The Boy Who Couldn't Sleep and Never Had To

I didn't realize this was a teen book when I first read the review, but it didn't stop me from enjoying it one bit. (That reminds me I have to start the Hunger Games series soon.) In the SE Hinton tradition, there's almost no mention of adult characters in the book--parents and teachers exist, but don't really exert any influence on the teen leads: Darren, the narrator; his friend Eric, who can't sleep and doesn't have to; and Christine, the girl the both end up dating. Eric and Darren are two high school misfits who bond over an epic film series/graphic novel/video game universe they create called Time Blaze. Darren is eventually let in on Eric's secret (he's 16 and has never been asleep) and they both meet Christine, a drama club show more chick. Darren's uninterested father and absent mother, coupled with Eric's extra 8 hours a day, give them plenty of time to storyboard the Time Blaze projects and develop intricate backstories for each character. But that's not enough to keep the friendship going once they both fall in love with Christine. A teen love triangle turns out to be the least of their problems when it becomes evident that Eric has some other "differences" besides just not sleeping and attracts the attention of a mysterious man, posing as a college recruiter. Pierson keeps the story moving, doesn't sugar coat anything, and captures the paradoxical tone of teen drama perfectly. show less

The most interesting aspect of this book is how few science fiction aspects are in the book until the climax and ending. I felt the pacing was good until then; when they begin being chased, events begin to happen at breakneck pace and I lost the feeling of a realistic and leisurely jaunt that had carried me so swiftly through the rest. By that point, however, I was invested enough in the characters to finish it out, and I think that the ending was appropriate but unsatisfying.

Once again, the blurb about a book promises something the book doesn't deliver. And like so many other books before it, I was not disappointed in the least. Pierson's book is extremely surreal and I imagine it's on purpose. In some ways, it is the perfect high school novel for boys. It is smart, clever and has just enough geeky to satisfy almost anyone. A bit over halfway through the novel, the plot goes a bit haywire and it's pretty much awesome. I love the way Eric and Darren are so real, even though what's happening to them (in abstract, the high school stuff is totally real) doesn't seem at all realistic. And yet Pierson writes the book in such a way that I had no trouble believing it. One of the many things I loved about this book show more was the way it totally skewed reality and you never knew quite what was real -- and it didn't matter. show less

I read the first half of this book in the bath and the second while sick, and the experience was still awesome. I loved the narrator's voice, I loved that it's a book about high schoolers but not classified as YA, and I loved the wacky twists and turns. I would gladly read anything by D.C. Pierson.

First off, I challenge anyone to actually remember that title with complete accuracy in two hours. The Boy Who Never Slept and Couldn't Want...No, The Boy Who Didn't Want to Sleep and Had to...Shit! But to be honest, I think the title works because it does tell you just a little something about the book. Plus, it beats the shit out of the other book I have checked out: Unincorporated Persons in the Late Honda Dynasty: Poems. What the fuck does that even mean? I like poems as much, actually more than the next man, but it makes it an awfully hard pursuit to defend when you do something insane like that.

This was also an early review copy, like the Rob Sheffield book. Unfortunately I got it about, hmmm, eight months after the book was show more released. So the bloom was off the rose as they say, and the rose was crushed into a million shards that were used to compare smells with old lady perfumes they were selling at Walgreens. They don't usually say that last part, but it's implied.

This book follows two kids. Nerd kids. And something this book does well is write nerds who are nerds. They aren't hot nerds who take their glasses off and turn into hot babes like Zach Ephron, Taylor Lautner, or...some chick with brown hair. The main character has the self-described "worst torso for miles." At the same time, in realistic nerd fashion, these nerds are not happy that they aren't popular, but they don't pursue popularity with a vengeance either. The book isn't about that aspect of nerdidity, which is fantastic because we've all read/watched nerds turn into not nerds, get a hot girl, find out that being nerdy is actually really great, or learn some other life lesson that is easily won and wholly untrue. Because, and I speak with experience here, no matter how many Tommy Hilfiger shirts you buy, the back they are draped over is still concave, pale, and covered in acne.

The book also narrowly avoids the classic plotline wherein Nerd A starts getting popular, leaves Nerd B, and then we have conflict. At one point it looks like that's where it's headed, but don't worry. It goes somewhere else quickly.

Ultimately, the book is written from the perspective of a nerd, but what makes him an interesting an readable character is that he in an unapologetic nerd. He doesn't waste a lot of time explaining the broad strokes of Star Wars and Tolkein and the design of mechs. He gives you enough to hold onto if need be, but the book really feels like it's written for people who have been there, and it's this appeal that really pull the book together.

If you like teen comedy, maybe especially ones that are just a little different and throw in a little sci-fi, this one beats the shit out of the next Judd Apatow movie, whatever the hell that ends up being. show less

The plot of The Boy Who Couldn’t Sleep and Never Had To is neatly summed up by its title. Darren is a high school sophomore – he’s at the bottom of the school’s social ladder, ignored rather than reviled. His idea of a good time is to hide in his bedroom inventing complex worlds for the cyborgs he draws in his notebook during classes. He finally finds a kindred spirit in Eric, a similarly antisocial classmate. As their friendship grows more solid, Eric lets Darren in on his secret: he has never slept. He has been awake ever since he was born, wandering, learning, and developing his mind while the rest of the world is unconscious. The secret can’t stay hidden for long. In a fit of jealous anger, Darren reveals Eric’s show more “power” to The Man, a mysterious agent (of the government? A pharmaceutical company? Their collective imagination?) determined to kidnap Eric, and the hunt begins. Darren must salvage his friendship with Eric and protect the friend he has betrayed from the forces he has unleashed.

D.C. Pierson’s debut novel finds a perfect balance in its precarious situation. It is a book about teenagers, but written for adults. It is certainly science fiction, but it reads like (and is being marketed as) literary fiction. Best of all is Pierson’s ability to channel the voice of a smart, disaffected teenager from a new generation. Younger adult readers, particularly those who remember the pain and embarrassment of their teenage years, will find much to love in The Boy Who Couldn’t Sleep and Never Had To. show less

Darren Bennett is a 16-year-old who likes to draw but in the good way, unlike others his age whose unoriginality drives him nuts. When he meets Eric Lederer, they discover a kinship that leads them on an epic adventure as they write, draw, and sketch out the soundtrack for an eight-movie saga with graphic novels and TV episodes to fill in some of the gaps. All seems well until Eric confides in Darren his secret--that he has never slept, not a wink, in his entire life. After Darren conquers his disbelief (how can you tell if someone never sleeps when you yourself can't stay awake to be sure?), the confidence only strengthens their friendship. Until, of course, Eric steals Darren's first girlfriend, and in a fit of rage, Darren spills to show more his highly unreliable older brother.

What follows is true science fiction. "The Man" begins to chase the boys so that he can capture Eric and conduct experiments, Eric's subconscious hallucinatory make-up sessions (he never dreams, either) become much more intense, and Eric actually becomes able to conjure up the mechs and other mutants he and Darren have created, resulting in a shoot-out in the "theatrical division" of their high school.

I just can't agree with the rating of 3.5 stars for this debut novel. I thought this book was excellent from start to finish, and I actually got my husband to start it. He's hooked already and has got his son on the waiting list for my copy. I was swept up right away in the voice of this narrator, Darren, who immediately called to my mind Holden Caulfield in his painfully adolescent, angsty tone. His descriptions and judgments of his peers are funny but also poignant in the way they reveal to the reader his own insecurities, and his depictions of the high school and college cliques he encounters are wildly accurate--drama kids and pseudo-intellectuals are just like that!

I would read a line, think "that's my favorite line," and then have to change my mind 15 pages later when an even brighter gem hit me. Honestly, some of the details slipped past me--who are the Altra Troops? What is a Tllnar Defender?--but the drawings that begin each chapter helped, and honestly, the science fiction story that the boys are writing isn't really the point. The one they are living is much more compelling.

This book would hook high school boys immediately, and I would love to promote it to them through my website or some other highly visible means, but the very crude language and the straightforward treatment of the few sexual situations would make my principal twitch. I usually find I can do a better job for my students when I fly just under the radar. However, it wouldn't be beyond me to sort of leave this book lying around on one of the library tables. Most of the boys in my nerdy, high-achieving high school are just like these characters--I'd probably never get this book back!

Suggested audience: 14+, and a great choice for the boys show less