This book caught my attention because of its’ cover. I was expecting something thrilling and maybe something with paranormal characteristics in the book.

I was wrong. What I thought was going to be a thrilling read turned about to be not so scary or thrilling at all. The writing style felt like you were reading a screenplay (or something close like it). The plot wasn’t too bad but it could have been better, and none of the characters really stood out for me.

One part I did not understand at all was the addition of the New Orleans voodoo thing. I thought to myself, hey this is going to get interesting. Nope. I don’t even know WHY it was added into the plot. Was it to deceive the reader into thinking voodoo was involved??? NOTHING was done with it and it turned out just to be a page filler.

When the big mystery was finally revealed, the ending was all right, but not the greatest and by that time I was rather disenchanted with the whole novel and I wanted it to be over and done with. It’s rather unfortunate but so much more could have been done with this plot and book but looked as if not much effort was put into it at all.

None of the characters really stood out for me. The romance between Emma and Jake wasn’t that great and I couldn’t really connect or have attachments to anyone. They were all cardboard like with barely any personality at all - although I’d have to say Jake was the one with the most personality at best.

Aside from the cover, this book could have been made into a movie and would have turned out much better. It’s a short book, so it can be read in one sitting (however because the plot was a bit slow to begin with it took me longer than usual). I would say pass this on unless you’ve no idea what to read next. ( )

Disappointing! I saw much potential here, but it was never fulfilled. This was something like Nightmare on Elm Street, but wasn't nearly as well executed. There were too many side characters who were just thrown into the plot. Who cared if Jennifer died? Well who was Jennifer? This book could have been so much better. The ending was terrible and left you mad that you wasted your time. Potential here, let's hope the author gets it together with the next book. ( )

Thomas Fahy's Sleepless has plauged my dreams ever since I started reading it. I finished it in a hurry last night, thinking that I might escape the vivid nightmares that have followed me since I started it last week. No such luck.

I am just like the characters in this book. The sweet and generous students who went to New Orleans to help rebuild after Hurricane Katrina. The same innocent teens who went there came back to their hometown completely changed. And not for the better.

You see, while they were in New Orleans, some crazy voodoo stuff started to happen. And then a minister was murdered. And when the students come back, the have horrific dreams. Death, murder, blood, killing. When they wake up, it turns out that they have actually committed the violent acts from their dreams. But they have no memory of actually hurting anyone.

Thus begins the horror story that has left me sleepless. This is a fast read and I recommend that you not take your time in reading it--Because they dreams will only worsen as you procrastinate! This is a perfectly scary book for Halloween. ( )

Sea Cliff was a small, quiet town. Until now. A group of students went to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina to build houses for Habitat for Humanity. A terrible murder occurs there, leading the students to promise to stay silent about what happened. They return home, but start to have the most horrible nightmares. As the dreams get worse, some even start to sleepwalk. Then some students start killing. Both Emma and Jake are having trouble sleeping. They are terrified that they are going to die next or maybe kill someone in their sleep. What is causing them to sleepwalk? Will they figure it out before it's too late?

This book was pitched to me by my sister (who's a YA librarian) as a Nightmare on Elm Street wannabe, which is not really true. I found out after I had read it that she hadn't even finished the book. There are some similarities, but as a whole, the two works are very different. The book reads as a teen horror flick transformed into a book. I liked the concept and liked going along for the ride as more details are revealed about the mystery. The horror aspects of the novel were pretty good. I really liked that one of the kids that ended up killing someone had violent episodes that they had no recollection of afterwards. One of them in particular came out of the blue and surprised me.

The characters are typical stock characters in a horror movie: the strong survival girl, the bad boy, the preppy cheerleader girl, etc. Unfortunately the characters don't really develop or have depth beyond that. Also, the Voodoo elements were kind of lame and obvious since they came from New Orleans. At a certain point, the mystery became really predictable and I started figuring things out before the characters. I like being surprised and having my mind blown. This was not the case here.

Sleepless was an amusing read that didn't have much depth. If it were a horror film, it would be one of those PG-13 ones that I avoid because they tend to be lame. I would recommend this to people want a fast, generally entertaining read. ( )

Emma's been having nightmares ever since she returned from a group trip building houses in New Orleans. Soon she finds out all of the students she went with are having nightmares too. Is it a coincidence, or the result of voodoo because of a crime they covered up while they were there? ( )