Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

All I have to say is that I am very thankful for my mother.

Deedee and Jay are two teens living on the same street, and they form a secret pact when they discover neither of them can fall asleep at night. Both are trying to escape complicated family dynamics and discover more about each other.

Deedee is a… very complex character. She lacks almost any confidence and has no self-worth, and she struggles to open up to others because of all the trauma she has. It was hard hearing how little she thought of herself, and I am very thankful for her character development throughout the story.. Despite some of her faults, you really are rooting for her and eager to see her change as a person once she opens up more to Jay. The romance was cute at times, but also very stressful, there is a lot of back and forth that I am not really a fan of, but for good reason.

I don’t want to go into too much detail, but her mother was… evil. A very hurt, very broken person, but the way she treated Deedee was just unimaginable. I do like that you end up getting to see the reason behind this, and a glimpse into her own trauma, but she is still one of the hardest people to forgive in this novel.

This is kind of basic, but my favourite part was the epilogue. Without giving spoilers, I was very glad it did not fall into any tropes that would have ruined the book, so I am grateful for that.

This gets a very solid 4.25 from me! A very thought-provoking and emotional story and I hope others that read this can find a sense of healing and optimism in Deedee’s story.

4.5/5 stars

Midnights with You by Clare Osongco is about 17 year old Filipina American Deedee and the generational trauma passed on from her immigrant single mother. Deedee spends much of her time hiding the emotional abuse from her mother and finds herself regularly sneaking out in the darkest parts of night with her new neighbor and classmate, Jay. Throughout their secret driving lessons, secret tutoring, and secret relationship, Jay and Deedee find refuge and solace in each other from their respective familial and self-expectations.

In the beginning, I had a bit of a hard time getting into the story, but through no fault of the author or the writing— it was more so my own damage chafing against the emotional abuse and needing to slowly take my time with the heavy emotions. While my mother is not like Deedee’s, suffice to say that mother/daughter relationships can often be fraught in their own ways, and mine is no exception, especially when adding the layer of immigrant mother with second generation only daughter. Therefore, I found myself treading carefully, but once I was into it, I was /into/ it and deeply invested.

I really /felt/ for Deedee. I am particularly sensitive to lonely characters, and despite her best friend, Suzy, Deedee’s commitment to hiding the way her mother treats her is undoubtedly isolating, especially in the face of Suzy’s contrasting outwardly loving family. I understand Deedee’s reluctance to reveal emotions that Suzy could never /personally/ get. I think Deedee, just like me, just like every human, just wants to be seen, so I get why it takes her so long to really open up to Suzy, especially when high school girls do what high school girls so often do with trying out new friend groups and Deedee being on the side that gets left behind in the meantime.

Jay and Deedee are the epitome of right person, wrong time. Senior year of high school is already a pivotal time for seemingly life-defining decisions, and to be so young and making big choices with each other mind— it was certainly entertaining reading Deedee and especially Jay factor (or not) each other into the other’s lives. While their timing was not right, I loved reading them fumble through life and grow together. The hurt/comfort was hurt/comforting, and *chef’s kiss.* lmao <spoiler> And while second chance is not a trope I usually gravitate towards, I have hopes for them beyond the page. I’m rooting for you, Jay and Deedee. </spoiler> Also, shoutout to the Filipinx-American/Vietnamese-American combo couple, of which I know many in real life. LOL

Furthermore, as a 30 year old American-born daughter of Filipinx immigrants, I have spent my entire life in search of finding my family, my culture, my people reflected on the fictional page. While I initially found myself lowkey begrudgingly reading this story when confronted with the complicated Filipina mother/American-born daughter relationship, I think this book is precisely one of the books I wish I had access to when I, myself, was a teenager. From the mother’s stories of the fantastical in the Philippines, to the teleserye-level family drama that is still somehow true to life, to having to unlearn the internal biases that oftentimes come with immigrants, to the eager craving that comes with learning any and everything to do with family and the motherland, to showing love by cooking and making sure one has eaten, to the familial and self pressure that comes with being a child of immigrants, I loved this book.

Clare Osongco’s writing really scratched my brain in just the right way— I felt like she could have been writing this book specifically for me. I’m excited to reread and annotate this book in physical form, and I’m so looking forward to reading more by Clare Osongco! Thank you, Netgalley and Disney Publishing Worldwide | Disney Hyperion, for the ARC!

An amazing debut & deeply emotional coming-of-age story with a side of cute yet angsty romance 💜

As an Asian eldest immigrant daughter, fairly new driver with anxiety, and lifelong night owl, this book really hit all the right notes for me — perhaps a little too much at times 🥲

I just want to hug Jay & Deedee and protect them from the rest of the world because I just know there are people out there that will simply not get them! Though I had my fair share of frustrating and confusing moments with these characters, I related to them on another level and also understood that their shared family traumas and silent understanding of each other’s pasts is what truly bonds them and creates their deep unspoken connection. I was torn between smiling and crying for them constantly throughout this book, and I wanted nothing but happiness for them both. Their individual growths and initiatives to confront generational trauma were everything to me 🥹

Overall, I loved this important story with lots of angst and pining! Jay & Deedee both break and heal each other, just like they did to me 🤧 I feel grateful to have read this book, and it will be sticking with me for quite some time. Clare has proven herself to be incredible, and I already can’t wait for her next! 🫶

Thank you so much to Clare Osongco & Disney Publishing for an ARC of this book 💌

Deedee Walters often has trouble sleeping at night, following intense arguments with her mother. When Jay Hayes moves in across the street, Deedee notices that he's also up late, often taking his car out for midnight drives (also to escape from his own family troubles). After a couple of chance late-night encounters, Deedee asks Jay if he'll teach her to drive. Across these secret midnight driving lessons, Deedee and Jay fall in love, lose each other, and find themselves in what truly is "an achingly beautiful" story.

I loved this debut. My heart was aching for Deedee within the first few pages, and I found myself feeling so deeply for Deedee and Jay throughout the entire book. I think the writing was very strong for a debut, and the pacing was excellent, taking place across their entire senior year. And even the last two chapters were handled perfectly, even though I felt trepidation about the time jump happening there. Deedee and Jay were characters I loved reading about, and my love for them only grew as the story progressed. Their emotions and struggles were so raw and so well-developed, I genuinely felt like I was there with them, talking things out and wishing I could help ease their pain. Deedee and Jay just felt so real to me. They were messy and flawed and trying to figure themselves out while also holding on to each other, and I simply cannot express how impactful this book and their story was to me.

I have said this before, but I truly love when YA novels tackle tougher themes; I think it's important to do, and I'm hopeful that this book will help so many diaspora kids in America feel seen. This story touches on (among other things) grief, estranged family, racism, domestic violence, friendship & relationship conflict, generational family trauma, feeling like an outsider, and feeling disconnected from your culture. I think Deedee and Jay's experiences as Filipino American and Vietnamese Americans, respectively, were really well-done as central parts of their identities, and I really enjoyed the pieces we got to read about their cultures.

Another compelling part of this story that kept me reading outside of my love for Deedee and Jay was wanting to unravel the history of Deedee's mom. The ghost stories she would tell about the aswang, the letters to Lolo Ric that she kept for herself, the apartment in New York -- all of it was a mystery I couldn't wait for Deedee to untangle. I think the efforts that Deedee went to in order to try and understand her mom were admirable, especially when their relationship was so fraught, and at times it probably would have felt easier to throw in the towel.

I can't think of a single thing I didn't like about this book. Overall, I think this was an incredibly strong and impactful debut for Osongco, and I am so excited to read more from her in the future!

I would recommend this to anyone who loves an emotional and raw coming-of-age YA story, boy-next-door romance, and stories that emphasize the complexity of navigating (and healing from) generational family trauma.

Thank you to NetGalley and Disney Hyperion for my e-ARC of this title, received in exchange for an honest review.

"Midnights with You" by Clare Osongco is one of those rare books that sticks with you long after you finish it. Deedee’s story is a raw, honest dive into young love, cultural identity, and the weight of family trauma. She’s seventeen, feeling lost, and dealing with an emotionally complex relationship with her mother—until she meets Jay, her neighbor and partner-in-late-night-drives. They bond over secrets and midnight adventures, finding comfort in each other as they try to make sense of their messy lives.

This book perfectly captures that mix of heartache and hope that comes with growing up and healing from deep family wounds. Deedee and Jay’s relationship feels real and relatable; they’re figuring themselves out first, which makes their connection even more beautiful. Osongco’s writing pulls you right into their world—it's lyrical, moving, and so full of feeling. I couldn’t put it down and immediately wanted to recommend it to everyone I know. If you love stories about self-discovery and the ups and downs of family and love, you need to read this!

An excellent story of trauma and secrets… with bipoc characters and a slow-burn romance. I found myself rooting for DeeDee and Jay as they navigated the issues that caused their original meet up… at midnight.

Title:  Midnights With You  
Author: Clare Osongco        
Genre: YA         
Rating:  3.5 out of 5

“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 for an escape, 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.

Deedee’s mom was pretty horrible through most of this—and a liar, to boot. I didn’t care for that, but Deedee wasn’t entirely a sympathetic character either. She was self-absorbed and selfish and had moments of bitterness that were off-putting. I felt like this was very slow in some parts, and was never really fast paced, so my attention wandered a bit. I liked Deedee, but she was sometimes hard for me to read.

Clare Osongco lives in L.A. Midnights With You is her debut novel.

(Galley courtesy of Disney Hyperion in exchange for an honest review.)

(Review live 11/13.)

Midnights with You begins with secret driving lessons. And it turns into a story about diaspora experiences, the wounds we inherit from our family, and the burdens we are forced to bear. It explores the emotional abuse from parents, the weight of their feelings, guilt, and trauma. How difficult it is to see ourselves clearly when we have these lessons and echoes of pain ringing in our ears. Midnights with You also examines biracial identity, how we can feel isolated and in a liminal space. And swirling amidst all of this, Midnights with You emphasizes that we cannot save a drowning person when we ourselves are drowning. That we have to see the ways we need to help ourselves and also lean on those around us.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5

Midnights With You is an emotional, powerful, and romantic YA contemporary romance debut that hooked me from the first page.

I rarely read contemporary novels, but when I heard about MWY, I decided to give it a try. I’m so glad I did. Deedee was a relatable FMC I rooted for the entire time. From the second Jay appeared on the page, I adored him. The romance between Deedee and Jay was tender, messy, sweet, and comforting. The pacing was great, and Clare’s prose perfectly fit Deedee and the story. I enjoyed the adventure, love, difficult conversations, and character growth. I highly recommend this beautiful debut!

Thank you to the publisher and author for the free copy!

Thank you so much Disney Hyperion and Clare for this arc. I loved this book so much and I can talk about it for hours!!! but I'll be unable to do that!

"Midnights with You" by Clare Osongco is one of those books that pulls you in with a quiet intensity and leaves you thinking about it long after the last page. It follows Deedee, a seventeen-year-old whose life is wrapped in layers of family secrets, guilt, and the heavy weight of unspoken trauma. She meets Jay, the boy across the street, with his own baggage, and the two connect through sleepless nights and secret driving lessons, finding solace in each other’s messy lives.

Deedee and Jay’s relationship is raw, real, and not without its complications. The beauty of their midnight escapades is both an escape and a mirror for their pain—they’re two people just trying to understand themselves in the middle of family trauma(and drama) they didn’t choose but have to live with. And there’s something so relatable in the way Deedee is just stuck, feeling the pressure to be the perfect daughter while wanting so much to break free and live her own life.

What I loved most is that Clare doesn’t shy away from hard truths. The story doesn’t wrap up with a neat, fairy-tale ending. Instead, it’s full of heartache and hope, asking if we can really let go of the pain passed down to us and choose something better. It’s a story about finding strength in vulnerability and learning that sometimes, facing the truth is the bravest thing you can do.

If you’re into coming-of-age stories that tackle family, love, and mental health with honesty and sensitivity, "Midnights with You" is worth adding to your list. It’s haunting in the best way, and Deedee and Jay will stay with you, making you wish for just one more midnight spent together.

Thank you to NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was a heavy but meaningful read. Even though I did not find myself very engaged by the story, I was still glad I read it. I was rooting for both Deedee and Jay throughout the novel, and I appreciated the realistic portrayal of their relationship, especially toward the end. I think this is a story that will help individuals with similar experiences, and I think this book has the potential to increase empathy and understanding from those who do not share these struggles, so if the premise of this novel interests you, definitely pick it up.

Thank you to Disney Hyperion and NetGalley for an early review copy.

"Meet me at midnight"

This book follows DeeDee as she tries to escape the secrets her mother keeps from her. DeeDee is constantly writing letters to her grandfather in the Philippines at her mothers instance, but with no response. Meanwhile, she meets a classmate, Jay, who is escaping his own family secrets and the two of them strike up a bond through their nightly hangs.

I feel like this book perfectly encapsulated the tumultuous, teenage experience. Osongco does an excellent job in depicting Deedee and Jay, as well developing their characters. Additionally, I really loved seeing how DeeDee's Filipino heritage came through on the page, and this is absolutely a book I wish I had read as a teenager.

Nice story, detailed and complicated characters. Appreciate the cultural aspects and authenticity. Also felt authentically teen/YA

This book was a heart-wrenching look into the guilt we carry along with parental expectations. Being a teen is hard enough, and when you are trying to do right by your parents, because "they sacrificed so much for me", it can be hard to know what to do and what is right and what is unacceptable. Combining the hardships of being a first generation American, a mixed-race child in a predominately white neighborhood, and the trauma of a single-parent household, Osongco puts into words things I never could and makes me relate to things I've never experienced.
Additionally, the conversation around teenage romance and reminder that you can not find yourself within someone else, that no one else can fix you, is a much needed one and should be mandatory reading for everyone.

I had a lot of expectations from this book, it was one of my anticipated releases of the year as well as many of my friends loved it, and this book went ahead and beyond those expectations, it made me feels in a way that no recent book has, the fights, the midnight conversations and the experiences went straight to my heart. It was sad and made me cry thrice but it is a book that i'd recommend to everyone, people who love fleshed out characters, complex relationships and a romance that doesn't fix all but encourages one to be better and fix it.
It is marketed as YA but i think even older readers will appreciate it and take something back, All it all reading it was am experience that will stay with me for a long long time.

Several aspects of this book resonated with me: generational trauma, low self esteem (and how verbal abuse affects that), mental health issues. I liked the authentic voices and second generation immigrant perspectives. *Slight spoiler* I do think that the whole "let's just be pen-pals until we are less damaged humans" plan didn't feel super organic. They both accepted that a little too easily. Also the MC's breakthrough with her mom seemed a little abrupt.

Overall a good read and a nice look at teenagers making healthier mental health decisions.

I wasn’t able to finish this which sucks because I was so excited to read this. It wasn’t my style but it may be someone else’s.

The first two thirds of this story felt heavy because several of the main characters kept their feelings inside but were acting out on the outside. So as the story went on, you would get glimpses of what was going on in their minds. This went on for quite a while as the angst built up.
The last third of the story saw the characters confront, process, and deal with their issues and move on with their lives. It felt a bit contrived and unrealistic since they never showed this willingness to change in the first part of the book.
The boy - girl romance worked well but at times I wondered how they ever developed a bond as they were never really honest with themselves or each other.
Overall I have mixed feelings about this book but it did make me think about how people process their emotions so it was very successful in that way.

This book was devastating and beautiful.

I have never felt so seen before...these characters were so messy and REAL

The ups and downs, why is growing up so hard? Why is love so many things at once?

Im still trying to process this amazing book but it is a 5 star read and I really hope you pick it up.

This review is based on an ARC.

I enjoyed this read. It was fun to talk to my spouse about all the Filipino folklore and cultural things. The tone was a bit standoffish and cold at times but the main POV character had these characteristics due to things in her life and it made sense as the book continued. It was an intentional stylistic choice that added depth to the novel. I recommend this book to anyone who feels like an outcast and tends to keep things to themselves but desperately wants a connection with someone who understands.