Insomnia (Night Walkers, #1)

by J R Johansson

Instead of sleeping, Parker Chipp enters the dream of the last person he's had eye contact with. His exhaustion is crippling. Then he meets Mia, whose calm dreams allow him blissful rest. He must go to bizarre lengths to catch Mia's eye every day. Her eyes saved his life. Her dreams released his darkness. After four years of sleeplessness, high school junior Parker Chipp can't take much more. Every night, instead of sleeping, he enters the dreams of the last person he's made eye contact with. If he doesn't sleep soon, Parker will die. Then he meets Mia. Her dreams, calm and beautifully uncomplicated, allow him blissful rest that is utterly addictive. But what starts out as a chance meeting turns into an obsession; Parker's furious desire for what he needs pushes him to extremes he never thought he'd go. And when someone begins to terrorizing Mia with twisted death threats, Parker's memory blackouts leave him doubting his own innocence. AGES: 12 to 18 AUTHOR: J. R. Johansson holds a BS in public relations and is active in the writing community, teaching classes and workshops. Insomnia is her debut novel.

• ISBN13: 9780738735931
• Publish Date: 8 June 2013
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 8 November 2022
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Flux
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 360
• Language: English

Reviews

[layawaydragon]

I liked how different the premise is but Parker was annoying at times and the idea he lasted 4 years without sleep is ridiculous. I think if the length of time was shortened it'd make more sense and would've been better for explaining Peter's actions and his mother's. It would also force something to happen on the homefront instead of being just annoying aside that shows how awful Peter can be and how passively useless his loving mother is.

The mystery of the stalker (besides Peter) is rather obvious if you think about it and I wish it was revealed earlier so we can get a better understanding of him. He becomes a psycho rather abruptly and it felt off. Like it was supposed to happen, of course but didn't come off naturally.

It makes sense to focus on the stalker as an immediate concern and then work on figuring out the paranormal aspect but given the issues with that plot line, Insomnia didn't stand out. I enjoyed it, especially the darker aspects with Parker's paranormal problem, but that's merely a plot device so far and not the star of the show. I'm interested in the next book to figure out the night walkers but even though the weak mystery is over, I'm not head over heels about it because of Parker. (His last convo with Addie...ugh. ) But here's to hoping.

[sstaley]

I'm so excited to review Insomnia! Ever since I first saw the cover I knew I would love this book. In fact, I pre-ordered the book so I could get my hands on it as fast as I could. The cover is one of the best I've seen this year. If you think the cover is creepy and haunting,this gives you a good idea about what you will find inside.

Even though main character Parker scares you with his bizarre actions, he is a very sympathetic character. You can't help but feel his pain when he longs so much to be able to have a good nights sleep. Parker doesn't sleep at night because he lives within others dreams. He wanders undetected in the dream of the last person he made eye contact with. As I was reading this book I felt a more appropriate title for this book would have been, Intense!
The story hooks you from the beginning and never sets you free until the end. I was so impressed with the great writing in this book considering this is Jenn's first published novel. If you are familiar with I'm Not a Serial Killer, by Dan Wells, it is a creepy and fantastic book. I need to warn Dan that Jenn is fast on his tail for mastering the creepy factor. She has created such a dark tale that keeps the reader guessing and freaked out. This YA thriller I can guarantee you is going to be making a name for itself and it's author.

[Angie]

I received an ARC through NetGalley.

Parker calls himself a Watcher. He literally watches other people’s dreams every single night. At the beginning of Insomnia, it’s been four years since he’s gotten any real sleep and it’s really starting to show. After a doctor’s visit, his fears are confirmed: lack of sleep will kill him, and soon. Then he meets Mia. He catches her eye and that night enters the peaceful realm of her dream where Parker is able to actually fall asleep and have dreams of his own. Now he hopes to catch her gaze every day before heading home so he can get some rest. Unfortunately, Mia finds his persistence creepy and beings having nightmares of him stalking her. It doesn’t help that she’s also been getting threatening e-mails from someone who may be Parker.

Insomnia started off really good. It was weird, but in a good way. I really enjoyed the idea of Parker entering the dreams of the last person whom he’s made eye contact with. There’s even explanations for what happens if that person isn’t asleep or if he fails to catch anyone’s eye during the day. We just don’t know why this happens, but I was okay with this. Parker doesn’t know anyone else with this ability, so it would make sense that he doesn’t fully understand what’s going on with him. Eventually Parker starts having blackouts and can’t remember leaving his house at odd hours. It’s entirely possible that he is the one stalking Mia, and psychosis has already settled in.

Where Insomnia started to lose me was when important points started getting glossed over. One of the biggest one was Parker’s seemingly creepy behavior towards Mia. He’s desperate to enter her dreams every night, but we don’t actually seem him following her around until after he’s already labeled a stalker. He goes from normal to freak with nothing in between. I think it would have made the story more interesting if we had actually seen him act strangely in regards to Mia. Then there’s Parker’s bedtime “experiments.” He ties his arm to the bed post using dental floss to see if he’s left in the night. We never get any explanation for his late night/early morning disappearances either. I felt like that was just stuck in there so we’d think he was the real stalker.

The ending was a bit of a disappointment. It wasn’t really shocking, other than in it’s randomness. I never really believed the stalker situation and had a kind of “so what” attitude towards the reveal. I was also annoyed by the presence of the Blind Skull character. He’s there in order to make this series, but I think Insomnia would have worked well as a standalone. Despite its faults, I did enjoy it. It was creepy and mysterious, but just started to fall apart toward the end.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.

[jnikkir]

Parker Chipp hasn't slept in four years - at least, his mind hasn't. When he was 12, instead of falling asleep and dreaming his own dreams, his mind started entering the dreams of the last person he made eye contact with. He hasn't gotten any rest since then: His mind is fully conscious while "Watching" others' dreams, even if his body isn't. And after four years of this, being a Watcher is taking its toll on Parker. It's just a matter of time before his body succumbs to his extreme exhaustion - but he's afraid his mind will be the first to go.

His doctor confirms that "psychosis and death" are what await the extremely-sleep-deprived, and all Parker's fears look like they'll become a reality. But when he almost runs into a girl after running a stop sign, and enters her dreams that night, he actually sleeps. And he thinks his problems are solved. Except, when his attempts to catch Mia's eye every day become more and more desperate, and then a stalker starts sending her threatening messages, Parker realizes he's finally losing control - could it be him sending those messages? Parker sets out to discover the truth - hopefully before he loses control completely.

What I wanted from this book:
1) A believable narrator.
2) A creepy psychological thriller.
3) A plot that kept me guessing.
4) A romance, if there was one, that didn't overshadow any of the above.

What I got from this book:
- All of the above.

(1) Since the MC is a guy, and the story is told from his point of view, I wanted him to be awesome. I love male narrators - and I'm happy to say Parker is no exception. I really enjoyed Parker, both as the narrator and as a character - he's interesting and complex. He's a decent person, and really only wants a normal life, but lack of sleep paired with some of the things he's seen in people's dreams has given him a darker outlook on life. (2) And while he is a believable narrator in the sense that his voice comes across as "relatable"/"authentic"/etc, he also comes across as... well, slightly unhinged, at times. And he's definitely not a reliable narrator, which was creepy, but also really cool.

As for the plot (3), I did guess what the outcome would be close to the start of the book, but that didn't keep me from second-guessing myself at every corner, and at once point actually deciding that I was dead wrong. And I loved that constant feeling of unpredictability - it feels like you're there in Parker's head, getting confused and freaking out right alongside him.

Finally, (4) I read plenty of books where the romance is a focus - this wasn't one where I wanted that to be the case. The blurb said Psychological/Paranormal Thriller, and gosh darn it, that is what I wanted - no frills or disguising the romance in a "thriller" package. But I had nothing to worry about. There is a love interest for Parker (though it's not the one that you'd expect from the blurb), and it is mostly a sub-plot. I never felt like it was shouting at me to Pay Attention To The Cute Couple. And what I really appreciated was that the romantic interest was, first and foremost, a friend to Parker when he needed one.

Which brings me to a related but unexpected aspect that I loved. While Parker faces a lot of stuff alone, because he's scared and doesn't want to admit to people that he's probably going crazy, there's also a moment where he admits to himself that he needs help, and he goes to his best friend, Finn, to get that help. He's not always this smart (I'll cut him some slack, considering the whole psychosis thing), but I really appreciate it when a main character doesn't decide to do things Totally On His/Her Own and actually decides to ask for help. Additionally, I really liked the friendship between Parker and Finn. We're not just told that they'd been best friends for a long time - they act and talk and hang out like they know each other well, and I really liked the established-friendship vibe they had.

I'm also really glad that there's going to be a book 2! The ending opens up a lot of possibilities for expanding on the whole "Watcher" thing - I just hope it's able to pull off a similar creepiness to Insomnia, because that's what I loved about this book. Fingers crossed!
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{ This review can also be found at my blog, There were books involved... }