Too Scared to Sleep was a really fun and exciting selection of short stories. I’m not usually a big fan of short stories, but they work quite well if they’re horror-themed. The opening stories were absolutely brilliant and are probably my favourites of the whole book.

I think this would have benefitted from being made up of a shorter selection of stories that were more developed. Each story felt like you were jumping in at the end and while I enjoyed the fast pace, it was a little jarring. But I suppose that’s the point of horror, isn’t it?

This is definitely well written and you can tell the author has a natural talent for writing horror. I’d love to see what they’d do with a long-format story, really building the tension to the shocking ending.

The ending to each story was, although sometimes predictable, very shocking and exhilarating. I personally enjoyed the monster/creature and human-based stories the best. A few of the technology-themed ones were really good, but I did find myself skim-reading a few of those.

I’d definitely recommend Too Scared to Sleep if you’re a fan of horror. There’s such a wide range of stories and each one brings a new thrill or scare.

Too scared to sleep is a YA collection of horror stories from a debut author. The stories are all very short and about a lot of different subjects.

This book had some great stories! I liked how short they all were. They were all super quick to read. The stories weren’t too scary but good for YA horror. Each story had little scary videos with it as well, which was a lot of fun.

I hope this author writes more! Thanks so much to netgalley and Harper collins children’s books for the arc of this book!

This collection of middle grade horror stories would be well-suited to telling around a campfire. The stories read kind of like a Reddit post. There’s also the QR codes that lead you to various short horror clips.

Unfortunately, the QR codes were much better in theory than they were in practice. They’re low-quality and all seem to have one thing in common—lots of heavy breathing.

The stories were mostly decent. None of them really stand out to me, though. I’ve really enjoyed some other MG books, but this one was just okay.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC. This review contains my honest, unbiased opinion.

I was actually kind of blown away by this collection! This is exactly what I’m looking for when I seek out a horror short story collection. The stories are all short, and this book is chock full of them!!!

Covering a WIDE array of different horror subgenres, this book has something for literally any horror fan. I had such a fun time with this one. There was not a single story that I didn’t find entertaining.

From haunting, to body horror, to AI, to illness, this book has a little of everything and I highly recommend it. This also wasn’t super dark, so young adult readers could easily enjoy it.

3.5 stars. I look recommend this book for my high school students to read if they want to get introduced to horror. All the stories were very entertaining but nothing was too extreme. I enjoyed the QR code aspect at the end of each section. Overall it was a decent read with an interactive feature.

This book it’s a collection of 30 short scary story and the book has QR codes in it that you can scan and you can watch what you just read.


I finished the book and I rate it with 4 stars because I really liked it, I enjoyed it a lot, my favorite stories were the nightmare and Flight 3541. This is a good book to add to your October TBR.


Thank you NetGalley For This ARC In Exchange For An Honest Review

In this debut collection of short stories, you will be treated with:

A garbage Disposal that feeds on flesh…

A beloved stuffed rabbit that cooks up your parents…

Roses that require human blood to bloom…

This collection of short stories offers something for everyone. With each story you get a pulse-pounding video to deepen the horror.

This book begs the question…how brave are you? Really?

This book was so much fun! I don’t think I’ve ever read a book where there were short clips to go along with the reading. It was perfect. As I was reading this one, I couldn’t believe that it was a debut, it was so good. This book was fun as the stories were all unique and dealt with different topics. I enjoyed the monsters, the realistic ones, and the ones dealing with technology. Even though they were all different lengths they were well developed and thought out. The cover on this one was also so eye catching and drew me in immediately! Definitely made me want to pick it up.

If you are looking for a fun and interactive horror book, then check this one out.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Harper Collins Children’s Books, Clarion Books

“By now you must know the world is so much more terrifying, so much more wicked than you could’ve possibly imagined. If you still don’t believe me, read on.”
Andrew Duplessie’s debut YA novel, Too Scared to Sleep, is a collection of short horror stories meant to make readers incapable of sleep! Stories range from tales of killer stuffed animals cooking your parents to smartphones controlling users! Readers get a mixture of paranormal, supernatural, techno-horror, and creature features as Duplessie tells tales of teens facing unfortunate fates. To add fuel to the horror, Duplessie ends every story with a poem and a QR code for brave readers to scan and discover blood-curdling videos. Too Scared to Sleep is a test of courage, pushing the limits of the reader’s imagination and tolerance for the macabre and grotesque.

I found Duplessie’s experimentation with animation and horror literature to be an extremely bold and refreshing addition to the horror literary genre. He manages to establish another level of interactivity with his stories, finding a way to bring the most horrifying aspects of each story to life in a short, thrilling animation. Too Scared to Sleep has a little bit of everything in regards to horror, playing with themes of monsters, consequences, technology, and humanity. My favorite sub-section of stories from this book has to be Anatomical Anomalies, where each of its six stories explores different types of technology and their disastrous consequences. The horror stories were very reminiscent of Black Mirror episodes, and I enjoyed reading the horrific twists experienced by the various characters. With that being said, I have to say that this collection of horror stories did not have me hiding under my covers. A handful of the stories felt underwhelming, with the various plots bordering on cliches and suffering from lack of build-up. The level of disturbance and dread simply does not compare to terrifying classics like Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. However, for those who want to tiptoe their way into the horror genre, Duplessie’s debut novel is a perfect way to test the waters.

Sadly not for me. All the stories felt forced to be scary and felt like a knock off “scary stories to tell in the dark”

The perfect book to pick up for the next time you are sitting around a campfire with friends or family. Duplessie's short stories will leave you with a delightful blend of shivers and uneasiness. The more strong of heart can take a glimpse into the stories with scannable QR codes. Lovers of internet jump scares will eat these videos up and be dying to have more. A truly unique and innovative collection. You won't want to miss this book when it comes out.

I had a feeling this was YA when I requested but some of the stories seem more geared toward middle grade. Not an issue however, I think this would be great for those kids / preteens that enjoy scary stories. I loved goosebumps, rl Stine and other point horror growing up. It hits nostalgia for adults. The stories are short (great for younger audiences with shorter attention) or even adults just reading a story here and there. I think the stories were well written and accessible to middle grade and above.

Thank you to Harper Collins Children’s Books & NetGalley for the opportunity to read and leave and honest review.

The cover of the book instantly drew me in. This book is fully spooky short stories that might make you regret reading it in bed late at night. Some of the stories were geared toward a younger audience compared to others. I did not realize how many stories there would actually be but it was a good amount! All of the stories are categorized in different sections that gives a small paragraph to demonstrate what the stories will be about. After each story there is a QR code that brings you to a short video that has imagery from the previous story.

The first half of the stories seemed a lot scarier to me compared to the the last half but overall I had a good time reading. These stories cover the range of smart phones are bad to things that go bump in the night. A lot of the stories reminded me of Goosebumps and different scary stories growing up so it hits nostalgia as well. I think it is a nice variety and that the videos help visual the stories.

Holy... Pony, This one is filled with creepy, scary short stories. Cool! Ahah. It gave me a nostalgic vibe reminding me how scared I was to play Alone in the Dark and Resident Evil.
This is for teens or older middle-grade readers who can handle creepy tales with gore. I won't forget those pushes feasting on... Oh, no. Won't forget.
Real cool collection. The best feature is the QR codes at the end of the stories that open a video with a scare. I get scared easily so there were a few screams, jumps, and laughter.
Hits all the usual scares, from murderous plushies to ghosts and things in side unexpected things.
Love the cover, that's what caught my attention first.
Will be recommending this one a lot.

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for the eARC.

DNF at 12% (I rated it 3 stars because I had to give it a star rating and found it unfair to give it a one star because I haven’t finished the book).

I just don’t think this is the book for me, unfortunately. I tried to give it a fighting chance but sadly it doesn’t seem to keep my attention for long.

Thank you to NetGalley for the free arc in exchange of an honest review.

a great collection of short horror stories. Make sure you leave the lights on!

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this review copy

What a great collection of short horror stories. I was raised on Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, then Fear Street, now copious amounts of r/nosleep. I'm a big fan of horror anthologies. If you've read an anthology, you know not all the stories can be stellar. Too Scared to Sleep is no different. There were quite a few stand-out stories for me: Mr. Butterscotch, Holo Girl, A Matched Set, Flight 3541. Some were just "meh" or didn't feel fully flashed out. But all in all, there's a wide range of themes, making this accessible for all horror fans. This definitely feels a little tame for YA, and some might be too intense for middle grade so I'm not sure of the target audience, but I enjoyed it. The QR code videos are a really fun touch.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books, Clarion Books for the e-ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

I get the sense that this book was originally intended for middle grade readers, but the stories go too dark. Instead of toning it down, they changed the protagonists into teenagers. The author would have been better off to lighten up the stories jus a touch and lean into the middle grade market.
None of the stories were memorable enough to stick with me, so 3 stars because I finished it (eventually).
This book was provided to me free of charge by the publisher and NetGalley. My review is honestly and freely given.

Too Scared to Sleep is a solid collection of stories. Some are stronger than others, but there's a mixture of subgenres, themes, and scares featured in this book. I think it's great for middle grade or YA readers to try dipping their feet into horror.

Short horror stories for teens. We grew up on scare short stories, it’s pretty cool to have updated ones for our children. After each story, there are QR codes to revel a little surprise. I’ve never seen this before. So that was pretty neat. Great stories, well written. I will purchase a copy for my kids when it is released!

These will definitely hold the attention of most reluctant readers. In the tradition of Scary Stories to tell in the Dark, comes an engaging and wide spread collection of horror antidotes that rang from the cruelty of man to wild beasts to the occult to mythology and even to modern technological terrors. Although I found myself wishing for more detail on quite a few cliffhangers and regrettably short additions to this volume, over all I found it engrossing and enjoyable if one likes horror. Often graphic and even lovingly lurid in it's details, this dark and anxiety inducing collection of small nightmares wastes little time on set up and character development and dives straight into the meat of it. Even if you have a young adult who often pushed books aside in favor of digital entertainment you might be able to tempt them with these dark delights.