Absolute midnight

I remember reading the first two books in this series back when I was about twelve or thirteen, and loving them. The cliffhanger at the end of Days of Magic killed me, though, and twelve-year-olds aren't very good at waiting around for books to come out. So I didn't reread them until Absolute Midnight was released (seven years later, might I add), but they were every bit as creative and astounding as I had remembered. It's pretty obvious they're YA novels, especially in comparison to Barker's other work, but there is still such creepiness and depth in them that it's easy to forget. Also, the characters are to die for; Candy is expressive and interesting while staying very realistic - she actually acts like a sensible teenager! - and the main villain is both incredibly layered and incredibly terrifying. I actually like him more than Candy, but shh, it's a secret. Midnight had a different feel to it than the first two - sparser, harsher - but it was still a fantastic read.