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Are You Sleeping A Novel Kathleen Barber Books

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Are You Sleeping A Novel Kathleen Barber Books

This book is soooo good. And the title is completely appropriate, given it's a propulsive read that kept me up late two nights in a row. Josie is an engaging protagonist, complex and flawed. I especially loved the way Barber wove in podcast transcripts, Twitter feeds, and Reddit forums throughout Josie's first person narration. It puts the reader in the middle of the action, and knowing Josie as we do, we experience the gossip and sensationalized "news stories" from the authentic perspective of someone who's living (and reliving) something both heartbreaking and traumatic. I enjoyed the unique angle and was completely immersed, thanks to a suspenseful hook and strong pacing. It was fun and spooky, with all the makings of a suspense classic.


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Are You Sleeping A Novel Kathleen Barber Books Reviews

Josie lives in New York, happily ensconced in a small apartment, with her partner Caleb. They've been all around the world together, and definitely love each other, but Josie hasn't told him about her murdered father, her cultist mother or her crazy twin sister. When a podcast called Reconsidered The Chuck Buhrman Murder starts becoming the newest thing, Josie realizes that she has to tell Caleb that she's not an only child and that her parents weren't both dead--and then she finds out her mother just committed suicide.

Going home again is rough, but Josie has her Aunt A (her mother's sister) and Ellen (her cousin) to help her through the memorial and the funeral. She also is tempted to listen to the podcast. When her sister, Lainie, shows up, Josie doesn't know what to do. Lainie's always been the bad twin--after all it was an action of Lainie's that made Josie leave all those years ago. When Lainie introduces her husband, Adam, and their child Ann, Josie has more reason to think Lainie is trying to ruin her life--Adam was her boyfriend first and Ann was the name of their imagined child. As questions pile up, Josie questions the only witness account leading to the murderer being arrested--Lainie's account. And then Caleb shows up to help her through the time, and to hear how Josie has 'protected' him from the truth.

I really loved reading this book, a lot more than I thought I would. While things like Serial have stunned the nation, I felt like Barber ripped something from the headlines, but did so in a good way. However, I also feel like the characters could have been a little more developed. I figured out a huge plot point early on, as I read a lot of mystery, and it ruined the reveal to me. I felt like the podcast portions were solid, most of the interactions were believeable, but I felt like this could have had 50 or so more pages of content to be fully complete. I definitely think this is a thriller that needs to be considered for anyone who might be interested in the genre--it's timely and could very well lead me to enjoy more works by Barber (this is her first book!). 

I had a slight break (read nap) while reading it, and kept thinking about it. So it is definitely compelling. I just wanted more.
Deliciously creepy and utterly addictive, Are You Sleeping had me staying up late, reading "just one more chapter," because I couldn't wait to see what happened next. I kept thinking I knew whodunnit, only to realize I'd been led down a false path. The story kept me guessing right until the very end, and little breadcrumbs were dropped throughout without actually giving the ending away. Also, I *loved* the way Tweets, Reddit threads, and podcast transcripts were interspersed throughout the text; it was a unique structure and it kept the story flowing smoothly. I can't wait to read more from Kathleen Barber!
BOTTOM LINE I wouldn't pick it if I had limited reading time, but if you're looking for something to occupy you for a few days and you aren't feeling picky, try it out.

In a genre of a million "The Girl on the ______" and "The _______ Girl" books that can all start to blend together, this one had some unique elements and a slightly original (but not annoying or overly contrived) presentation. I know I won't look at this book in a year and not be able to remember if I read it or not--the investigation into the "solved" murder, and how it's presented (excerpts from a fictional podcast, Reddit and Twitter "screenshots") make this book stand out from the pack. The book is better than many (of this genre) I've read lately, but suffers from a few classic problems, then slows to a snail's pace about 65-75% in the "death blow" that makes this a 3-star read instead of 4.

I'm pretty sick of female protagonists in this genre, as they all seem to be pill-popping self-destructive alcoholics having sanity crises. The lead in this book, Josie, was not bad; really only started exasperating me in the end. She spent too much of the book bemoaning all the wrongs her sister had committed against her, whaa whaa whaa over her sister's drug use and ultimate abandonment that Josie feels she was THE victim of. Natural feelings, but expressed too much, too intensely. No--too righteously! This could have been evened out with a major realization that Josie herself ran around for years drinking too much, abandoning everyone, too. Oh and lying. For someone so concerned with others' lies, Josie sure as hell never turns the camera on herself! Two passing sentences devoted to the irony of her sister's betrayals in light of Josie's own behavior did not tie up this very obviously loose end. Josie needed to bear some blame, accept responsibility for her own life, and get over her seriously outdated issues (high school was done over a decade ago--grow up!) A lead demonstrating such lack of empathy and selfishness usually gets her comeuppance one way or another. No such luck. Josie becomes increasingly not very likable, as you wait for her to recognize her hypocrisy at some point in her endless self-pity ruminations, and it just never happens.

Also the curse of the "too-perfect boyfriend", Caleb. Seriously, this one tops them all! Instead of the usual handsome, sensitive-but-manly, eternally patient and understanding RICH AND SUCCESSFUL perfect boyfriend, Caleb is the handsome, sensitive-but-manly, eternally patient and understanding DEDICATED SELFLESS HUMANITARIAN WORKER perfect boyfriend! Wow, as far as fictional "too perfect boyfriends" go, the only way to be MORE perfectly perfect would be to make him a humble billionaire on top of that! God, he's so two-dimensional, why not just add on a few billion in the bank for kicks? Yeah, I like Caleb, what's not to like? He is too perfect to have even a single bad quality! Also, this "too-perfect boyfriend" is too perfect to actually DO anything to further the story along. Finally concluded he exists just to let us know Josie is "good" and to validate Josie's every action and every emotion. A wasted character and a loose end. God, if you're gonna make a caricature, USE IT.

The biggest general problem of this book is the pacing. It took me a bit to realize this, as the podcast excerpts and screenshots break up the story. Overall, they are used well and add to the book, but they do allow the story to drag towards the 65% mark, which is also about the point Josie needed to start showing some character development. The book drags, then wraps up in the last 5%, paced just like a Lifetime movie! Token effort is made to ramp down from the climax, but it is SERIOUSLY token. Literally like 8 pages of the characters waiting to find out what will happen next. Um, I'm reading the book, I don't need them to describe that to me, I'm DOING IT! Could've used that time to wrap up some loose ends or maybe drop something unexpected about characters' future plans, but no, we get pages of reading about them sitting, pacing, calling for updates, WAITING.

Note to editor you need to work with this author on ending a book better! Gave me too much time in the end to get bored and the characters started grating on me. Due to the pace and (lack of) character- and story-development of the last quarter of this book, I took it down a whole star, so, had this book been consistent throughout, it would've been a 4-star review. Instead, it gets an average 3-stars.

***Okay, and here's one issue I can never let pass, not in "In A Dark, Dark Wood", and not in this book, not ever Seriously, who fights over a high school boyfriend for over a decade??? Do these authors have no social sensibilities??? Most of us graduate high school then realize the dramatics of those four years were completely inconsequential. Come on!
This book is soooo good. And the title is completely appropriate, given it's a propulsive read that kept me up late two nights in a row. Josie is an engaging protagonist, complex and flawed. I especially loved the way Barber wove in podcast transcripts, Twitter feeds, and Reddit forums throughout Josie's first person narration. It puts the reader in the middle of the action, and knowing Josie as we do, we experience the gossip and sensationalized "news stories" from the authentic perspective of someone who's living (and reliving) something both heartbreaking and traumatic. I enjoyed the unique angle and was completely immersed, thanks to a suspenseful hook and strong pacing. It was fun and spooky, with all the makings of a suspense classic.