Title: THE SLEEPLESS
Author: Nuzo Onoh
Type of Book: Paperback
Length: 310 pages
Genre: Horror, African Horror
Release Date: June 28, 2016
Publisher: Canaan-Star Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-909484-86-3
Cover Image By: Eugene Rijn R. Saratorio
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~ I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Before reading THE SLEEPLESS I had never read an “African Horror” book, but now I will be seeking out other books of the genre.
THE SLEEPLESS is horror in it’s pure form. It is heart-pounding, gripping and perfectly paced.
When Obele’s brother disappears, she is devastated. Her brother had been her best friend and a source of comfort to her. Now that he is gone, she is alone. Or is she?
FROM THE BACK COVER:
An innocent boy is lured to his death by the one person that should have protected him.
Someone knows the truth about his disappearance; his little sister, Obele, a child that hears a secret voice which tells her terrible things no child should know about.
Obele knows too much and must be killed. Her salvation lies in the hands of her new friends, a group of giggling little girls she meets at an abandoned “cursed house”.
Except their friendship comes with a terrible consequence. And suddenly, Obele starts to ask herself who exactly…or rather WHAT exactly are her new friends.
Worse, how can she free the tormented ghost of her dead brother, trapped by a witchdoctor’s curse?
MY REVIEW:
THE SLEEPLESS is the perfect title for this book because as soon as you start reading, you will not want to put it down. Readers will be “sleepless” until they get to the last page. And, since the writing is so vivid and striking, it may give you nightmares which will also make you “sleepless”.
Ok, so I have already raved about the horror elements of this story, but there are other things that contribute to the enjoyment of this book. Nuzo Onoh provides readers with a glimpse into a culture that most of us will never experience firsthand. The descriptions of Obele’s home, her village and her home life are both fascinating and horrifying in equal measure.
For example; Obele is punished by her father and by her teacher by being whipped. This would NEVER be considered acceptable here in Canada. In fact, both her teacher and her father would be charged criminally for child abuse and would be put in jail. I do realize that child abuse happens in North America too, but in Obele’s village it is considered an acceptable and normal form of punishment and no one seems to think that anything about it is wrong.
This book is the perfect example of horror fiction and anyone who enjoys reading this genre will absolutely LOVE this book.
I rate THE SLEEPLESS as 5 out of 5 stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I can’t wait to read her other books: “Unhallowed Graves” and “The Reluctant Dead.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Nuzo Onoh was born in Old Biafra, in the Eastern part of Nigeria. She survived the Nigerian/Biafran civil war as a Biafran child refugee.
She attended Queen’s school, Enugu, Nigeria, before proceeding first to the British Quaker Boarding school, The Mount School, York, then St Andrew’s Tutorial College, Cambridge, from where She got her A’levels.
In-between two marriages and two divorces, she created two brilliant daughters, Candice and Jija, as well as completing two university degrees from Warwick University.
She has a Law degree and a Masters degree in Writing.
She runs her own self-publishing company called Canaan-star Publishing.
Visit her website
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