The Sleepwalkers by J. Gabriel Gates

Review of The Sleepwalkers by J. Gabriel Gates published by HCI Teen

I received this book as a galley from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Caleb is graduating from high school and has his whole life ahead of him.  Strange dreams and a mysterious letter from his childhood friend, Christine, change his mind about his future and he mus travel to Florida to solve the mystery.  An old asylum has been converted into a dream center where dark and dangerous things wait and the truth is horrifying.

The whole time I was reading this book, I got the feeling that it really needed to be a movie first.  While there were some legitimately scary scenes in tunnels and in the asylum, I was distracted by the poor character development.  There will always be a certain amount of cliche to a horror book, but every character in this story was a cliche.  The sidekick, the stranger with a past, the creepy townsfolk who talk about mysterious happenings, etc…  Perhaps the biggest disappointment was the way that Caleb was presented.  What I normally like about YA is that a “normal” teen, meaning one with concerned parents and social stresses, is put through an extraordinary circumstance and is transformed in some way.  Caleb really didn’t have a background other than the bare minimum you needed to know to move the story forward.  That really takes away from the investment in the story. For instance, he is 18 and was planning on going to sub-Saharan Africa to report about the AIDS crisis without any training or credentials?  I realize that a certain amount of leniency must be given when reading a story, but this just seemed a little too unrealistic.  There are many other things along this line that bothered me, but I don’t want to give away the entire book.  As a book, this story just seemed to lack the desire to develop past anything other than a formulaic horror tale.  That just isn’t something that speaks to me as a reader, but those that like all things horror related might find it entertaining.  I gave it two stars.

This book is scheduled for release 10-4-11 by HCI Teens.
Photobucket

Kate

Share:

42 responses to “The Sleepwalkers by J. Gabriel Gates

  1. free general web directory…

    In between me and my husband we have owned much more MP3 players over time than I can count, such as Sansas, iRivers, iPods (traditional & touch), the Ibiza Rhapsody, etc. But, the last few several years I’ve settled down to one line of players….

  2. internet marketing tips…

    I feel technological know-how just makes it even worse. Now there is a channel to hardly ever treatment, now there wouldn’t be considered a possibility for them to discover….

  3. good affiliate programs…

    Between me and my husband we have owned far more MP3 players over time than I can count, like Sansas, iRivers, iPods (basic & touch), the Ibiza Rhapsody, etc. But, the last few decades I’ve settled down to one line of players….

  4. free seo service…

    My wife and i are now delighted that Albert could perform his scientific studies as a consequence of the suggestions he had by your web page. It really is on occasion perplexing to simply usually be freely giving actions which a lot of people could hav…

  5. Woman of Alien…

    Great do the job you have carried out, this page is de facto cool with superb details. Time is God’s technique for trying to keep everything from occurring at the same time….

  6. The Absent Game…

    Concerning me and my husband we have owned a lot more MP3 players through the years than I can count, which include Sansas, iRivers, iPods (traditional & touch), the Ibiza Rhapsody, etc. But, the last few many years I’ve settled down to one line of pl…

  7. iUnlox – Official iPhone IMEI Factory Unlocking Service…

    Are you trying to find a way to unlock your iPhone 4s permanently with an official network unlock? Unlock any iPhone using any version of operating system. Factory iPhone unlocks are permanent, processed by Apple, completed in iTunes and do not ruin yo…

Leave a Reply

(Enter your URL then click here to include a link to one of your blog posts.)

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.