The story of five kids who are up all night every night... and desperate to find out why.There's not enough time in the day. How often have Mickey, Skye, Levi, Cyrus, and Thea thought that? Well, now they have plenty of extra time... because they no longer need to sleep. None of them know why this is happening to them. All they know is that they have to keep it a secret from their families and their friends. And while they keep it a secret, they can use their extra hours to become better than everyone else. Each of them thinks they're alone in their sleeplessness. But once they find each other, they know it can't be just an accident. Suddenly they're forced to address the root mystery - what's keeping them awake at night?
Gordon Korman is a Canadian author of children's and young adult fiction books. Korman's books have sold more than 30 million copies worldwide over a career spanning four decades and have appeared at number one on The New York Times Best Seller list.
**Spoiler alert!** If you intend to read the book, you might not want to read the review. There are lots of twists and turns, but they occur early, so I couldn't really write a review that doesn't mention them. You've been warned!
Mickey is bored because he doesn't sleep. He and his hairless dog, Baldie, because of his bad allergies. They often go out at night, because his parents are working a lot after losing money in a bad real estate deal. With nothing better to do, he takes up running. Skye, on the other hand, uses her sleepless time for art projects, knitting, and reading. Levi, who has asthma, has several different social media accounts, and claims that some of them live in other countries, since he's posting in the middle of the night. Thea gets tired of sitting at the peanut free table but loves theater, and practices singing in a sound proofed treehouse, and Levi invents things. After Skye beats Mickey at the local science fair, the two meet when Baldie sneaks under Skye's fence. The two kids compare notes about their sleep, and eventually meet Levi when is out walking his dog, Bub. Mickey tries out for the football team once he's good at running, and after saving a game (and irritating Carlo, a teammate who bullies him), he stays out all night with the team and sees Thea outside in the week hours of the morning. Levi has posted a video of Thea singing, and she manages to flush him out by posting a Sodoku puzzle on social media. Once the five kids all know about each other, they convene, and try to figure out what they all have in common. It turns out that all five get allergy shots from the same man, Dr. Malachi. Since Skye has an appointment, all the kids go, and ask the doctor what has caused their sleeplessness. Malachi admits to giving them a special shot, but says that it is for the good of humanity, so that they can have an Uninterrupted Life and do great things. Everyone but Thea wants to stay on the shots, but Thea is adamantly opposed. When Dr. Malachi's office is empty, the group tries to hunt him down. They find an address, but there is a rather angry man there who yells at them about Spindle-Top. This turns out to be a luxury apartment building, but the doctor is gone. They go back to the former apartment and find out that the angry man is Dr. Malachi's son, James. When someone tries to break into the tree house, Mickey identifies the culprit as Beans, another member of the football team. He admits to getting the shots, and the kids sneak out to try to confront Dr. Malachi. He's gone again, but at least James, who has met the children there, is taken away and gets some psychological help. The kids have found the serum, but have to decide whether or not to have it analyzed so they can keep taking it, and eventually decide to destroy it, dumping it on the tree. Mickey and Skye are worried that they won't get to spend time together, since Skye's mother was the real estate agent whose actions caused Mickey's parents to lose their money, but Mickey's parents tell him that none of that is Skye's fault. The children still don't sleep for a while, but eventually the serum wears off. The tree at Thea's house, however, is permanently changed by the serum! Strengths: First of all, this is a great premise, and more realistic than the somewhat similar Midnighters by Scott Westerfeld or The Eighth Day series by Salerni. Told from multiple perspectives, we see how the different children use their extra time. I would totally be like Skye, who even starts to learn Greek and Latin! The children all have different challenges to work around so they can do things undetected, but this is done in a way that makes perfect sense. Mickey's parents work at night. Thea has a soundproofed tree house. Levi has to evade his older sister, and uses Bub as an excuse for being out. I love that attention to detail. I picked up pretty quickly that they all had allergies, maybe because I took allergy shots for six years; I'm just sad mine never gave me extra hours in the day. The hunt for Dr. Malachi took the book in a different direction, and added an element of suspense. This is a fun book with absolutely solid writing. Korman should give master classes on writing middle grade fiction. Weaknesses: I'm not personally a fan of multiple points of view, so would rather have had this from a third person omniscient perspective, but it wasn't confusing the way it was written. Just a preference. What I really think: Korman just keeps getting better and better. Faker, Snoop, and Sleepless are probably my three favorite books that he has written, even though Restart will probably be considered his finest work. My condolences to him on the death of his friend, Barry Pekilis, to whom the book is dedicated.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Thanks to NetGalley and Scholastic Press for the arc!
This is the second Gordon Korman book I’ve read, and it doesn’t disappoint. My last read, Restart, centered on the question: what would you do if you woke up and realized you were a terrible person? How would you change? Can people change? In the frame of a traumatic head injury and severe amnesia, Korman guides readers through those questions, gently showing some of the philosophical implications associated.
This book centers on a different question, and one that has a more sci-fi feel: what would you do if you didn’t have to sleep? Through a mysterious set of allergy shots, five (eventually six) kids discover that they don’t need to sleep anymore. Again, Korman lightly brushes on the philosophical aspect here, but not necessarily in reference to the original question. The philosophical points focus more on medical ethics: informed consent, experimental research, patient self-determination and autonomy, acting in the patient’s best interest, do no harm, etc. (And, interestingly, a bit of Frankenstein: should man toy with nature? What happens when man plays God?)
These are big questions for middle grade readers, and I think Korman opens the discussion in an accessible manner that lets young readers tackle the questions for themselves. Classroom discussions would be extremely interesting! Could be a great foundation for persuasive writing.
There were minor mentions of two characters getting into a relationship, without any other elaboration. It sort of made me wish it wasn’t in there, because it felt unnecessary. Although I assume its intended use was to add another element of suspense and tension, the conflict that the characters anticipate doesn’t really pan out and left me feeling like the whole relationship could be cut without impacting the story at large.
I will admit that the pacing felt a little funny—the kids confront the “villain” quite early on—but not too egregious.
I also had a small quibble with the idea that one of the characters finds the best use of his extra hours to be posting excessively on social media, basically being a troll, with the goal of getting millions of followers. Although realistic, it clashes with the idea that the sleepless kids were chosen for the sleepless experiment because of their potential and productivity. I don’t think any adult would look at the social media activity of this kid and think, “huh. He’s really making a difference. We should give him endless hours of this.” Especially in light of all the revelations (lol, for lack of a better term) about the harm caused by social media, especially on young people, it’s a little tone deaf. It reads as aspirational, a worthy goal for someone to pursue, when we should really be encouraging kids to spend the majority of their time off of social media. If this kid was doing some kind of charity or advocacy work, it might (MIGHT) be different, but he’s not. He’s posting memes and trolling from four separate accounts. Consider me unimpressed.
Overall, this was well-written, suspenseful, intriguing, and entertaining. Asks good questions that students can really chew on. Would recommend (although if I had to guess, they would not spring for extra hours and no need to sleep! Would love it if they were productive like the kids in the book but that’s probably just a pipe dream 🤣).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
What worked: This plot answers the question, “What if there were more hours in a day?” The characters not only don’t need sleep; they never get tired. It’s interesting to consider their five different viewpoints, as they’re presented in alternating chapters. Mickey is tired of being bullied at school, so he starts running and lifting weights at three o’clock in the morning. Levi likes to make posts on social media, so he creates multiple personas for different time zones around the world. Skye is already an outstanding student, but she uses her extra time to expand her learning and develop impressive projects. Cyrus uses the night hours to create new inventions, and he starts by trying to perfect his family’s toaster. Readers will notice that the characters all use the same allergist before they do. This revelation leads to the main conflict in the plot. Most of the characters don’t view sleeplessness as a problem, but one of them thinks it’s cheating. Her position reminds readers that there are always multiple ways to view a situation. The characters eventually discover there are other sleepless kids, and it’s a relief to share their experiences and feelings. They eventually get together to question Dr. Malachi about how this happened, but his answers aren’t what they expect. Readers who enjoy Gordan Korman books may enjoy the story’s mysterious twist. Sleeplessness is treated as a huge secret, so the kids don’t tell their parents or friends. The early chapters will have readers wondering how it happened, but the answer may be more troubling. Then, they begin to notice clues indicating someone else knows about their secret. Who is this person, and what do they want? Is it a stalker out to harm them? Again, the answer only creates more questions. What didn’t work as well: A conflict involving Mickey and Skye develops, and its resolution comes out of the blue. Even Mickey is shocked when it happens. Even though it seems plausible, it feels like a step is missing from the process. The final verdict: Fans of the author will be pleased, and the alternating chapters sharing the characters’ five points of view provide a familiar format. I recommend all readers give it a shot.
Thank you to Scholastic and NetGalley for the ARC. Our story starts with Micky who cannot sleep and hasn't slept in months. Rather than toss and turn all night, he decides to start running with his dog, Baldy and work on weight training. Micky has allergies and goes in occasionally for allergy shots. It is easy for Micky to sneak out since his parents lost a lot of money in a real estate deal and now work basically 24/7. Meanwhile, a girl named Sky is also sleepless and uses her time for art, reading, etc. Levi, another sleepless boy uses the time for his social media accounts, Thea practices her singing. Cyrus invents things. Eventually, the kids meet in the night and realize they are all sleepless. How did this happen? Why them?
How does Gordon Korman keep cranking out fabulous, original books that students want to read? I love the multiple perspectives and students do too, plus I hope that if there is an audiobook, that there will be a different narrator for each kid. I enjoyed the nighttime adventures, the hunt for Dr. Malachi, and the debates about whether this was ethical or not. With the short chapters, different viewpoints, skill sets of each kid, and great MS length, this book is a winner. I cannot wait to book talk this when it's published!
One at a time five middle school students discover that they no longer need to sleep. Not only do they not need to, but they can't. So each one finds a way to maximize their extra hours. Thea works on her songs to get the lead role in Annie. Levi runs multiple social media accounts and strives to be an influencer. Skye studies in order to become the best student. Cyrus invents cool gadgets, and Mickey starts working out and goes from non-athlete to the fastest guy on the football team. Since all of the extra work takes place at night, the five eventually find each other and become best friends. They also discover the reason for their new sleepless status.
The group faces some adventures, some danger, and an ethical dilemma that each one has to decide for him or herself. The author did a great job of exploring the possibilities available to us if we didn't have to sleep each night. He also presented readers with the question: Would this be a good thing for humanity? For each individual? I think my students will love it for the friendships, the adventures, and the questions it will raise for them and help them consider. This will make a great class or small group discussion book.
When you think of Middle Grade authors, Gordon Korman should be at the top of your list. He never fails to entertain, and in Sleepless, he strikes again. Using his signature style of switching character perspectives in different chapters, he’s able to tell a well rounded story. I will admit, the premise of Speechless is a little far fetched (a group of kids never sleeping for months without having any horrid side effects), However, it’s important to remember that this book is intended for a middle grade audience who aren’t as encumbered by reality as adults. It’s okay to suspend disbelief sometimes. The book is fast paced and won’t leave you bored. The characters (especially Baldy the dog) are relatable and lovable. I’ll definitely be purchasing a copy or two for my classroom library to share with my students.
Another fun read from Gordon Korman! Sleepless is a little bit different than his usual writing but just as good as his realistic fiction books. This one has some science fiction medicine happening. Korman still captures the various characters different personalities.
This book would be a great read aloud for an upper elementary or middle school classroom. Classes could discuss the science behind it and the moral dilemmas that may come up in the story.
A definite must-have title for all libraries, especially if you already have Gordon Korman titles.
I read this book with my 10 year old daughter together. It was a great story that raised a lot of good conversation between the two of us. I loved that all of the characters were so different and had different interests and skills, I think that makes the book very relatable to different types of kids. The book was thought provoking and also had a good level of maturity for the age group, not too childish, but appropriate for the middle school crowd. I would recommend this book and will be recommending our library purchase a copy. I recommend this book for ages 9-12.
In "Sleepless," Gordon Korman introduces five kids who suddenly discover they no longer need to sleep, initially using the extra time to get ahead in life. However, what feels like a superpower quickly turns into a dark mystery as the group realizes they are part of something much larger and more dangerous.
Well written and thought provoking for the middle grader. Will definitely have some great discussions with kids on "What would you do, if you didnt need sleep." Lots of fun with plenty of twists and turns. Characters are likeable and interesting and plenty of action for both the reluctant reader and those who love to read. Korman really has a gift for engaging all kinds of readers.
Five middle school kids no longer need sleep and while this sounds great (think of all the extra time there would be in every day), the reason behind this sleeplessness is a mystery they will need to solve! Korman's fans - new and old - will love this one!
Trademark Korman, always a fun read. Five middle schoolers have completely stopped sleeping, and they have no idea why, but they each find remarkable ways to make use of their newfound time. Sure to be a hit with Korman's many fans.
I really enjoyed this book! I loved the characters and I really wanted to see what happened to them. I did figure out the connection between them pretty early on, but it didn't take away from the story at all. I liked the growth that happened with them and this had a satisfying ending.
While I'm a huge fan of Gordon Korman, "Sleepless" was not one of my favorites. I was somewhat uneasy with the concept of a doctor performing unauthorized and secret experiments on kids and not involving the parents at any point in the kids' investigation. It just felt weird, but I'm a teacher, parent, and older woman.... I also wish some more context had been given regarding insomnia and the importance of sleep as a counter argument. There was also no resolution for the issue that the kids were being treated for allergies and respiratory issues and hadn't really been given aid. by their doctor. It presented an off-putting feeling about the medical industry.
In a nutshell, I thoroughly enjoyed Korman’s 108th book with its over the top, obvious medical malpractice, hiding the never sleeping thing from parents, and a little B&E and know middle grade lovers of his work (and this adult) realize that sometimes you just have to forget about reality, get swept up in the drama and hopefully do a little thinking about relationships, life choices and, in this case, some ethical and moral dilemmas. Great characters, unique premise and once again, amazement that Gordon Korman can continue to turn out wonderful middle books that are relevant, thought-provoking, entertaining and never redundant!
A must-have title for libraries serving grades 4-7 (8th grade students who have loved Korman books like Ungifted, Notorious, Faker, etc. may still want to read this one, too!)
Profanity: none Violence: a bit of almost farcical encounters with a scary man, a few chase scenes, etc. Sexual content: none Representation: can’t remember what race anyone was but there is economic diversity and a variety of family configurations LBGTQ+: none
Review based on eARC from Scholastic and Edelweiss.