Insomnia

By: Sarah Pinborough

“We look for meaning in everything, but what if there is no meaning? A glitch in time with no purpose. The random chaos of the universe.”

As Emma Averell is approaching her 40th birthday, she is worried that what happened to her mother, is going to happen to her. Namely, that she is going to go insane. Due to her mother’s insanity, Emma grew up in foster care, and tried to keep her past hidden. But now Emma is slowly showing the signs and symptoms that were present for her mother – is she going insane? Would should hurt her family the way that her mother hurt her and her sister? Is Emma actually going insane, or is it all just made up in her head?

I didn’t find the first half of this book thrilling at all. I thought that there was too much internal dialogue and too much description. I was actually a little bored as I though the set-up was taking too long. I was also a little annoyed that the author kept referring to Emma’s mother as going “mad” – this term is insensitive to those with mental health issues. I also felt that there should be a trigger warning for child abuse.

The last third of the book was better. I didn’t see what was coming or the why it was happening, so I enjoyed that aspect. I particularly liked the Darcy and Sandra characters.

Overall, not a fantastic book, but not a bad one either. You can get your copy here.