In the Middle of the Night Summary
Robert Cormier

In the Middle of the Night Summary

In the Middle of the Night is a study in the self-destructive power of the lust for revenge. Two young people have had their parents murdered by unidentified "wise guys" when they were two and three years old. With lives already burdened by this loss, they are involved in a tragedy at a theater where they have gone to see a Halloween magic show that is an annual event for impoverished children. An unused balcony collapses on the audience officially killing twenty-two children, but actually "killing" Lulu too, although she is revived after her near-death experience. She and her brother Dave had settled in to enjoy a show: "Ten minutes later, Lulu was dead./Then the nightmare began."

Bitter, crippled, and deranged, she devotes her life to revenge; when the theater owner commits suicide, the only person left on whom she can vent her rage is John Paul...

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