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celjla212's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 STARS
14 year old Amy isn't too thrilled when she has to leave LA to move to a small town called Narrowdale right before her freshman year. Not only is it bad enough that it's taking her a while to make friends, but she's starting to learn that this own is hiding more than a few secrets. Like the homeless man who seems to be able to read minds and see the future. Like the terrifying dreams that are haunting Amy's every night.
When Amy decides she can't take any more sleepless nights, she begins to dig into the truth about what is going on in Narrowdale. And a nearly ten year old crime catches up with her in a life threatening way.
To be honest, this story starts out very very slowly, with Amy overexplaining the mundane details of her day. But the book is only 160 pages so it was a very quick read...although it took nearly to the halfway point for any action to be going on.
I guess you could say Narrowdale is a kind of supernatural town, with things going on no one can explain and that no one really tries to. The citizens just accept that the town's "quirks" are a way of life. There's really no explanation given about why the town is the way it is, so I suppose we are going to accept this fact as well.
Amy is just OK as a main character, though at times it seems she can't make up her mind about what type of person she wants to be. Sometimes she's shy, others snarky, others a class-skipping rebel. Her constant narration of every little detail became annoying quickly.
Once the story hit its' stride about the reason Amy was having her dreams/visions, things moved very quickly. Amy and her partners investigate, pry, and just plain get lucky breaks, but they find out the truth. This truth puts them in danger, of course.
I truly appreciated that this story didn't have some budding romance or awkward meet cutes with its characters. Amy got by with help from her friends, but she didn't need a boyfriend, and that was great.
The end moved very, very fast in comparison to the beginning, and I wish the climactic moment had been fleshed out more. It's also interesting to note that Sleepless is the first book in a series set in the town of Narrowdale. Maybe we'll learn more about this place after all.
14 year old Amy isn't too thrilled when she has to leave LA to move to a small town called Narrowdale right before her freshman year. Not only is it bad enough that it's taking her a while to make friends, but she's starting to learn that this own is hiding more than a few secrets. Like the homeless man who seems to be able to read minds and see the future. Like the terrifying dreams that are haunting Amy's every night.
When Amy decides she can't take any more sleepless nights, she begins to dig into the truth about what is going on in Narrowdale. And a nearly ten year old crime catches up with her in a life threatening way.
To be honest, this story starts out very very slowly, with Amy overexplaining the mundane details of her day. But the book is only 160 pages so it was a very quick read...although it took nearly to the halfway point for any action to be going on.
I guess you could say Narrowdale is a kind of supernatural town, with things going on no one can explain and that no one really tries to. The citizens just accept that the town's "quirks" are a way of life. There's really no explanation given about why the town is the way it is, so I suppose we are going to accept this fact as well.
Amy is just OK as a main character, though at times it seems she can't make up her mind about what type of person she wants to be. Sometimes she's shy, others snarky, others a class-skipping rebel. Her constant narration of every little detail became annoying quickly.
Once the story hit its' stride about the reason Amy was having her dreams/visions, things moved very quickly. Amy and her partners investigate, pry, and just plain get lucky breaks, but they find out the truth. This truth puts them in danger, of course.
I truly appreciated that this story didn't have some budding romance or awkward meet cutes with its characters. Amy got by with help from her friends, but she didn't need a boyfriend, and that was great.
The end moved very, very fast in comparison to the beginning, and I wish the climactic moment had been fleshed out more. It's also interesting to note that Sleepless is the first book in a series set in the town of Narrowdale. Maybe we'll learn more about this place after all.
lyrareadsbooks's review against another edition
4.0
This book surpassed my expectations, maybe even a 4.5 This is a creepy but not gory or graphic scare. The different story elements thread together into a creepy mystery, akin to a good episode of The Twilight Zone. I had some doubts about a quarter of the way through the book. The first person heroine suffers from a lack of sleep and is prone to rambling, disjointed thoughts, but by the end it's clear this was done to put the reader into the her headspace. I picked this new to me author up as a free or .99 sale price. It worked. I'm looking forward to the next book (although this worked as a standalone title too) and I will certainly buy it.
ocoeemommy's review against another edition
2.0
Easy Read But Not What I Was Expecting
I've become a huge fan of Michael Omer but this book was disappointing. Maybe it's a young adult book? It's really short, only took an hour to read and it was really odd. Not what I was expecting after this other books.
I've become a huge fan of Michael Omer but this book was disappointing. Maybe it's a young adult book? It's really short, only took an hour to read and it was really odd. Not what I was expecting after this other books.
limabean74's review against another edition
4.0
I found this book on Xpresso Tour site and was taken by how awesome the synopsis sounded. Seemed like something that would be both creepy and interesting. What I didn’t expect was how creepy it was, this was a great thriller like book, almost reminded me of that movie with Kevin Bacon, Stir of Echoes but without all the hypnotizing.. I always seemed to read this book at night when everyone else was sleeping which made it even more creepy. :)
I thought I would give you a few reasons why I liked this book.
Amy (the MC) is a funny, typical 16 year old girl and a bit guarded at times. I adored her she was a fantastic character to read about.
I loved the added Blog Post with all the comments from her friends. It really made you feel like Amy was a real girl in a town called Narrowdale.
Amy’s friends Shane and Corel are fantastic just two really great kids that Amy was lucky to become friends with.
I loved the writing, funny, intense, creepy and great story build. I really look forward to read more from this author.
Amy had her frustrating moment but I think that is because she was so guarded about what she believed but she was really likable. So it was a good frustrating :)
It scared the crap out of me!!!
I really enjoyed this book a lot, the story was really chilling and when the book was done it really left an impression. I enjoyed all the characters and the creepiness. Even Narrowdale was a character in itself. I look forward to the next book. “Only in Narrowdale” can you get a great story with very enjoyable characters.
I thought I would give you a few reasons why I liked this book.
Amy (the MC) is a funny, typical 16 year old girl and a bit guarded at times. I adored her she was a fantastic character to read about.
I loved the added Blog Post with all the comments from her friends. It really made you feel like Amy was a real girl in a town called Narrowdale.
Amy’s friends Shane and Corel are fantastic just two really great kids that Amy was lucky to become friends with.
I loved the writing, funny, intense, creepy and great story build. I really look forward to read more from this author.
Amy had her frustrating moment but I think that is because she was so guarded about what she believed but she was really likable. So it was a good frustrating :)
It scared the crap out of me!!!
I really enjoyed this book a lot, the story was really chilling and when the book was done it really left an impression. I enjoyed all the characters and the creepiness. Even Narrowdale was a character in itself. I look forward to the next book. “Only in Narrowdale” can you get a great story with very enjoyable characters.
athomehangel's review against another edition
3.0
REVIEW IS ALSO POSTED ON MY BLOG
ACTUAL RATING: 3.5
Sleepless is a very creepy and fun read.
We follow Amy, a fourteen year old girl whose parents brought her to Narrowdale, a very creepy, mysterious and boring suburban town. Amy is not used to living in a small town because she grew up in L. A. She thought the worst things that could happen to her is a.) die out of boredom in boring Narrowdale b.) die of the hotness of the place because their air conditioner broke down and c.) die of embarrassment being the new girl in school. Little did she knew that in boring Narrowdale something scary is about to happen.
There's a homeless man who knows something about a girl who walks every night but no one sees and a whistler who comes by every night outside of Amy's house to scare her.
What I liked about Sleepless is that it's fast-paced and there's always something going on in the story that it never bored me. Amy, the main character is very spunky! She complains a lot but I didn't really mind because the way she does it is very realistic. She's also very brave, going out at midnight just to check out the mysterious whistler who keeps scaring her. The 14 year old me wouldn't have done it. I'd just lay in my bed and get scared. I also liked how the friendship between Amy, Coral and Shane have been made. The cover is also one of my favorite book covers ever!
Seriously, this book creeped me out! Once, I woke up late at night and I remembered some scenes in this book and I was scared! I forced myself to sleep haha :D.
Amy is also blogger, there are live links on the e-book copy of the book that a reader can tap and it will take him/her to Amy's blog.
I wish that the description of each character was clearer though. There's no exact description of how each characters look like and how they really are as a person.
Sleepless is a fun, crazy, quick and creepy book. I want the second book now!
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ACTUAL RATING: 3.5
Copy was provided for the blog tour. This does not affect my opinion of the book in any way.
Sleepless is a very creepy and fun read.
We follow Amy, a fourteen year old girl whose parents brought her to Narrowdale, a very creepy, mysterious and boring suburban town. Amy is not used to living in a small town because she grew up in L. A. She thought the worst things that could happen to her is a.) die out of boredom in boring Narrowdale b.) die of the hotness of the place because their air conditioner broke down and c.) die of embarrassment being the new girl in school. Little did she knew that in boring Narrowdale something scary is about to happen.
There's a homeless man who knows something about a girl who walks every night but no one sees and a whistler who comes by every night outside of Amy's house to scare her.
What I liked about Sleepless is that it's fast-paced and there's always something going on in the story that it never bored me. Amy, the main character is very spunky! She complains a lot but I didn't really mind because the way she does it is very realistic. She's also very brave, going out at midnight just to check out the mysterious whistler who keeps scaring her. The 14 year old me wouldn't have done it. I'd just lay in my bed and get scared. I also liked how the friendship between Amy, Coral and Shane have been made. The cover is also one of my favorite book covers ever!
Seriously, this book creeped me out! Once, I woke up late at night and I remembered some scenes in this book and I was scared! I forced myself to sleep haha :D.
Amy is also blogger, there are live links on the e-book copy of the book that a reader can tap and it will take him/her to Amy's blog.
I wish that the description of each character was clearer though. There's no exact description of how each characters look like and how they really are as a person.
Sleepless is a fun, crazy, quick and creepy book. I want the second book now!
Want to win a digital copy of SLEEPLESS? Click the link below!
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ctorretta's review against another edition
4.0
This definitely has a creep factor! Which is the exact reason why I wanted to read the book. Sadly, it is a little younger than I normally read and I think that threw me a bit. I liked the story but I was not in love with it. The characters are good and the plot is there but this is definitely driven for young adult readers.
Firstly, Amy is your normal teen that does not want to move into a strange house in a strange town. The first problem is that their new house is exactly like all the others on their new street. Plain, plain, plain! And number 13 (which personally I love!). It was hard enough moving but she is not making any friends and just feels as if the town is weird. The weirder she feels the more she acts out and the few that may have been her friends start to shy away and she starts to get deeper and deeper into herself. Then the whistling starts.
Each night she has nightmares but she wakes to someone whistling, in the middle of the night, outside of her window. Nobody believes that there is actually someone there and her parents yell at her for calling people to find out what is going on! It just gets worse from there.
Although the premise is good, as I said above, I was a little blase with the entire book. Not enough to put it down, but enough for my mind to wander every once and a while. I liked the main character, although she really acts young, and I liked the plot enough to keep reading, so that is what matters.
I think the YA group will love the creep factor and the writing in this. Sadly it missed the mark for me. "Although I didn't love it, I definitely recommend this to YA lovers out there! Not scary for horror fans but will creep you out if you do not expect serious horror.
Thank you to Xpresso Book Tours for allowing me to review this!
Firstly, Amy is your normal teen that does not want to move into a strange house in a strange town. The first problem is that their new house is exactly like all the others on their new street. Plain, plain, plain! And number 13 (which personally I love!). It was hard enough moving but she is not making any friends and just feels as if the town is weird. The weirder she feels the more she acts out and the few that may have been her friends start to shy away and she starts to get deeper and deeper into herself. Then the whistling starts.
Each night she has nightmares but she wakes to someone whistling, in the middle of the night, outside of her window. Nobody believes that there is actually someone there and her parents yell at her for calling people to find out what is going on! It just gets worse from there.
Although the premise is good, as I said above, I was a little blase with the entire book. Not enough to put it down, but enough for my mind to wander every once and a while. I liked the main character, although she really acts young, and I liked the plot enough to keep reading, so that is what matters.
I think the YA group will love the creep factor and the writing in this. Sadly it missed the mark for me. "Although I didn't love it, I definitely recommend this to YA lovers out there! Not scary for horror fans but will creep you out if you do not expect serious horror.
Thank you to Xpresso Book Tours for allowing me to review this!
sagek's review against another edition
5.0
*I'm posting this as part of the XpressoBookTours Sleepless Blog Tour. I recieved a free ebook copy of this in order to do so.
Rating: 4.5/5
Sleepless is full of bravery, friendship, creepily intelligent homeless men, weird neighbors, consistent nightmares, darkness, kidnappings, and investigations. It’s basically Scooby-Doo, but less cartoonish and childish and more realistic and scary. It’s about Amy and how in her new home located in Narrowdale, weird things keep happening. It’s about the friends she makes and what they hear or see together. It’s about them trying to figure out what Amy’s nightmares are about and searching for clues and trying to solve what no one else did. Plus, it’s infused with paranormal-like aspects. It’s great!
See my full review here: Fishing For Books.
Rating: 4.5/5
Sleepless is full of bravery, friendship, creepily intelligent homeless men, weird neighbors, consistent nightmares, darkness, kidnappings, and investigations. It’s basically Scooby-Doo, but less cartoonish and childish and more realistic and scary. It’s about Amy and how in her new home located in Narrowdale, weird things keep happening. It’s about the friends she makes and what they hear or see together. It’s about them trying to figure out what Amy’s nightmares are about and searching for clues and trying to solve what no one else did. Plus, it’s infused with paranormal-like aspects. It’s great!
See my full review here: Fishing For Books.
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