Reviews

Wake Up and Open Your Eyes by Clay McLeod Chapman

jordangleaton's review

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

intention_elle's review

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dark reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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christine_d11's review

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I am so disappointed, but I had to DNF this book. I was so excited to read this new horror, which imagines that demonic possession is happening through right-wing news. But why did I have to read sexually explicit things between a mother and son multiple times in the first few chapters? This book is gory and gruesome and women are reduced to hyper-sexual beings. For those reasons, I had to put it down.
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horrobelle's review against another edition

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dark funny reflective 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? No

4.5

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jessonemoreword's review

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challenging dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

bookmother's review

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dark funny tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

drreyv's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

kakimbrew's review

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dark funny tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

sakurastar's review

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challenging dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I thought this was a great idea for a horror novel but the execution was not as good as it could have been.

himpersonal's review

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emotional funny sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

I expected this book to be a lot funnier. There were definitely some parts that were funny, but for the most part, it was repetitive, which made it too easy for my mind to wander. I really liked the concept, but in execution, the author needed to have tried just a tiny bit harder. It was like McLeod had stretched just before reaching past the line that would've taken the story from ok enough to brilliantly fantastic. I think my major issue was the structure of the book where we start with the protagonist in the first part, who is then omitted in the next part in order to explain why he's the hero of the book, and then we come back to him trying to be heroic.

There are also some scenes that made me cringe, especially on behalf of the children (including Noah).

The book is pretty obvious in that it exaggerates the impact of social and news media. I'm certainly a victim of this - the more the ultra-conservative MAGA lovers dig into MAGA, the further left I run. So the divide keeps getting bigger and bigger between us, and when I try to have discourse with people I love who sit squarely on the other end, it often ends up with both of us holding our heads and wondering what's wrong with the other one's brain (and in my case, I also wonder what happened to their heart - where their compassion fled to).

In this sense, I think this is a necessary and effective book to remind of us of how people we should be close to, like family, are the first people we are judging (and yes, I'm judgy about their prioritization of commerce and "mine" over human decency!). I can easily see how their selfish little hearts can be consumed by the greed that comes with perceived influence and power. I can easily see both sides want to scream at the other to open their eyes and wake up! (To all my MAGA friends whom I'm not yet ready to give up on, please, please, please do!!!!, and please also stay with me and not give up on me either. We were important to each other before the red hats were printed and sold. We are important to each other still. Let's keep it that way!)