Sleeper

by MacKenzie Cadenhead

Overview

Her dreams are your nightmares.

As if surviving high school wasn't hard enough, Sarah Reyes suffers from REM Sleep Behavior Disorder, a parasomnia that causes her to physically act out her dreams. When she almost snaps her friend's neck at a sleepover, Sarah and her nocturnal habits are thrust into the spotlight and she becomes a social pariah, complete with public humiliation.

When an experimental drug comes onto the market that promises nighttime normalcy, Sarah agrees to participate in the trial. At first, she seems to be cured. Then the side effects kick in. Why does a guy from her nightmare show up at school? Are the eerily similar dreams she's sharing with her classmates' coincidence or of her making? Is she losing her mind or does this drug offer way more than sleep?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781492636144
Publisher:	Sourcebooks
Publication date:	08/01/2017
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	12.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

MacKenzie Cadenhead is the author of the middle grade fantasy novel Sally’s Bones and co-author of the upcoming young reader series Marvel’s Super Hero Adventures. She is a trained dramaturg and former editor for Marvel comics. She lives in New York with her family and has at least one totally crazy dream a week. Visit her at mackenziecadenhead.com

Editorial Reviews

"Both savvy and vulnerable, Sarah draws readers in with her dry wit as she laments her fall from social grace. Well-placed social media and pop-culture references further anchor them in Sarah's increasingly surreal world. The paranormal elements of the story are suspenseful and surprising." — Kirkus Reviews

"Thrilling. Sleeper is entirely enthralling, with twists and layers that race through to the end." — Foreword Reviews

"The dream scenes are vivid, fast paced, and exhilarating, filled with monsters, both human and otherwise… romance buffs who like their love complicated, a little ugly, and very sexy may appreciate Sarah and Wes’ powerful if flawed connection." — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

"Recommend for fans of Lisa McMann’s "Wake" series." — School Library Journal

From the Publisher

07/01/2017
Gr 9 Up—Sarah Reyes isn't having a great year. She has a rare REM sleep behavior disorder that causes her to act out in her sleep and requires that she be tied down every night. When Sarah spends the night with her friends and falls asleep before being strapped down, she almost breaks the neck of one of the most popular girls in school. Now ostracized, Sarah is determined to find a way to move past her disorder with an experimental new drug. As a result of the drug, her dreams become more vivid, but she doesn't move a muscle. Sarah meets an unlikely friend, Wes Nolan, a new guy at school who also has a sleep disorder. While on this new drug, Sarah and Wes can possess the bodies of others under the influence of the drug who don't have sleep disorders. Wes suggests the two of them take revenge on the people who have been making Sarah's life awful. But as Wes starts to make more serious and dangerous plans with their classmates' bodies, Sarah wonders whether it's time to stop. Told from Sarah's point of view, this narrative presents her dreams and reality. Sarah is a sympathetic character, even as she's getting her revenge. The secondary characters are more peripheral, although Sarah's best friend and ex-boyfriend are a little more fleshed out. References to drugs, drinking, and sex make this title more appropriate for older teens. The ending leaves the possibility of a sequel open. VERDICT Recommend for fans of Lisa McMann's "Wake" series or where light science fiction novels are popular.—Natalie Struecker, Atlantic Public Library, IA

School Library Journal

2017-05-24
A teenage girl suffering from a sleep disorder finds that an experimental drug cure comes with some unexpected and potentially deadly side effects. High school senior Sarah Reyes is a "good and appropriately ambitious soldier" in the army of queen bee Gigi. All's well until Sarah almost snaps Gigi's neck during a sleepover, the result of a REM sleep behavior disorder that renders her unable to control her actions while she sleeps. She physically acts out her dreams. Sarah, who is multiracial ("a hint of Latin America, a dash of Dutch colonialist, plus a generous helping of Southeast Asia"), becomes a social pariah after the incident with Gigi. But she has the support of her ex-boyfriend Jamie, who is black, and her white best friend, Tessa. Sarah also becomes involved with Wes, a new white guy at school. But Sarah knows she's seen Wes somewhere before—in one of her nightmares. When Sarah tries an experimental drug to cure her disorder, the strange side effects are way more than she bargained for. Both savvy and vulnerable, Sarah draws readers in with her dry wit as she laments her fall from social grace. Well-placed social media and pop-culture references further anchor them in Sarah's increasingly surreal world. The paranormal elements of the story are suspenseful and surprising, but the book's otherwise solid pacing lags at times during the dreamscape scenes. A fresh, mostly successful thriller about vengeance, loyalty, and friendship. (Paranormal thriller. 12-16)

Kirkus Reviews