The Midnight Charter

Publishers Weekly
In the walled city of Agora, residents literally live or die based on their worth. Everything is traded, from goods and services to lives—even emotions can be bottled and sold—all bound in contracts (“Everyone makes their way by bartering something, for there is always someone who will trade”). Just shy of his 12th birthday, Mark is sold by his father to Dr. Theophilus, who is researching a widespread plague. After recovering from the shock of being sold (and from the plague), Mark becomes fast friends with Lily, servant to the powerful astrologer Count Stelli. But the children's lives diverge quickly: when the doctor is cast out of Count Stelli's tower, Mark and Lily contract with each other to switch masters. Meanwhile, the city's most powerful citizens have plans for them, and both find their beliefs and lives pitted against forces they barely understand—and against each other. Charity, greed, freedom, fate and political scheming are all woven through debut author Whitley's richly conceived world. Readers will be buoyed by every small triumph that cannot be recorded in an account book. Ages 11–14. (Sept.)

VOYA - Rollie Welch
Whitley stuns readers with his first sentence: "Being dead was colder than Mark had expected." Twelve-year-old Mark is in prison suffering from a mysterious plague. From this great opening Whitley introduces Agora, a city with a medieval slant. Readers soon learn that it is a joyless, futuristic dystopia. The author spends some time building this world, practically force-feeding scenes of grimy slums and suspicious characters. Whitley's hook is that on their twelfth birthdays, their Title Day, children are allowed to make a life choice. But the choice is controlled by adults, and children may be sold to the highest bidder. Mark, having recovered from the plague, learns that his benefactor is Lily, another twelve-year-old. Her dream is to help Agora's downtrodden population. They switch roles and Mark becomes an apprentice to ancient Count Stelli. Agora thrives on astrology and a behind-the-scenes setup has Mark predicting future events. He is ushered in as Count Stelli's prodigy. Midway through the story, several sidebars detract from the main focus and the story never really gets quite back on track. A murder of someone they know shocks both Mark and Lily. Emotions are bottled and sold much like today's illegal drug trade, but this creative riff fades from the story. Readers learn that the Midnight Charter is something powerful, but Whitley takes too much time revealing its origin. Mark and Lily are destined to lead the city, but it is no surprise adults manipulate their fate. Initially there is a promise of intrigue, but the story sags with too many parts failing to make a whole. Reviewer: Rollie Welch

Children's Literature - Suzanna E. Henshon
Agora is an ancient world filled with secrets and deceptions. One day Mark is saved from the plague, and Lily cares for the ill boy. The children meet in the Tower of Count Stelli. Later Mark and Lily exchange destinies for a chance to experience life outside the tower wall. Mark remains as a servant to the Count while Lily starts a shelter for the city's destitute. But the boy and girl continue to run into each other. Why are their lives intertwined? What is the secret link between Mark and Lily? Both children were abandoned in early childhood and seek self-identity. Eventually, the children make an important discovery—the Midnight Charter is the link between their lives. Many years ago the city elite created a charter; the founders of Agora were idealists who tried to create an equal vision of the city. Is it possible that Mark and Lily represent the Protagonist and Antagonist described in the Midnight Charter? Could their fates be tied to the destiny of the city Agora? In this exciting story, young readers will step into an ancient world steaming with prophesy and magic. Reviewer: Suzanna E. Henshon, Ph.D.

School Library Journal
Gr 6–8—In the city-state of Agora (or "marketplace"), everything is for sale and all goods and services can and must be traded or bartered. Children are property until they come of age at 12, and those who are poor are sold like any other commodity. Two such children are Lily, an orphan who enters into a service contract with old Count Stelli, an astrologer. Most of Mark's family dies of the plague and his father sells him to Doctor Theophilus, son of the Count. Their lives intersect and diverge when they switch places. Lily questions the values of Agoran society and sets up a free shelter for citizens needing help. Mark is drawn in to intrigue and mystery as he becomes a prominent fortune-teller. There is a sense of darkness and danger at the heart of this society, which is embodied in the Midnight Charter, a document that predicts the coming of the Protagonist and the Antagonist, and that suggests that these two figures, possibly Mark and Lily, will alter their world forever. Whitley creates a number of memorable and full-bodied characters, along with a claustrophobic sense of a society set up as a utopia closing in on itself, and a morality that is at the extreme edge of reason. Exciting and gripping from the first heart-stopping line, this first book in a trilogy takes readers only part of the way to resolving the predictions of the Midnight Charter and its relationship to Mark and Lily. Readers will anxiously await the next installment as they reach the cliff-hanger ending.—Sue Giffard, Ethical Culture Fieldston School, New York City

Kirkus Reviews
Newcomer Whitley crafts a dystopic novel that reads like fantasy rather than science fiction, refreshing in its classic approach. The completely self-contained city of Agora (the inhabitants believe nothing exists beyond the walls) runs on commerce. For every item or service there is an exchange; even death becomes a "life-theft" in this world. Founded on the zodiac and about to hit its 144th year, Agora stands poised for success or doom according to the secret Midnight Charter. In the midst of plots and counterplots stand two teens, who may have been foretold by the Charter and whose opposing experiences take center stage chapter by chapter: fierce, wonderful Lily, who believes in good for its own sake and founds a charity, and fame-obsessed Mark, whose meteoric rise makes him the darling of a city where reputation holds so much weight. Deft world-building and crafty plotting combine for a zinger of an ending that will leave readers poised for book two. Surprisingly sophisticated upper-middle-grade fare, with enough meat to satisfy older readers as well. (Fantasy. 11 & up)

Chapter 1: The Staircase
Chapter 2: The Signet Ring
Chapter 3: The Deal
Chapter 4: The Glassmaker
Chapter 5: The Manservant
Chapter 6: The Violinist

INTERLUDE ONE

Chapter 7: The Dumbwaiter
Chapter 8: The Past
Chapter 9: The Future
Chapter 10: The Song
Chapter 11: The Star
Chapter 12: The Idea

INTERLUDE TWO
Chapter 13: The Dance
Chapter 14: The Secret
Chapter 15: The Daughter
Chapter 16: The Theft
Chapter 17: The Box
Chapter 18: The Night
Chapter 19: The Trial
Chapter 20: The Speech

INTERLUDE THREE

Chapter 21: The Fall
Chapter 22: The Scroll
Chapter 23: The Cell
Chapter 24: The Director
Chapter 25: The Promise