Midnights with You - by Clare Osongco

About the Book

Seventeen-year-old Deedee longs to escape the stifling world her Filipino mom has created since her husband died, so when Jay, the boy next door, offers to teach her to drive it seems like a way out--but both of them are haunted by family ghosts and traumas that force them apart.

Book Synopsis

Now in paperback!

Fans of Susan Lee and Dustin Thao will be enchanted by this soulful YA romance about how we love, how we heal, and how we find the strength to go on.

"Where were you thinking of going?"

"Nowhere."

"Great," he says lightly, putting the car in gear. "Then we'll go there."

Seventeen-year-old Deedee's life is full of family ghosts and questions she can't ask. She longs to escape her stifling home, but guilt holds her back--that, and the fact that her strict Filipino single mom won't let her learn to drive.

But one sleepless night leads Deedee down a road she never thought possible: secret driving lessons with the new boy next door, Jay, whose turbulent family life also keeps him up until sunrise.

As midnights stretch into days, Jay helps Deedee begin to unravel her past, and as shared secrets blossom into love, Deedee starts to imagine a life where happiness is possible. But the deeper she digs into the trauma that has shaped her, the more that trauma threatens to tear Deedee and Jay apart. Together, these two must decide if the pain they've both inherited has the power to choose their fate, or if they have the power to choose for themselves.

Review Quotes

*"Heartfelt and woven together by themes of responsibility, generational trauma, privacy, and maturity."- Booklist (starred review)

"An emotionally gripping debut novel that shines with hope, even through its traumas and trials." - School Library Journal

"A romance steeped in an emotionally gut-wrenching tale of trauma."-Kirkus Reviews

"A tender and aching story about family and first love, about finding stolen moments in which we can heal, forgive, and find ourselves."--Randy Ribay, National Book Award finalist author of Patron Saints of Nothing

"A powerful debut. Raw and redemptive."--Laura Taylor Namey, New York Times best-selling author of A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow

"Powerful, gorgeous, and intimate. A tender punch to the heart."--Trang Thanh Tran, New York Times best-selling author of She Is a Haunting

"Reading this felt like going on a late night road trip with your best friend."--Graci D. Li, New York Times best-selling author of Portrait of a Thief

"A hauntingly beautiful story that exists within a liminal space and time that hits all the notes of what it means to be young, finding yourself, first love, and how the burden of generational trauma weighs on one's shoulders." --Zoulfa Katouh, award-winning author of As Long As the Lemon Trees Grow

"A knock-out of a debut. Osongco's words will leave readers in awe and thinking about the story long after the turn of the last page."--Hannah V. Sawyerr, award-winning author of All the Fighting Parts

"This is a book you'll revisit over and over again."-Alex Brown, Locus Award-nominated author of Damned If You Do

"Everything I've ever wanted in a book."--Ann Liang, New York Times best-selling author of I Hope This Doesn't Find You

About the Author

Clare Osongco is a biracial Filipina American writer living in Los Angeles. Midnights With You is her debut novel. She enjoys mangos with bagoong, mechanical keyboard sounds, and writing super early in the morning when it's easier to pretend the rest of the world doesn't exist. Find her online at www.ClareOsongco.com and on Instagram @ClareOsongco.