camicapa's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Probably a hidden gem. This book follows Ingrid, a teenage star diver, after an accident. She is recovering from a concussion, and the doctor has prescribed that she sleep to heal. The problem is that Ingrid can't. She can't seem to remember something related to her diving accident and the reason she made a mistake when she jumped. This keeps her up at night so, during these, she becomes overly aware of the abandoned house in front of hers and can't figure out if the lack of sleep is playing games with her mind or if something is really happening there.
When her ex-BFF, next-door neighbor, and long-time crush, Van, realizes she can't sleep either, he decides to join her and investigate together since he also suspects weird things are happening at the abandoned house.
Throughout this book, Ingrid confronts her past in the form of her childhood friend group and her relationship with the day her father abandoned her.
For some reason, it made me incredibly uncomfortable how every boy/man was described as incredibly attractive. And I just wish Van were more........ normal, or real. At times he felt like a fantasy: omgg soooo hot, and in love with our main girl since they were kids, HE IS IN A BAND!! He is the lead singer!! He is dating the hottest girl in school and everyone is in love with him! He is also the best football player in school, he is the most popular guy at school but also the nicest kid as well. AND RICH. But oh no! He is half Japanese and his dad died, and he is the black sheep of his ansambled family.
I can't explain it but it was too much. I wish he was just a really nice kid. Leave his family conflict, but no need to make him popular, etc.
At times I enjoyed their realtionship, some others they made me cringe hard. But that's on me i guess.
I liked that the mystery was simple, no murders, no real danger.
I just read a review that said the following: "The overall story was interesting, but not a single character had any depth. It’s like she drew adjectives to define each character and stayed completely committed to that one idea. It’s hard to develop any attachment to characters you don’t empathize with. "
And i have to agree. This book has a lot of characters and most of them feel either one-dimensional, and when they give you their sob story I felt nothing.
Ingrid is a character I really did enjoy and empathize with. Her relationship with Mike at first really moved me. I related to her struggles, her incapability to share her feelings, her no-sleep rush, and her sleeping in class problems.
But Van.... i simply did not care for his problems. Or Max's, etc.
When her ex-BFF, next-door neighbor, and long-time crush, Van, realizes she can't sleep either, he decides to join her and investigate together since he also suspects weird things are happening at the abandoned house.
Throughout this book, Ingrid confronts her past in the form of her childhood friend group and her relationship with the day her father abandoned her.
For some reason, it made me incredibly uncomfortable how every boy/man was described as incredibly attractive. And I just wish Van were more........ normal, or real. At times he felt like a fantasy: omgg soooo hot, and in love with our main girl since they were kids, HE IS IN A BAND!! He is the lead singer!! He is dating the hottest girl in school and everyone is in love with him! He is also the best football player in school, he is the most popular guy at school but also the nicest kid as well. AND RICH. But oh no! He is half Japanese and his dad died, and he is the black sheep of his ansambled family.
I can't explain it but it was too much. I wish he was just a really nice kid. Leave his family conflict, but no need to make him popular, etc.
At times I enjoyed their realtionship, some others they made me cringe hard. But that's on me i guess.
I liked that the mystery was simple, no murders, no real danger.
I just read a review that said the following: "The overall story was interesting, but not a single character had any depth. It’s like she drew adjectives to define each character and stayed completely committed to that one idea. It’s hard to develop any attachment to characters you don’t empathize with. "
And i have to agree. This book has a lot of characters and most of them feel either one-dimensional, and when they give you their sob story I felt nothing.
Ingrid is a character I really did enjoy and empathize with. Her relationship with Mike at first really moved me. I related to her struggles, her incapability to share her feelings, her no-sleep rush, and her sleeping in class problems.
But Van.... i simply did not care for his problems. Or Max's, etc.
moon134340child's review
2.0
THANK GOD I FINALLY FINISHED THIS IT TOOK FOREVER!!!
What was the plot of this again? Cuz i couldnt find it while reading.
Also this... " Im a diver. I’m not a regular girl'
What was the plot of this again? Cuz i couldnt find it while reading.
Also this... " Im a diver. I’m not a regular girl'
msbandthebooks's review
4.0
What to say…while I liked this book, it started out very slowly. By the end, I understood the story the author was trying to tell, but I think they could have established it earlier. In the beginning and middle, the story is a lot about the main characters concussion and her not being able to sleep, then spending every night with the neighbor boy she loves. So, it seems for a lot of the book like that’s what the story is about. It’s only in the last part of the book that it is truly revealed what the book is about and what all the lead up is about. But, by the end of the story, the author establishes and makes the reader feel the trauma the main character had been through and how it has truly affected her.
taylorg_1005's review against another edition
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
wrapmeupinplastic's review
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
missprint_'s review against another edition
4.0
Most of Ingrid Roth's life is a mess. Her mother is barely home, always taking extra shifts at the hospital. Their house is rundown and falling apart. Ingrid hasn't spoken to any of her friends in the neighborhood cul de sac in years. And, of course, Ingrid's father is long gone. But Ingrid has always had diving under control.
Competitive diving is supposed to be a safe space--her ticket to a college scholarship, the way she'll one day get her father's attention. Diving is the one thing Ingrid always does right.
Until she doesn't.
Ingrid doesn't remember the accident. She knows she must have frozen up, lost control. She knows her head hit the board and she's supposed to be resting to recover from the head trauma.
The only problem is Ingrid hasn't been able to sleep in days.
Haunted by her lack of memory of the accident, as scared to return to the diving board as she is to fall behind in training, Ingrid spends her nights watching the neighborhood and Van--her neighbor, her former best friend, the boy she's had a crush on forever.
Then Ingrid finds Van watching her.
Van and Ingrid start spending their sleepless nights together as they both try to find a way to rest. Will the promise of answers be the thing that brings Ingrid and Van back together? Or will it drive them apart once and for all? in The Insomniacs (2020) by Marit Weisenberg.
Find it on Bookshop.
The Insomniacs is a heady blend of the vague menace reminiscent of the Hitchcock classic Rear Window and the summery nostalgia and romance in The Summer I Turned Pretty. Ingrid's narration is choppy and tense as she tries to put together the pieces to explain her accident.
While both Ingrid and Van are focused on fixing their insomnia, the lack of sleep soon becomes a stand in for other problems. After years of letting her athleticism and physicality shape her daily life, Ingrid is paralyzed in the face of so much introspection as she has to confront her feelings about diving and, worse, the memories she can't quite summon of the moments leading up to the accident. Van, meanwhile, struggles to understand what secrets his girlfriend and best friends seem to have been keeping from him and what they have to do with the abandoned house on the cul de sac.
The Insomniacs is an atmospheric story filled with secrets and suspense. Ingrid and Van drive the story but their neighborhood is as much of a character in this tense story where both characters have to confront some hard truths--including acknowledging when they need to ask for help. Ideal for readers who like their protagonists to have a lot of chemistry and their suspense to have tension thick enough to cut with a knife. Highly recommended.
Possible Pairings: Serious Moonlight by Jenn Bennett, The Vast Fields of Ordinary by Nick Burd, The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han, The Last Time We Were Us by Leah Konen, The Sullivan Sisters by Kathryn Ormsbee, Tonight The Streets Are Ours by Leila Sales, How to Say Goodbye in Robot by Natalie Standiford, We Are the Wildcats by Siobhan Vivian, Rear Window (1954)
*An advance copy of this title was provided by the publisher for review consideration*
Competitive diving is supposed to be a safe space--her ticket to a college scholarship, the way she'll one day get her father's attention. Diving is the one thing Ingrid always does right.
Until she doesn't.
Ingrid doesn't remember the accident. She knows she must have frozen up, lost control. She knows her head hit the board and she's supposed to be resting to recover from the head trauma.
The only problem is Ingrid hasn't been able to sleep in days.
Haunted by her lack of memory of the accident, as scared to return to the diving board as she is to fall behind in training, Ingrid spends her nights watching the neighborhood and Van--her neighbor, her former best friend, the boy she's had a crush on forever.
Then Ingrid finds Van watching her.
Van and Ingrid start spending their sleepless nights together as they both try to find a way to rest. Will the promise of answers be the thing that brings Ingrid and Van back together? Or will it drive them apart once and for all? in The Insomniacs (2020) by Marit Weisenberg.
Find it on Bookshop.
The Insomniacs is a heady blend of the vague menace reminiscent of the Hitchcock classic Rear Window and the summery nostalgia and romance in The Summer I Turned Pretty. Ingrid's narration is choppy and tense as she tries to put together the pieces to explain her accident.
While both Ingrid and Van are focused on fixing their insomnia, the lack of sleep soon becomes a stand in for other problems. After years of letting her athleticism and physicality shape her daily life, Ingrid is paralyzed in the face of so much introspection as she has to confront her feelings about diving and, worse, the memories she can't quite summon of the moments leading up to the accident. Van, meanwhile, struggles to understand what secrets his girlfriend and best friends seem to have been keeping from him and what they have to do with the abandoned house on the cul de sac.
The Insomniacs is an atmospheric story filled with secrets and suspense. Ingrid and Van drive the story but their neighborhood is as much of a character in this tense story where both characters have to confront some hard truths--including acknowledging when they need to ask for help. Ideal for readers who like their protagonists to have a lot of chemistry and their suspense to have tension thick enough to cut with a knife. Highly recommended.
Possible Pairings: Serious Moonlight by Jenn Bennett, The Vast Fields of Ordinary by Nick Burd, The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han, The Last Time We Were Us by Leah Konen, The Sullivan Sisters by Kathryn Ormsbee, Tonight The Streets Are Ours by Leila Sales, How to Say Goodbye in Robot by Natalie Standiford, We Are the Wildcats by Siobhan Vivian, Rear Window (1954)
*An advance copy of this title was provided by the publisher for review consideration*
bookworm123456789's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0