Victoria lives in the belief that her parents' desire for a new baby is fuelled by their disappointment in her own imperfections and she tries to explain her feelings and frustrations in a childish diary.

As she surveys the world from behind her big blue-rimmed glasses, Paul, too afraid to approach her, keeps his distance yet watches her carefully, gradually developing an awareness of her that others may never understand.

The contrast between the painfully poetic explanations of Paul's emotions and the basic, misspelt scribblings of Victoria¹s diary emphasises the agony of the stirrings of first love, making their eventual and inevitable meeting on the Carousel all the more intense.

Midnight Fair is a rich and challenging book which treats its characters and its readers with respect, cleverly and intricately proving that the first tinglings of love and attraction do not have to be treated with schmaltz or embarrassment.