Ratings22
Average rating3.2
In an isolated college town in the hills of Southern California, a freshman girl stumbles into her dorm room, falls asleep—and doesn’t wake up. She sleeps through the morning, into the evening. Her roommate, Mei, cannot rouse her. Neither can the paramedics who carry her away, nor the perplexed doctors at the hospital. Then a second girl falls asleep, and then another, and panic takes hold of the college and spreads to the town. As the number of cases multiplies, classes are canceled, and stores begin to run out of supplies. A quarantine is established. The National Guard is summoned.
Mei, an outsider in the cliquish hierarchy of dorm life, finds herself thrust together with an eccentric, idealistic classmate. Two visiting professors try to protect their newborn baby as the once-quiet streets descend into chaos. A father succumbs to the illness, leaving his daughters to fend for themselves. And at the hospital, a new life grows within a college girl, unbeknownst to her—even as she sleeps. A psychiatrist, summoned from Los Angeles, attempts to make sense of the illness as it spreads through the town. Those infected are displaying unusual levels of brain activity, more than has ever been recorded. They are dreaming heightened dreams—but of what?
Reviews with the most likes.
A bit underwhelming as a sophomore novel, but I was certainly hooked. The ending wasn't quite as satisfying as I'd hoped.
This book was good overall. I admit I expected it to be a bit more action-packed or suspenseful based on what I knew of it, but it was more vignettes of characters experiencing this disease taking over their town. It was by no means boring. There were some beautiful sentences I highlighted and it was well-researched. But, I admit, I wish I could have had a more satisfying ending, and a deeper dive into the characters.
I think that some people will really love this book. It is a very specific style of prose that will probably appeal to some, but it's just not my cup of tea. There was a lot of ruminating and philosophizing in a very slow, sleepy way. (Listening to it on audiobook may have exacerbated this for me.) There was also a lot of talk (and I mean, a LOT) about the wonder and miracle of being a parent. Just to the point of feeling like it was repeating itself. It makes sense for that to be part of a story that includes characters who are new parents - but it was like reading an Anita Blake book where every four pages there's another steamy group sex scene and you just get to the point where you roll your eyes and think, “again?!”
I found myself feeling like this book was very light on the action and heavy on the poetry and wandering descriptions. And if you like that - and lots of people do, nothing wrong with it - then you'll love this book. I personally just wanted more action.
A quiet dystopian. Certain scenes have stayed with me and I love when a novel can do that.