{Review} The Sleepwalkers by J. Gabriel Gates

ISBN #: 978-0757315886

Page Count: 336

Copyright: October 3, 2011

Publisher: HCI Teens (1st Edition)

Book Summary:

(Taken from Amazon)

Privileged and popular Caleb Mason is celebrating his high school graduation when he receives a mysterious, disturbing letter from his long-lost childhood playmate, Christine. Caleb and his jokester friend Bean decide to travel to his tiny hometown of Hudsonville, Florida, to find her.

Upon arrival, they discover the town has taken a horrifying turn for the worse. Caleb's childhood home is abandoned and his father has disappeared. Children are going missing. The old insane asylum has reopened, and Christine is locked inside. Her mother, a witch, is consumed with madness, and Christine's long-dead twin sister whispers clues to Caleb through the static of an a.m. radio.

The terrifying prophesies of the spirits are coming to pass. Sixteen clocks are ticking; sixty-six murdered souls will bring about the end of the world. As Caleb peels back layer after layer of mystery, he uncovers a truth more horrible than anything he had imagined, a truth that could only be uttered by the lips of the dead.

Mandy's Review:

It's rare that I find a book or movie that gives me the heebee jeebies as I'm reading or watching it. The Sleepwalkers gave me the heebee jeebies.

It opened a little slow for me, but once it got going it was one twist right after the other. Normally I can figure out who is doing what or what's about to happen, but I couldn't do that with this book. I tried a couple times and found out later what I thought was wrong.

I enjoyed Mr. Gates' writing style. He has a semi-sick and twisted thought process, which I appreciate. There's nothing too graphic in here, which is wonderful since it's written for teens. Now, that I've had a few days to process the story, though, I do have questions concerning the story. I don't want to give anything away, but there are some situations that I would've loved to have had more insight into. I can promise you, though, that while you're reading this book, you don't really care about the why's and how's, you just want to know what in the world is going to happen next and would it please hurry up and get there!!!

The impatience I had while reading was a good thing. It means that I was so engrossed in the story I just had to know what was going to happen next. It was just so freakin' creepy ... I loved it!

If you're a fan of spooky, suspenseful, weird, strange novels, then I recommend this book to you.


*An ecopy of the book was provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.