Too Scared to Sleep

by Andrew Duplessie

From debut author Andrew Duplessie, a terrifying collection of teen short horror stories--and accompanying videos--that will keep you up long into the night! Perfect for fans of Five Nights at Freddy's.

A garbage disposal that feeds on flesh . . .

A beloved stuffed rabbit that cooks up your parents . . .

Roses that require human blood to bloom . . .

From blood-chilling horror to supernatural scares, this collection of short stories from debut author Andrew Duplessie offers something to stoke anyone's fear factor. But that's only the beginning. In a first-ever twist, each story also comes with a pulse-pounding video that deepens the horror. Point your phone at the QR code and be prepared to scream! Maybe even share it with your friends, if you dare.

Ready or not, Too Scared to Sleep will answer the question: How brave are you, really?

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Young Adult, Thriller, Fiction, YA Horror, Supernatural

243 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 10, 2023

About the author

Andrew Duplessie is a prolific writer and tech entrepreneur whose scary stories are devoured online by millions of readers. He's also a producer and writer on a handful of major television shows, including American Horror Stories. He lives in New York, New York.

Reviews

[Krysta ꕤ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ★

i love horror anthologies, so i had fun with this one. none of them actually scared me but i wasn’t expecting that to happen regardless.. im not someone who scares easily for things like this. it reminded me of YA version of something like Goosebumps, a quick read too.

my favorite stories:

• Stage Fright
• Brother
• Reveel
• Flight 3541
• Fame Fake

[Mikala · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW, these stories are insanely dark 😳 a lot of scary, gory, and shocking content. This is YA fic???

Very reminiscent vibes of Allan Schwartz's Scary Stories to tell in the Dark on a MUCH more mature level.

I think these stories are really good, but I do struggle with anthologies as a whole....hard for me to start over so many times.

So probably a 4 star.

Love the verse / poetry sections as well.

Also, that cover 🤯

[nellancholia✨️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a YA compilation of short stories & single page bits of various fairly light horror stories. It is fairly short and fabulous for reading in one sitting or for grabbing for a quick little story anytime. I was pleasantly surprised at the variety of different types of stories (without spoilers: stories ranging from gurgling garbage disposals to hellish entities and hell itself.)

Each story is followed by a scannable QR code that shows you the story play out in a short clip, and that alone makes this book AWESOME. I loved them! Such a unique addition that blends visual art with storytelling!

As for the writing itself, the author writes wonderfully. Every line is well thought out and immersive. He writes in great detail and has some very unique plots, I would love to read some adult horror by him, this level of eeriness in a YA book gives me great hope for what he could bring to adult horror!

I didn't have a particularly favorite story, but the ones that stuck with me the most after reading were probably "Are You Ready" and "Finder's Keepers." I enjoyed every story and plan to grab this book up in physical format to add to my bookshelf, I liked it that much! Definitely recommend if you enjoy horror, it's the perfect intro before you dive head first into full on adult horror!

[Irene Well Worth A Read · Rating 4 out of 5]

Too Scared To Sleep is a fun collection of spooky stories geared towards teens and tweens. The majority of the stories revolve around main characters who are fourteen years old, getting into weird and spooky situations.
Cell phones and futuristic technology, along with the dangers of AI are also the main themes here, with cautionary tales of why you should never steal, the dangers of social media, and why you should live each day as it comes because life is too short to even wish away the bad times.
There were a few stories that just didn't work for me, but I enjoyed most of them, and I think the modern themes will resonate with kids of today.
A unique feature of this book is that a short video accompanies each story. I've read many collections that would include an illustration to go with each story, but this is the first time I've ever seen a book that provides a video via a link in a QR code. It was a clever idea that added to the fun.
My thanks to Clarion Books.

[Megyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Too scared to sleep is a YA collection of horror stories from a debut author. The stories are all very short and about a lot of different subjects.

This book had some great stories! I liked how short they all were. They were all super quick to read. The stories weren’t too scary but good for YA horror. Each story had little scary videos with it as well, which was a lot of fun.

I hope this author writes more! Thanks so much to netgalley and Harper collins children’s books for the arc of this book!

[Cassidy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Too Scared to Sleep is a collection of over thirty bite-size horror stories for teens by author Andrew Duplessie. I found just about every story to be the perfect length to convince myself to read “just one more!” While the plots are all pretty predictable, they are still gruesome and horrifying. Subject matter ranges from traditional serial killers and monsters and possessed objects to LOTS of sci-fi/technological horror in the vein of Black Mirror and The Twilight Zone, and all of it centers around characters who are teens living in today’s world—or one in the very near future.

Some of my favorites are “The Secret Sister,” “Time to Go,” “Reveel,” “Chamber of Horrors,” “A Matched Set,” and “The Reddest Rose.” But really, I enjoyed almost all of them!

Taking the storytelling to a whole new level, every single tale is followed by a QR code that takes readers to a video clip that captures part of the story they just read. I think this optional multimedia experience is totally awesome, but I will admit that I only watched a few of the clips—because they were scary! As I sat alone in the dark, I was NOT always willing to subject my nervous system to the jump scares and haunting imagery I knew would accompany what I’d just read, but that is a true testament to the fear factor that Duplessie has built into his stories!

Original
A teen short horror story collection? 👀

Thanks to Clarion Books and NetGalley for this ARC! Too Scared to Sleep by Andrew Duplessie comes out on October 10, 2023!

[Alex | | findingmontauk1 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such a great collection of short horror stories! There's a wide variety and they are all read in 4-7 minutes. We have AI, sicknesses, vampires, body horror, stalkers, flesh eating garbage disposals, and much, much more! So quick, dark, delicious bites full of tension, jump scares, and twist endings. And those endings? Well, after every story you get to scan a QR code to watch a 10-20 second video clip. The noises in some of these videos are haunting. It's such a unique, fun addition to the collection that allows the reader to feel the story in another way. There are also some interesting riddles throughout / in between stories. And because the stories are so short, each sentence and word is chosen deliberately. No fluff. No wasted space. I think this book is a great gateway from Goosebumps/Fear Street into more adult horror. It's neither one nor the other, but somewhere creepily between the two.

[Janalyn, the blind reviewer · Rating 5 out of 5]

They have so many great stories in this anthology it would be hard to pick a favorite although Secret Sister, The Lost Flight, mr. Butterworth in The Bone Fairy are some really great stories to start with. Not only are they great teen horror there’s a lot of them some of them are bite-size but they’re all around the same length and really great for when you have a few moments to spare. Although I found myself not being able to stop reading them in so had to eventually force myself to put the book aside. From missing moms, nightmares real ghost and on and on plants that only survive with human blood a garbage disposal that’s super hungry and likes family reunions and so much more the stories are plentiful interesting and so worth reading although I do have to tell Mr. Duplissey I would’ve really appreciated if you had made the codes copy and paste and or accessible for the blind I love scary story videos and sadly could not watch these because didn’t know where the codes were. Do you hate blind people? I am absolutely joking I don’t know you but I’m certain you don’t hate the blind lol! Either way however I do very much recommend this book if you are into teen horror short stories then it’s going to be like Christmas for you if you get The Anthology too Scared To Sleep it’s a book I thoroughly enjoyed and definitely recommend. I want to thank random house publishing and Net Galleey for my free art copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

[Meagan · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Too Scared to Sleep" bridges a major gap in the book market. Perfect for teens who feel too grown up for Goosebumps, but aren't quite ready for adult horror, these short stories will keep readers on the edge of their seats! Duplessie maintains a tight balance of scary and suspenseful while also encouraging kids to think about the way they interact with the world (and technology) around them. The added bonus of scannable QR codes after many stories that allow readers to experience a visual ending to the stories they accompany was, in my mind, wholly original and will be uber popular with our teenage set.

Recommended for fans of Five Nights at Freddy's, adults who were scared by "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark" and want to share a similar experience with their kids, and readers who are ready to level up from elementary and middle grades horror classics for something a bit more mature. "Too Scared to Sleep" is sure to become a modern classic of the horror genre and will be a staple of middle and high school collections for years to come! Special thanks to NetGalley and Clarion Books for providing an Advanced Reader's Copy of "Too Scared to Sleep" in exchange for an unbiased review!

[Keila (speedreadstagram) · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this debut collection of short stories, you will be treated with:

A garbage Disposal that feeds on flesh…

A beloved stuffed rabbit that cooks up your parents…

Roses that require human blood to bloom…

This collection of short stories offers something for everyone. With each story you get a pulse-pounding video to deepen the horror.

This book begs the question…how brave are you? Really?

This book was so much fun! I don’t think I’ve ever read a book where there were short clips to go along with the reading. It was perfect. As I was reading this one, I couldn’t believe that it was a debut, it was so good. This book was fun as the stories were all unique and dealt with different topics. I enjoyed the monsters, the realistic ones, and the ones dealing with technology. Even though they were all different lengths they were well developed and thought out. The cover on this one was also so eye catching and drew me in immediately! Definitely made me want to pick it up.

If you are looking for a fun and interactive horror book, then check this one out.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Harper Collins Children’s Books, Clarion Books

[Devi]

This is a collection of YA horror short stories and I would definitely still recommend it. The idea of having to scan a QR code to view a video of the story was what drew me to this book, but sadly that got really old soon. I think I wanted a little more than 1 page of each story.

[olivia 𖧷 · Rating 2 out of 5]

if i was eleven these would eat so bad

[Velina · Rating 1 out of 5]

i can sleepy pretty fine after this one, thank you andrew

[Niamh · Rating 2 out of 5]

creepy af- the qr codes are a cool concept though!

[Nichelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a rough read. I was interested in this book because its concept was very intriguing. It's a collection of short horror stories and each short story has a QR code at the end. The QR code takes you to a short clip that is supposed to show you what you just read. It sounded really cool... Short horror stories and short clips to match... Should be perfect for spooky season, right? WRONG.

First of all, the writing was so incredibly juvenile it was almost comical. I know this book is categorized as YA but, I've read plenty of YA books that are genuinely scary and this was not one of them. Secondly, and this is my main issue with this book, is that at least half of the QR codes in the book don't even match the short story they follow. They were completely irrelevant and also childish in nature. There are plenty of YA and even Juvenile books that are actually spooky, creepy, and scary and this was NOT one of them.

[Raymie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

This is a book a short horror stories. Ranging from fleshing eating garbage disposals to mind sucking phones. This is a great start to horror if you’re just dipping your toes into the genre. Horror is on my top of my favorite genres.

There were some stories that really either gave me the creeps or grossed me out like horror stories should. Then there were some stories that I just clicked through because I could not get into it (Mostly in the Web / Electronic Section). I’m more of a slasher / gore horror person.

Still over all this book a great book and I’d definitely read more by this author definitely if he writes more into the adult horror as this book is more for YA.

[DesanaRose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, this book is fantastic! I've never read a book with accompanying videos to enhance the stories. The concept is terrific. Flight 3541 and Consumed were my personal favorites.
I liked this book so much that I bought a hardcover copy as well.
I'd like to thank Andrew Duplessie and Netgallery for letting me read this book. I wholeheartedly suggest this book. The concept is fantastic, and the timing is ideal (Spooky Season/Fall).

[Maggie May · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was such a fun idea but the stories just aren’t there. It reads very much like how adults think teens think and act, which is basically toddlers with technology. The horrors are much more appropriate for an audience of 8 or 9 year olds. The little CG clips at the end of each story are a fun addition, but the quality is low, again, appropriate for a younger audience.

[Noorj]

DNF

[Mai H.]

Halloween TBR

📱 Thank you to NetGalley and Clarion Books

[Cassandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know why I started this at 2AM but I sure as shit didn't finish it then. I had to shut it down for the night LOL.

Did my dreams feel much darker after this was the last thing I read before I crashed? Yes. Does that feel appropriate given the tone of this book? Yes.

I thought these were pretty good little one shots. I wish we developed a few stories a little more but also, as I've said before.. short stories are just tough for me LOL. I couldn't help it though - this intrigued me.

Too Scared to Sleep is basically Black Mirror in a book. Each story involves some sick and twisted phenomena that pushes it along. No more than a handful of pages each, it leaves you uncomfortable and yet sometimes wanting more.

This is great for an easy pick up and put down book for when you don't have the time to read for a while. You can power through a bunch of these very quickly.

[Noelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm definitely going to be too scared to sleep.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed these stories. Some were really dark and creepy. I think Waste Management was my favorite although I really liked A Matched Set too.

[Mégane Frappier · Rating 3 out of 5]

Deuxième livre fini dans mon 24h read-A-thon!!
J’ai adorer les petits videos après chaque short story (code QR), l’experience du livre était hot mais les histoires étaient quand meme prévisible et parfois plus comique que scary!!!

[Courtney (withabookproblem) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to Netgalley and the publish for this eARC.

This gives modernized “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” YA vibes. Each story is unique and offers the best amount of horror.

Easily a one sitting read!

[Linda Kowalczyk · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m not a quick reader. But this book held my curiosity u til finished. It is different

[Pine Reads Review · Rating 3 out of 5]

“By now you must know the world is so much more terrifying, so much more wicked than you could’ve possibly imagined. If you still don’t believe me, read on.”
Andrew Duplessie’s debut YA novel, Too Scared to Sleep, is a collection of short horror stories meant to make readers incapable of sleep! Stories range from tales of killer stuffed animals cooking your parents to smartphones controlling users! Readers get a mixture of paranormal, supernatural, techno-horror, and creature features as Duplessie tells tales of teens facing unfortunate fates. To add fuel to the horror, Duplessie ends every story with a poem and a QR code for brave readers to scan and discover blood-curdling videos. Too Scared to Sleep is a test of courage, pushing the limits of the reader’s imagination and tolerance for the macabre and grotesque.

I found Duplessie’s experimentation with animation and horror literature to be an extremely bold and refreshing addition to the horror literary genre. He manages to establish another level of interactivity with his stories, finding a way to bring the most horrifying aspects of each story to life in a short, thrilling animation. Too Scared to Sleep has a little bit of everything in regard to horror, playing with themes of monsters, consequences, technology, and humanity. My favorite sub-section of stories from this book has to be Anatomical Anomalies, where each of its six stories explores different types of technology and their disastrous consequences. The horror stories were very reminiscent of Black Mirror episodes, and I enjoyed reading the horrific twists experienced by the various characters. With that being said, I have to say that this collection of horror stories did not have me hiding under my covers. A handful of the stories felt underwhelming, with the various plots bordering on cliches and suffering from lack of build-up. The level of disturbance and dread simply does not compare to terrifying classics like Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. However, for those who want to tiptoe their way into the horror genre, Duplessie’s debut novel is a perfect way to test the waters.

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[sadbabyunicorns · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5/5

While many of the stories are super predictable, I think if I had read this as a preteen I would have loved it. The qr codes for each story are really fun, and it gives me the vibes of a modern-day goosebumps or scary stories to tell in the dark.

Would totally recommend for anyone who liked children’s horror, but if you’re looking for more mature/darker horror, this wouldn’t be for you.

[Adam Fisher · Rating 2 out of 5]

Writing this review for School Library Journal.
For them and those of that age? This book is a natural successor to Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, and they'll love it.
For me? A completely desensitized horror fan? Extremely predictable, and occasionally entertaining.

Real review submitted to SLJ for potential professional publication.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok...so...I have thoughts and this may be a long one...so bear with me...

I initially heard about this one because someone posted about it in a book group and that there were QR codes that take you to a video after every story. That sounded awesome so I immediately ordered it. The gimmick definitely got me to buy it. But I will say that of all the things about the book...this was the most disappointing aspect. The videos aren't great and there are so many stories that I basically stopped watching them after the first handful. I would have much preferred an illustration to go with each story vs the QR codes. I just don't want to pull my phone out while reading...books should be pretty self contained and shouldn't need accessories. So even though I was initially drawn to this for the videos...I didn't really enjoy that part of the book.

The stories themselves are a pretty mixed bag. I rated almost all of them 3 stars with a handful of 4 stars. Every story is super short...so there isn't really time for character development or to lose myself in a story before it's just over. But the ideas here...the premise for each story...absolutely fascinating. You could turn any of these into a full novella or novel and really have something special. I'd kind of liken these stories to black mirror episodes...the premises of some of these will live rent free in my brain.

So I feel like if most stories are just 3 stars...why am I rating the book 4 stars? Well that's because my experience free reading this was amazing. I finished one story a night and it was perfect before bed...and then I had all night to think about the story. I loved that and it was so amazing.

I think this is a great collection of spooky stories for teens and pre-teens. The premises may be sick and disturbing but there's nothing too explicit or gory here. It's dark without being too dumbed down.