Sleepless Nights Have Never Been so Interesting!!

Sleepwalking has never become as interesting as it has in Thomas Fahy’s young adult horror novel Sleepless!! Emma Montgomery is a teenager who has been having some major trouble sleeping since she returned to the small town of Sea Cliff which is on Long Island, from her summer school trip to New Orleans. Poor Emma, who is also grieving over the death of her mother, is having terrible nightmares and she can not even remember what they are about she only knows that when she awakens something terrible is bound to happen soon. Emma even awakes in different locations from where she was when she fell asleep. Emma soon finds out that she is not the only person suffering from these nightmares. The other members of Dr. Beecher’s secret society that Emma is a part of at Saint Opportuna High are also having a troubled sleep. Dr. Beecher was the faculty advisor on the students’ trip to New Orleans to rebuild houses after the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina. The students and Dr. Beecher formed a bond on their trip and promised each other that they keep the details of the trip secret and only between those that went on the trip. These details include the mysterious events surrounding the death of Reverend Michaels who was the reverend of the church the students were sleeping at during their stay in New Orleans. Soon someone turns up murdered, and it appears by one of them. Now the race is on to stay awake and figure out what is causing the nightmares before more people get hurt or even worse murdered. Readers are kept guessing as to whom or what could possible be behind the horror and the only person we really get to know and trust is Emma our main character, and Jack Hardale another member of the secret society who is also a pot dealer to his fellow students. Jack is a character reluctant readers would relate to because he does not like school much, but he does like Emma and his hobby/job which is fixing cars at an auto shop. Ms. Dupré is another character in the story who adds an interesting dynamic because she relocated to Sea Cliff after Hurricane Katrina and practice voodoo so some are suspicious of her.
With a little over 200 pages, quick moving chapters, and an awesome cover to capture their attention, this book is sure to get some reluctant readers interested in reading. Fahy also writes in a manner that will be easy for younger teens to understand and includes elements of horror as well as mystery. I think this book is appropriate for grades 9 and up, some of the imagery may give younger readers nightmares. I would recommend this book to both male and female reluctant readers on an independent reading list. Although Emma is the main characters male’s male students also have Jack's perspective to relate to. I also feel the book referencing Hurricane Katrina keeps it modern and relatable since many may have at least heard about this disaster and if they have not it may spark their interest and cause students to want to learn more.