I don't know how to feel about any of what I just read. 

Wake Up and Open Your Eyes takes the extremism of right wing politics and religion, and uses it demonic possession in the style of a zombie apocalypse. 

Part 1 - Sleeper Cells 
Introduces us Noah - our protagonist who leave his New York and his family to go check in on his parents who have gone in-incommunicado. We see Noah's parents relationship with Fax News. There's very little build up from here, it just turns the unhinged from one up to eleven instantly. 

Part 2 - Recruits 
Here we're jolted back to the weeks prior to the 'event'. We slip away from Noah, to his brother's family unit. It's a slow and unsettling look how each family member is essentially groomed through the 24 hour news cycle (fear mongering and claims of fake news), wellness influencers (juice cleanses, and the alt right pipeline through 'purification'), pornography and social media. At time it was painfully cringey and click-baity, and there were so many moments of feeling physically unsettled. A lot more body horror than expected.  

I did also find it really interesting that Fax News made a remark about 'they're trying to teach our children to be afraid of their own bodies' and then go onto specify about their sons being ashamed of their bodies. Which seems like a pretty good reflection on how young girls are already taught this, but it's perceived as the status quo

 

Part 3 - Holy War 
Well now the body horror and unhinged is just off the charts. There's handfuls of exposure to the bigger picture through found footage and social media. Noah's journey to attempt to go home

on foot with his nephew, seemingly narrated by " Anderson Cooper" which I didn't understand. That being said - the scene in the tunnel where Noah finally discovers the iPad had me holding my breath.

Overall - the idea was terrifying and fantastic. The writing and execution was a bit hit and miss. Chapman can be verbose at times, and also has the habit of drawing out individual words which didn't translate overly well in the audiobook. 

I now fear that somebody telling me to "Wake Up and Open my Eyes" will activate some sort of sleeper cell response, so I suppose the book hit it's mark.