- Darkest Hour (The Mediator)
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Darkest Hour 
First edition coverAuthor(s) Meg Cabot Country United States Language English Series The Mediator Genre(s) Young adult novel Publisher Pocket Books Publication date 2001 Media type Print ISBN 0060725141 Preceded by Reunion Followed by Haunted Darkest Hour is a young adult novel written by Meg Cabot. It is the fourth part of The Mediator series. The novel was first published in 2001 and was the last of the series to appear under the pseudonym Jenny Carroll. In the UK, it was published with the title Young Blood.
Synopsis
Suze Simon is forced to work a summer job by her stepfather, Andy, a first in her life. So her stepbrother Jake (Sleepy) gets her a pretty decent job as a hotel babysitter at the Pebble Beach Hotel and Golf Resort. The pay is good, the job is relatively easy, and there's plenty of eye candy--like Paul Slater, the big brother of her usual charge, Jack, a particularly weird looking and whiny eight year old boy. While she finds Paul really interesting, she feels like she's cheating on Jesse because her true feelings were for him, not Paul. Suze soon realizes that Jack's misery is mainly caused because he could see dead people; in other words, he is also a mediator.
As Suze helps Jack Slater realize ghosts do not mean to do any harm and just want help to go to the afterlife, he becomes more confident and reassured. Soon, he is becoming more like the average eight year old boy in America. Paul is surprised by this and asks Suze to join them for dinner. Suze politely declines and avoids talking to Paul the rest of the day.
Suze's dry routine for the summer is interrupted when her stepfather and stepbrother--trying to install a hot tub--dig up something in the backyard--letters from a person named Maria de Silva to her fiance, Hector de Silva. Suze soon realizes that these letters belonged to Jesse. Problems start as Suze is threatened by Maria's ghost, who does not want them to find the letters. In her attempts to maintain her role in society, Maria starts harassing Suze's family, such as turning the juice in the refrigerator to bugs. Suze fears that if she finds Jesse's remains in the backyard, Jesse will move on to the next world and leave her.
Despite her fear, Suze attempts to give those letters to the Historical Center, where the conservator Dr. Clive Clemmings thinks Jesse did not die from murder, but ran away from his wedding because he was too frightened. She notices Maria's picture and a small portrait of Jesse in the museum, and after listening to Dr. Clemming's speculation of the de Silva's history, becomes very upset.
The following day, Suze is confronted by the police, who inform her that the conservator is dead and Hector de Silva's portrait is missing. Paul stops them from inquiring her further, saying that he can "attract more flies with honey rather than vinegar", and she finally concedes to go out on a date with him.
As Suze returns home from the date, Brad (Dopey) and Andy unearthed Jesse's remains in the backyard. Suze throws up her dinner and assures herself, when she could not find Jesse, that he was only away for a time. Jesse had promised not to disappear if his remains were found and she believes him. The hours drag on as Suze waits for Jesse to return. Jack Slater then calls her to inform her of his successful exorcism of the "ghost who was bothering Suze" for a long time. According to Jack, a pretty Maria ghost had told him how to exorcise a ghost, and he succeeded without sweat.
Suze is horrified. She is attacked by Maria de Silva and Felix Diego, her late husband, who helped kill Jesse in the past. They try to kill her, but only give her a concussion by throwing her in the dug-up hole Andy and Brad had been working on. The next day, Suze marches up to Jack and orders him to exorcise her. She believes that if she ended up in the same place as Jesse, she would be able to bring him back. Before she could do so, however, Father Dominic, who realizes her plan, intervenes and prevents the whole process from occurring.
Father Dom agrees on doing a "proper exorcism" in the Mission, mainly because he believes Suze will not stop at any account on saving Jesse. He warns her against persuading Jesse with her female attributes, however, or keeping Jesse against his will. She has thirty minutes to go find him and come back, or she will die. Jack arrives in the last minute with the rope to tie around her waist and help her get back.
Suze finds Jesse on the "other side". At first, Jesse was hurt because he thought Suze had exorcised him herself. When he was reassured that it was not her, however, he becomes furious with her safety and tries to lead her back to their world. It turns out that Maria had cut Suze's rope while she was trying to find Jesse, so Suze and Jesse were lost. Paul--who turns out to be a mediator as well--appears and taunts them. Suze realizes that Paul had been working with Maria and Felix, distracting Suze from saving Jesse from being exorcised. Jesse, furious with Paul's selfish outlook on the mediator "gift", punches him. They barely make it back to the Mission, only to find Maria and Felix Diego attacking Father Dominic. Suze finally manages to exorcize Maria de Silva and Felix Diego, and Jesse decides to stay in the living world.
The Slaters leave the hotel, leaving Suze a huge tip and some cryptic letters. As Suze goes up, she finds Jesse wanting to talk. She says she does not want to talk, for fear of confessing her feelings, but Jesse finally kisses her.
Works by Meg Cabot (publication order) The Princess Diaries novel series The Princess Diaries (2000) • Princess in the Spotlight (2001) • Princess in Love (2002) • Princess Lessons (2003) • Princess in Waiting (2003) • Project Princess (2003) • Princess in Pink (2004) • Perfect Princess (2004) • The Princess Present (2004) • Princess in Training (2005) • Holiday Princess (2006) • Party Princess (2006) • Sweet Sixteen Princess (2006) • Valentine Princess (2006) Princess on the Brink (2007) • Princess Mia (2008) • Forever Princess (2009)
The Mediator novel series Shadowland (2000) • Ninth Key (2001) • Reunion (2001) • Darkest Hour (2001) • Haunted (2003) • Twilight (2004)
1-800-WHERE-R-YOU novel series When Lightning Strikes (2001) • Code Name Cassandra (2001) • Safe House (2002) • Sanctuary (2002) • Missing You (2006)
All-American Girl novel series All American Girl (2002) • Ready or Not: An All-American Girl Novel (2005)
Avalon High novel series Avalon High (2005) • The Merlin Prophecy (2007 manga) • Homecoming (2008 manga) • Hunter's Moon (2009 manga)
Airhead novel series Abandon novel series Abandon (2011) • The Underworld
Allie Finkle novel series Moving Day (2008) • The New Girl (2008) • Best Friends and Drama Queens (2009) • Stage Fright (2009) • Glitter Girls and the Great Fake Out (2010) • Blast From the Past (2010)
Boy novel series The Boy Next Door (2002) • Boy Meets Girl (2004) • Every Boy's Got One (2005)
Heather Wells novel series Size 12 is Not Fat (2006) • Size 14 is Not Fat Either (2006) • Big Boned (2007)
Queen of Babble novel series Queen of Babble (2006) • Queen of Babble in the Big City (2007) • Queen of Babble Gets Hitched (2008)
Insatiable novel series Insatiable (2010) • Overbite (2011)
Other teen novels Nicola and the Viscount (2002) • Victoria and the Rogue (2003) • Teen Idol (2004) • How to Be Popular (2006) • Pants On Fire (2007) • Jinx (2007)
Other adult novels Where Roses Grow Wild (1998) • Portrait of My Heart (1999) • An Improper Proposal (1999) • A Little Scandal (2000) • Lady of Skye (2000) • Educating Caroline (2001) • Kiss the Bride (2002) • She Went All the Way (2002)
Short stories: "The Christmas Captive" (2000) • "Every Girl's Dream" (?) • "Girl’s Guide to New York through the Movies" (2003) • "Kate the Great" (2003) • "Party Planner" (2004) • "Connie "Hunter" Williams, Psychic Teacher" (2005) • "Allie Finklestine's Rules for Boys" (2006) • "Reunion" (2006) • "Cry, Linda, Cry: Judy Blume’s Blubber and The Cruelest Thing in the World" (Spring 2007) • "Ask Annie" (2007) • "The Exterminator's Daughter" (2007) • "Princess Prettypants" (2010) • "The Night Hunter" (2010) • "The Protectionist" (2011)
Categories:- 2001 novels
- American young adult novels
- Novels by Meg Cabot
- Ghost stories
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