Insomnia (The Night Walkers, #1) by J.R. Johansson

May 10, 2012 J.R. Johansson added it · (Review from the author)

This book is unexpectedly creeptastic. It even surprised me, and I wrote it. I can also say with complete bias, that even after reading it approximately 1,247,463 times, I still like it.

That has to mean something, right?

You should read it and let me know. :)

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Apr 08, 2013 Brandi rated it did not like it

Recommends it for: Nobody

Shelves: terrible, won-t-re-read, male-lead

1.5 Stars

The story is about Parker, who hasn't actually slept in 4 years, and is an invisible bystander to the dreams of the last person he made eye contact with. As things get progressively worse he can only trust his best friend, and his friend's sister, to help him uncover what is wrong with him, and help the girl that he found out he can sleep with (har har).

For such a wholly original idea (to me anyway), this book sure wasn't anything special. I mean, watching the dreams of the last pers ...more

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Jun 17, 2013 Khanh, first of her name, mother of bunnies rated it it was ok

Shelves: beta-male, jericho-fucking-barrons, mental-illness, horror, high-school, mystery, paranormal, siblings, ya

Wow, I don't quite know what to say. I'm not sure what I think of this one, actually. Surreal, scary, unreal; it's like looking at a René Magritte painting. This book just wreaks havoc with my head. It features an unreliable narrator, and that's what took me for a spin. It was well-written, but there were problems with the plot that could have been solved by a few easy steps. I liked it, but I'm not sure if I loved it.

The concept is interesting and original, the execution is somewhat flawed. It ...more

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Feb 04, 2013 Rose rated it it was ok

Shelves: great-premise-lacking-execution, young-adult, thriller, supernatural, paranormal, netgalley, mystery, arc-or-galley, quarterly-challenge-ya-10-2013

Initial reaction: I wasn't that impressed with "Insomnia," despite some pretty awesome aspects that were peppered into the story. My primary problem was the protagonist Parker - usually I don't mind unreliable narrators if I can sympathize/empathize with them, but Parker irritated me more times than not. The writing in this didn't really support the storyline that well either, having one too many holes and some expansions that were difficult to buy for me. And I couldn't get the Al Pacino/Robin Initial reaction: I wasn't that impressed with "Insomnia," despite some pretty awesome aspects that were peppered into the story. My primary problem was the protagonist Parker - usually I don't mind unreliable narrators if I can sympathize/empathize with them, but Parker irritated me more times than not. The writing in this didn't really support the storyline that well either, having one too many holes and some expansions that were difficult to buy for me. And I couldn't get the Al Pacino/Robin Williams movie of the same name out of my head while reading this. Hopefully I can go into more detail about it in the full review.

Full review:

"Insomnia," J.R. Johansson's first novel in "The Night Walkers" series, should've been a book that I loved to bits. It had everything that I would appreciate in a story depending on the depicted elements - an unreliable narrator, a chance to explore horrors in a dreamscape environment, an overarching mystery in a supernatural environment. But...there's no easy way for me to say it other than I thought Parker was a *terrible* character to follow. It was very difficult to like him, let alone sympathize with him.

The story revolves around Parker's problem of not being able to dream for 4 years time. He doesn't dream or get restful sleep because, simply by making eye contact with the last person he sees, he can delve into their dreams. It's a pretty cool, but annoying concept as we figure Parker doesn't like the measure at all - he hates being sucked in and worse yet, it's taking a toll on his health.

Enter Mia. Mia's not a big part of the picture, at first. She meets Parker after a rather odd run-in at night, but Parker realizes in his dreams the night following his encounter with Mia that he sleeps. His dreams are peaceful and bring him a calm he hasn't known for four years. Thus, begins the ~~obsessive stalking~~ quest for Parker to figure out why Mia provides him this calm and be around her just so that he can get some measure of relief from his condition.

Of course, this backfires because he ~~is self-centered, needy, and a jerk~~ creeps out everybody around him for his stalker-esque tendencies towards Mia. It doesn't help when there's someone who's actually stalking Mia and everyone believes Parker's the culprit. Parker starts to doubt his own innocence when he blanks out and can't remember much about his activities when people call him out on it.

There are more plotholes and odd turns of this story than a little bit that I could cover, but to give the long and short of it - this was a difficult story to like. Especially considering Parker has very little regard for the people around him. He punches his best friend (who somehow forgives him quickly once Parker reveals his secret condition), he turns on his mother faster than dropping a hot potato, he follows Mia relentlessly and it's way too creepy to watch his obsession with her as it unfolds. I got pieces of his guilt on the latter, but it wasn't enough to counter it being just...meh. =/ The part of it I do give credit to was how you don't really know who the culprit behind all of the threats are until the last possible moment.

I'm not entirely sure if I'm interested enough to see where this series goes, but I didn't feel invested enough in the overarching story and characterizations here. It's purported to be a decent supernatural mystery/horror, but I just didn't see it here - I was more annoyed than thrilled or struck with suspense. I'll say on an end note that it sort of reminded me of "Insomnia" - the 2002 remake movie (I honestly didn't know it was a remake) with Al Pacino and Robin Williams, in that the main character (Pacino) is plagued with insomnia and keeps on with this guilty lie he keeps up, but ultimately it follows him in every action he does. Robin Williams plays the bad guy. Granted, that movie is very different in plot and sequence, but I got deja-vu in places with this story even with the movie being non-supernatural while this one was.

Ah well, random tangent. In sum, I think I'll sit on my hands and wait to see what the next book offers. This I can't recommend strongly because the unreliable narrator isn't strong and very hard to follow, the plot details have too many holes, and it's underdeveloped and not well done despite the intrigue of the idea it follows.

Overall score: 1.5/5

Note: I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, from the publisher Flux. ...more

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Jul 04, 2012 Steph Sinclair marked it as to-read

Shelves: male-pov, flux, 2013-release, young-adult, fantasy, really-looking-forward-to-this-book, thirteeners, cool-author, gimme-gimme-gimme, netgalley

OMG! I love this cover. Super creepy. I approve! I can't wait to read this!

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Sep 07, 2018 Monica rated it really liked it

4.0
Le pensé mucho para iniciar este libro por diversas razones, uno que es la primera parte de una trilogía y no estaba segura de querer comprar los que siguen, dos a pesar de que la sinopsis me gustaba no lograba engancharme por completo y tres pensaba que no iba a ser de mi agrado.
La realidad: fue todo lo contrario.
Desde la primera página me encantó la forma de escribir de la autora, la trama, la oscuridad que se mantiene a lo largo de todo el libro me cautivó y los personajes fueron increíbl ...more

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Aug 27, 2014 Meli rated it really liked it

RESAÑA COMPLETA POR ACÁ

Muy, muy bueno.
Es retorcido, es enfermizo y por momentos sentís que te volves loco a la par del protagonista. Me gustó que Parker fuera el héroe pero presuntamente también el villano. Muy original.

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May 09, 2012 hayden marked it as to-read

This sounds very interesting, like something Lisa McMann would write. Hopefully, it's just as good!

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Feb 14, 2013 Faye, la Patata rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2013, 1st-in-series, possible-love-triangle-later, drama, finding-oneself, good-hero, young-adult, to-review, tragedy, possibly-supernatural-later

Thank you Flux and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for a review. This generous act did not influence my review in any way.

As a person who oftentimes finds herself still awake in the wee hours of the morning, and as someone truly fascinated in the subject of sleep deprivation (having experienced it in my university life once or twice, ahem), it comes as a no wonder that the moment I saw Insomnia by J.R. Johansson on NetGalley, I felt that I just had to have it. Entering the dreams o ...more

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Dec 12, 2012 Zuleeza rated it really liked it

Actual rating 4.5 star.

In the barren wasteland of YA (I seriously cannot stand this new wave of New Adult books), this was truly awesome, guys. If only the ending is not so anti-climatic...

As usual, with amazing books, I don't really have much to say but I'll try anyway since I need to convince you to read this!

The book opens up strong, I was quickly thrown into the harsh reality of Parker's world. He couldn't sleep for four years, instead, at night he is forced to watch the dreams of the last p Actual rating 4.5 star.

In the barren wasteland of YA (I seriously cannot stand this new wave of New Adult books), this was truly awesome, guys. If only the ending is not so anti-climatic...

As usual, with amazing books, I don't really have much to say but I'll try anyway since I need to convince you to read this!

The book opens up strong, I was quickly thrown into the harsh reality of Parker's world. He couldn't sleep for four years, instead, at night he is forced to watch the dreams of the last person he had made an eye contact with during the day. The sleep deprivation is slowly getting to him, it affects his study, his sport, his relationship with his mother and his friends. Told by Parker's POV, the narration flowed smoothly and convincingly. As someone who is rather given up foods than sleep, I felt for him, I felt for his struggle, I felt how difficult it would be for him to forcefully carry the burden of other people secrets and fear and how he can't share this 'curse' with anybody else.

There were indeed some dull moments, I wished the book was edited better. The romance is very superficial but it was a nice addition to the main plot as well since it isn't cheesy insta love high school romance I was expecting. I didn't get too attached with any of the characters including Parker because I felt overwhelmed with all the questions and seriously guys, I was desperate to know, I couldn't flip the pages fast enough. The build up towards the climax was amazingly written. I really loved it when even though I read it from Parker POV, I couldn't even be sure that Parker is really innocent? Awesome, awesome, awesome!

But the climax! I'm glad that I thought this is a standalone because I swear if I knew there would be more, I wouldn't feel as intense as I did while reading it because just prior to the climax, I really had no clue on how the story would resolve. So with this new knowledge that this book belongs to a series, I kind of understand why the climax is like that, but I still felt a bit disappointed nonetheless.

It's been a long time since I last read a book which I could not stopped reading it. Insomnia is truly a satisfying YA psychological thriller with a paranormal twist. ...more

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May 05, 2013 Melanie rated it it was ok

Shelves: books-i-own, e-arc, could-have-been-so-much-better, f-a-i-l, paranormal, bleh, dnf, romance, horror, young-adult

See more reviews at YA Midnight Reads

DNF Mini review.

There are people who genuinely enjoyed this book. Then there are the few that disliked this to a large extent- one of them being me. The only shining point in this novel was the idea. But look no further as the execution was illogical and far-fetched, also, in no way, shape or form I could relate to the main character. Calling Insomnia a disappointment does not even begin to cover my emotions right now.

Insomnia opens to a illustrative beginni ...more

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Nov 19, 2012 Wendy Darling rated it liked it

Shelves: 2013-publication, flux, june, young-adult, paranormal-general, read-2013, thriller-suspense

Hm. I'm not sure about this rating yet; the book started out pretty strong, but after awhile, there were too many logic gaps and convoluted scenarios. It's disappointing to find that what was an interesting psychological thriller (which I thought would have an extremely unusual answer to its mystery) turned out to be a pretty typical, and predictable, thriller after all.

Review to come.

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Dec 08, 2012 Sarah Marie rated it really liked it

Shelves: arc, ebook, mental-illness, favorites, lol-i-love-books-that-make-me-laugh, male-pov, mind-blown-from-the-awesomeness, paranormal, pretty-covers, romance

Insomnia by J.R. Johansson

First in The Night Walkers series

4.25 stars

Parker hasn’t slept in four years and after a trip a doctor he starts to suspect that he’ll die soon from lack of it. Instead of sleeping, Parker enters the dreams of the last person he’s had eye contact with. Parker’s tired. Exhausted to the point of death and dealing with other people’s haunting dreams and nightmares, Parker just wants sleep. If he doesn’t sleep he could face psychosis or even death. Then he meets Mia. A stra

...more

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Jan 01, 2015 Ricardo Marín rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: own

1 / 5

Personajes estúpidos, situaciones absurdas y cero trama. Una completa pérdida de tiempo.

Reseña: http://www.eternamenteentiniebla.com/...

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Dec 16, 2014 Mauoijenn ~ *Mouthy Jenn* ~ rated it did not like it

Shelves: 2015-rc, teenage-drama-ya, hell-no-never-again-nope

Interesting plot.
But nope.
No!

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Mar 08, 2013 eileen rated it really liked it

Shelves: paranormal, young-adult

Check out more of my reviews at ***Singing and Reading in the Rain***!

I have one word to describe Insomnia: addicting. We have a fresh idea incorporated with flawless execution, and I couldn't get enough of JR Johansson's debut.

The dominant topic here is both exhilarating and unlike any other. Parker has a special ability to experience the dreams of the last person they made eye contact with. The only catch is that he doesn't get any real sleep because his brain is active during all of the dream Check out more of my reviews at ***Singing and Reading in the Rain***!

I have one word to describe Insomnia: addicting. We have a fresh idea incorporated with flawless execution, and I couldn't get enough of JR Johansson's debut.

The dominant topic here is both exhilarating and unlike any other. Parker has a special ability to experience the dreams of the last person they made eye contact with. The only catch is that he doesn't get any real sleep because his brain is active during all of the dreams. I truly felt so sorry for Parker because when he finally got the chance to get one night of well-deserved rest, who could blame him for wanting it again? Even as he spiraled downward into insanity and obsession, I still couldn't help but love his character and his voice. JR keeps Parker's inner turmoil from becoming unbearable, but she still gives us enough to understand why he does some of the things he's doing. When things get even more rough for him, seeing him fight to make things right and his angst truly made all of Insomnia shine.

The creep-factor here was so intense and scary that I was wishing I could hide under the covers and never come out. The ending is a little disappointing because of our magnitude of characters, which in turn led to a lack of build-up for some characters, which led to a not-so-shocking ending when we find out who was behind everything. However, the creepiness of the mystery itself is intimidating and could compensate, for the most part, for the last few scenes. Parker is so messed up in the best way, with inner monsters and self-doubt and the need to protect all of his close companions and loved ones. In addition, Parker himself caused a lot of the creepiness, which I loved. When your main character is the primary source for all of the endless crazy, you know you have a good story.

While reading Insomnia, you accumulate a few questions regarding how Parker came upon this unfortunate condition, let's call it. Near the end, I grew slowly more distressed because I still hadn't received my answer. Contrary to where you think I'm going, I wasn't worried anymore by the end. JR set us up with a promise of more to come and a small sneak peek of how Parker may have gotten his insomnia. It did enough to both satisfy me for the time being and get me pumped for the second book in the series, and not just because I want to see more of Parker and his compelling point of view.

Addicting and so creepy you'll be running for a night light, Insomnia will keep you up into the wee hours of the morning, turning the pages over and over and over again until you flip to the last page. It's a perfect contender for fans of the scary mystery.

PS—This publishes on my birthday! I LOVE IT. ...more

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Aug 31, 2015 Jasi rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Seit vier Jahren kann Parker nicht mehr schlafen. Stattdessen muss er Träume anderer Menschen miterleben. Diese sind oft grausam und erschreckend, da man während des Träumens unterbewusst schlimme Ereignisse verarbeitet. Ein Arzt teilt Parker mit, dass man aufgrund Schlafmangels sterben kann und er weiß das ihm nicht mehr viel Zeit bleibt. Doch plötzlich trifft er auf Mia und ihre Träume sind so friedlich, das er in ihnen Schlaf findet. Parker weiß das es endlich einen Weg gefunden hat um wieder Seit vier Jahren kann Parker nicht mehr schlafen. Stattdessen muss er Träume anderer Menschen miterleben. Diese sind oft grausam und erschreckend, da man während des Träumens unterbewusst schlimme Ereignisse verarbeitet. Ein Arzt teilt Parker mit, dass man aufgrund Schlafmangels sterben kann und er weiß das ihm nicht mehr viel Zeit bleibt. Doch plötzlich trifft er auf Mia und ihre Träume sind so friedlich, das er in ihnen Schlaf findet. Parker weiß das es endlich einen Weg gefunden hat um wieder zu schlafen, aber Mia hütet ein dunkles Geheimnis denn sie wird von einem Stalker verfolgt.

Dieses Buch am einem Abend anzufangen, war vielleicht nicht meine beste Idee denn schon nach wenigen Seiten nahm mich die Geschichte gefangen und ich las Kapitel für Kapitel bis ich plötzlich bei der Hälfte war und beschloss das Buch auch gleich zu beenden. Ich musste einfach wissen wie es weitergeht! Die knapp vierhundert Seiten hatte ich aber in nur drei Stunden durchgelesen, da der Schreibstil der Autorin sehr flüssig ist und es mir leicht fiel mich in der Geschichte zu verlieren. Mein Interesse war schnell geweckt und der Spannungsbogen wurde sehr günstig gelegt, da immer wieder spannende Wendungen eingebaut wurden mit denen ich nicht gerechnet habe.

Der Protagonist Parker war mir sehr schnell symphatisch und da ich auch nicht gerade die beste Beziehung mit dem Schlaf habe, konnte ich seine Gedanken sehr gut nachvollziehen. Er ist sehr einfach gestrickt, wirkt aber trotzdem nicht flach. Seine Ecken und Kanten kommen erst im Laufe der Geschichte ans Licht. Sehr liebevoll behandelt wurden auch die zahlreichen Nebencharaktere wie Parkers bester Freund Finn, dessen kleine Schwester Addie, ein paar Schulkameraden und dann natürlich Mia. Sie kommt neu in die Stadt und lebt in einer Pflegefamilie.

Einen besonderen Reiz hatte das hintere Drittel des Buches. Schon zuvor wurde erwähnt das Schlafmangel nicht nur zum Tod, sondern zuerst zu Psychosen führt. Psychosen bedeutet dass man sich Dinge einbildet die es nicht gibt und halluziniert. Genau mit solchen Dingen hat Parker am Ende zu kämpfen und das mitzuerleben, war für mich nicht nur neu sondern auch unglaublich spannend! Was das Ende angeht war ich anfangs erst etwas zwiegespalten, da es fesselnd gestaltet wurde und die Hauptfrage des Buches aufgelöst wurde. Dafür blieben leider einige Nebenfragen offen und zuerst war ich etwas enttäuscht, doch dann habe ich bemerkt dass es sich bei diesem Buch um den Auftakt einer Reihe handelt die im Englischen 'Insomnia' heißt.

~ FAZIT ~
Ein hochspannendes Buch, dessen Verlauf bis zum Ende unvorhersehbar bleibt und mich mit plötzlichen Wendungen immer wieder überrascht hat. Von mir bekommt das Buch alle fünf Sterne, da die Autorin es geschafft hat mich die ganze Nacht zu fesseln und ich erst schlafen konnte nachdem ich das Buch beendet hatte. ...more

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Feb 07, 2013 Kenya Wright rated it it was amazing

Shelves: netgalley, ya, urban-fantasy, a-little-romance

So. . .

I wasn't too keen on opening this book. There wasn't a big muscular half naked guy mounting a captivating woman so from the very start I was a bit bored, before I even opened the book.

So I read the first line:

It'd been over four years since I'd really slept, and I suspected it was killing me.

ummmm okay. I'm interested. I'm overjoyed. I decide to read more.

Meet Parker. He hasn't slept in a long time, dude. Why? Because he has a special power that deals with dreams. I don't want to give t ...more

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Dec 11, 2014 Paula Mayfair rated it really liked it

ok.... partiré diciendo que estoy muy feliz de haber comprado este libro :D!! algunas reseñas me habían hecho dudar pero seguí mi instinto (ok, solo es que me encantaaaaba la portada) y le di una oportunidad y totalmente fui recompensada, si bien no me ha vuelto loca ni me ha hecho replantearme las estrellas de otros libros, este es un libro increíblemente bueno, sigue siendo un Thriller YA, pero esta muy bien hecho. El protagonista es lo suficientemente heroico para que te guste, pero a mismo t ...more

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Oct 10, 2012 Renee Collins rated it it was amazing

A tip for readers of Insomnia: Clear your schedules before beginning this book. DO NOT start reading just before bed if you have to get up early the next morning. And use caution when reading during class or at work.

Guys, this book will grab you and not let go.

J.R. Johansson weaves a story that gets right into your head. It's smart, creepy, chilling, vivid, and exciting. I was truly kept guessing until the end. In fact, I can't wait to read it again and see what I missed!

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Jan 10, 2015 Alvaro Acevedo Barrios rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Si quieren leer un libro juvenil y sombrío, lean este libro.
No solo tiene una hermosa portada, tambien es un excelente libro.
No dire mucho de este (aunque no hago reseñas), pero es un libro muy frío, oscuro y hermoso para los que les gusta los transtornos y la locura (TENGO PROBLEMAS)

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May 01, 2012 Carmen marked it as to-read

This sounds like Wake by Lisa McMann... hmm, interesting.

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Jun 18, 2018 Maria rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: emprestas-me-o-teu-livro

Posso dizer que foi um livro um pouco estranho. A meio perdi um pouco o interesse mas depois acabei por embalar na história e queria muito saber o final. É o primeiro de uma saga mas sinceramente não se irei ler mais algum...

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Jun 12, 2012 Alyssa rated it it was amazing

***Review posted on The Eater of Books! blog***

Insomnia by J.R. Johansson
Book One of The Night Watchers series
Publisher: Flux
Publication Date: June 8, 2013
Rating: 5 stars
Source: eARC from NetGalley

Summary (from Goodreads):

It’s been four years since I slept, and I suspect it is killing me.

Instead of sleeping, Parker Chipp enters the dream of the last person he’s had eye contact with. He spends his nights crushed by other people’s fear and pain, by their disturbing secrets—and Parker can never hav ...more

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Dec 29, 2013 Yelania Nightwalker rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: desempolvando-libros, 2015, forgettable, horror, boring

Cuando recién vi este libro me interesó de inmediato, la premisa es excelente y piensas que vas a toparte con un libro lleno de misterio y que te dejará queriendo saber más o sin poder conciliar el sueño en las noches. Pero, para desgracia mía, leerlo fue una completa pesadilla...

Cuando empezamos a leerlo, que por cierto, es aburridísimo ese inicio, descubrimos que Parker no ha dormido en cuatro años.

4 años.

Esa fue la primera alerta amarilla. Es decir, si no logras dormir en tanto tiem

Cuando recién vi este libro me interesó de inmediato, la premisa es excelente y piensas que vas a toparte con un libro lleno de misterio y que te dejará queriendo saber más o sin poder conciliar el sueño en las noches. Pero, para desgracia mía, leerlo fue una completa pesadilla...

Cuando empezamos a leerlo, que por cierto, es aburridísimo ese inicio, descubrimos que Parker no ha dormido en cuatro años.

4 años.

Esa fue la primera alerta amarilla. Es decir, si no logras dormir en tanto tiempo, en el menor de los casos te volverías completamente loco, en el peor, ya estarías muerto... Pero bueno, imaginemos que es plausible que Parker siga vivo (la ciencia es inútil, ya lo dije en Leal). Entonces, el chico ve los sueños de la última persona con la que haya hecho contacto visual y muchos de esos sueños no son bonitos, así que se despierta y está cansado, ojeroso y sin ilusiones... lo cual hace que su madre piense que está metido en las drogas y el médico que le examina, igual. Yo me pregunto, ¿qué tipo de médico será ese? Si ni siquiera se detiene a observar qué le sucede a uno de sus pacientes y se decanta por la solución más sencilla... pero en fin.

La verdad es que la historia en sí no presenta nada nuevo, está cargado de clichés y cosas sin sentido que da flojera seguir leyendo, lo que es de verdad una pena porque todo pintaba para ser algo muy genial pero la idea fue bastante desaprovechada. Parker me sacaba de mis casillas la mayor parte del tiempo y para ser el protagonista, eso no es algo que me guste encontrar.

¿Qué más les puedo decir a parte de que la historia está llena de ideas buenas que terminan siendo pésimas, aburridas, inverosímiles, absurdas y demás calificativos? Yo no podía creer que Parker hiciera tantas cosas dado que no ha podido dormir en cuatro benditos años, es absurdo pensar que una persona así tendría la fuerza para jugar futbol, por ejemplo. Digo, yo me he desvelado por trabajo por varios y días y no rindo lo mismo, mi cerebro simplemente o funciona... pero Parker... es una especie de superman.

Lo único que tenía sentido para mí es que Parker parecía bipolar y dado la falta de sueño, era creíble.

Si cuando leyeron "Insomnia" pensaron que se encontrarían algo del tipo de INSOMNIA de Stephen King, créanme que este libro está a años luz de llegar a ese punto. Léanlo bajo su propio riesgo.

...more

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Sep 17, 2014 Dani rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-won, dreams, female-authors, fiction, magical-reality, mystery, thriller, young-adult

Insomnia es un libro lleno de potencial, pero eso es todo. Comienza de una manera muy sólida e intrigante, pero ésto se va perdiendo poco a poco debido a la repetición de los conflictos, el drama juvenil y el romance mediocre.

Parker Chipp es un Observador. Todas las noches se sumerge en los sueños de la última persona con la que hizo contacto visual. Ésto parece muy atractivo, pero mientras él está presenciando en esos sueños, su cerebro no descansa. Hace cuatro años que viene luchando con éste ...more

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Apr 04, 2013 Jessica (Goldenfurpro) rated it liked it

Shelves: flux, read-in-2015, released-in-2013, school-year-2014-2015, series-books, stalkers-and-killers, paranormal, pov-dude, i-read-a-book-and-i-liked-it-3-star

This and other reviews can be found on The Psychotic Nerd

MY THOUGHTS
Every night Parker has other people's dreams and it's slowly killing him. It has been years since he's gotten any rest, until he meets Mia. That night, Parker is able to rest for the first time. After that, Parker becomes obsessive and tries to makes sure that Mia is the last person he locks eyes with in the day. Instead, Mia becomes fearful of Parker and thinks he's a creepy stalker. Things get even worse when she begins to r This and other reviews can be found on The Psychotic Nerd

MY THOUGHTS
Every night Parker has other people's dreams and it's slowly killing him. It has been years since he's gotten any rest, until he meets Mia. That night, Parker is able to rest for the first time. After that, Parker becomes obsessive and tries to makes sure that Mia is the last person he locks eyes with in the day. Instead, Mia becomes fearful of Parker and thinks he's a creepy stalker. Things get even worse when she begins to receive death threats and think it's from Parker. Who is terrorizing Mia? And how can Parker tell anyone the truth?

I'm really iffy about reading books dealing with books books dealing with dreams, thanks to a horrible book called Wake. Thankfully, this book did what Wake should have done and the aspect of the dreams was really well-done. It made sure to point out that seeing other dreams was not all happy and dandy. It's very interesting, but not only do you see deep secrets of possible strangers, but Parker never gets to rest. He's a watcher and has to watch the dream, so it's basically like he's awake. This leads to the major plot of the book.

Really, I could understand why Parker did the things he did. He just wanted some long-needed rest, especially after finding out that not resting will kill him very soon. He kind of begins the Mia dreams as just being friends with her, but when Mia begins to get suspicious, he does stalk her. This bothered me because, yeah, I understand why he was during this, but it was turning him into something he was not, as well as freaking everyone out. He was becoming very obsessive and it's no wonder why Mia thought he was after her. It's horrible, but that was how he began to look to her.

The mystery aspect was very interesting and very screw-with-your-mind. The whole dream aspect kind of added a blurred line and add in the fact that Parker is beginning to have 'side effects' to not resting, things get very curious.

Lastly, I would like to mention the supporting characters, Addie and Finn. Finn is Parker's best friend and Addie is Finn's sister. What's really great about these guys is that they helped Parker out when he was spiraling into a black hole. There was a lull where they couldn't really feel like they could trust Parker, Addie especially, but they were fully able to understand why Parker was doing this and wanted to help him make rights with Mia and find out who was really terrorizing Mia. Also, Parker was a really great friend to them both as well!

IN CONCLUSION
Overall, I was not disappointed by this book and I loved the dream aspect! This book does take a very dark turn, but Parker is an interesting narrator and he has really great friends! While the main mystery of this book is over, there are more answers that I need, so I am definitely going to continue this series! ...more

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Feb 18, 2013 Debbie Narh rated it really liked it

Shelves: netgalley-edelweiss, debut-authors, arc, adventure, fantasy, funny, good, good-series, male-pov, serious-topics

Insomnia is a creative story that most people wished were true. Hell, I wish I could be a Night Walker and know what some people dream about! That sounds pretty cool, right? Right? Anyway, the story follows Parker, who has been dealing with this gift/curse for four years now without sleeping a wink until he meets Mia who changes his life forever. The story starts out with a little too much information before most of the characters or past events are introduced. And speaking of the characters, on Insomnia is a creative story that most people wished were true. Hell, I wish I could be a Night Walker and know what some people dream about! That sounds pretty cool, right? Right? Anyway, the story follows Parker, who has been dealing with this gift/curse for four years now without sleeping a wink until he meets Mia who changes his life forever. The story starts out with a little too much information before most of the characters or past events are introduced. And speaking of the characters, only the main and strong secondary ones really stand out for me. The rest of them are very stiff and choppy, like unfinished thoughts. This makes if hard to give the book a better rating. Still, not a bad start to a series or a bad début either. Nice job, J. R. Johansson.

While reading this, a few things become apparent to readers. First, there are not very many clues to keep us reading. It's as if the author is relying mostly only on the dark, crazy actions of what Parker does to keep the book interesting and mysterious. Second, the novel moves pretty quickly with the more important details and events being rushed or skimmed. I get irritated every time this happens because the important parts happen too quick while the less important fillers are played a lot more slowly. Third, it's apparent that there are a lot of unanswered questions by the end of this. How did Parker become a Night Walker? How come his mom doesn't know/isn't one too? Can anyone become a Night Walker? Although we get some information regarding these questions, I think that there should have been more to keep readers a little more satisfied.

Parker is a crazy, sleep deprived character who I really enjoyed reading about. His creepy, stalker-like tactics to see Mia are wacky and very frightening. Especially when his inner demons take hold and show just how desperate he can be to get what he needs and wants. He's a realistic and unpredictable, I felt like a stalker just reading this! The idea for this is refreshing and new, I love it! Even though the ending is pretty transparent, I wasn't exactly expecting that person to be that person. It's a nice twist to a great book that I recommend to readers who are looking for books that involve dreams and stalker with funny, sarcastic characters you just can't get enough of.
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Dec 31, 2012 Kim at Divergent Gryffindor rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-2013, from-netgalley, rating-4-stars

Insomnia was a compelling read in such a manner that I couldn't put down the book. It was gripping and interesting, and I just wanted to read the book as fast as I could because I just had to know what is happening.

This book is memorable for me because this is one of my first mystery books aside from Nancy Drew and others from my childhood. Though I'm not really open to any other genres aside from Contemporary Romance, this book caught my attention and I am really happy that I decided to read i ...more

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Jan 28, 2015 Colleen Houck added it

Shelves: murder-mystery, dreams-nightmares

Creepy dreams, stalkers, and a great hero with lots of problems. Poor guy! I was on the edge of my seat and feeling a bit crazy like I hadn't slept in a week either. The sweet painting/landscape dreams were as relaxing for me as they were for him. Love the love interest in this book too. She's awesome.

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Insomnia

(The Night Walkers #1)

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