with degrees in English and psychology from the University of Georgia. He clearly drew from both of these areas for this story. I'm going to keep my eye out for more of his work.

Recommended.

For more information regarding this book or to Browse Inside, please visit the HarperCollins website.