Beauty Sleep [Paperback] Evans, Kathryn [Paperback] Evans, Kathryn [Paperback] Evans, Kathryn [Paperback] Evans, Kathryn

(I voluntarily reviewed a physical copy of the book for For The Love of Fictional Worlds)Beauty Sleep is my introduction to Kathryn Evans; but it was an introduction that definitely made an impact on me.The book is told in two different POVs – Laura + Shem and works seamlessly between both the POVs for an amazing reading experienceIt’s the 1980s – Laura and her younger brother suffer from a rare type of cancer, that is apparently incurable. So, when their parents, a same sex couple are offered the chance to cryogenically freeze both Laura and her younger brother on the off chance that when they do wake up in the future, there would be a cure waiting for them.Its 40 years later, Laura has woken up from the cryogenic sleep, only to the realisation that she has lost everyone she has ever loved and a reality that somehow is skewed against even her wildest if imaginations. She feels like a baby learning to navigate in a hole new world, which is exactly what she is; because the technological advancements alone make for a mind boggling adjustments alone.The second POV is that of a homeless boy; Shem – and it shows the stark contrast between a life of privilege that Laura seems to be leading after waking up. Shem has no idea about his past, his family or even his own self. All he knows is that he has to stay safe from the ‘officials’ and that he has no one in this world except his dog.But there are secrets and betrayals hovering beneath the shiny new world that Laura is now in; and it takes her on a journey that she never imagined to find exactly what she has lost and gained in the 40 years of Beauty Sleep.Because now, Laura has to assimilate her old life with the new life she has been given; all the while trying to understand what’s real and what’s a fabrication.Katharyn Evans does a brilliant job of capturing the anxiety and confusion that Laura goes through trying to assimilate in a fully integrated technological world. The plotline that the author has woven is nothing short of wonderous; even though there was a time that it did feel like the plot was a getting a teeny – tiny bit stretched, but the author got it back on track almost immediately.Beauty Sleep is a book that even middle grade readers could also understand, even the underlying moral and ethical implications could prompt a discussion and it’s book that is definitely one that gives quite the twists and turns for a intense reading experience.

"You don’t choose your family, you choose your friends – you tie those bonds, you make them matter.” “The least we should do is let people who have nothing at all lie on a bit of pavement at night.”I had been looking forward to reading this book for a while. Completed it recently and happy to say it did not disappoint at all.Beauty Sleep is a dark sci-fi contemporary novel that follows a girl named Laura Henley who is put to sleep cryogenically in 1998 as she has cancer. She wakes up 40 years later but doesn’t remember anything from her past. She’s famous though as the world knows her as sleeping beauty. The book is basically her trying to figure out her past and also struggling to adjust with how much the world has changed.The book is described as sleeping beauty meets black mirror and that is so spot on because it really gave off that vibe. It is so creepy and I loved the tone of the book. There are so many small details that gave me actual chills. It’s a page-turner and so realistic.One of the main aspects of the story is the negative side of the internet and technology. There’s absolutely no privacy which is true even today. In one scene, Laura checks her Instagram and gets really happy that so many “STRANGERS” are liking her picture even though she was opposed to posting it in the first place and gets immediately sad afterwards when someone says something negative and that resonated with me.This book also portrayed how people had changed for the better in the future and how accepting they had become of minority communities.It posed a question in the end: If a good thing comes out of horrible things done in the past, does that mean the horrible things done weren’t in vain? Does it mean you should let the good thing go as well.I felt like the ends here did not justify the means at all.Rating: 4/5⭐The only reason I’m not giving it 5 stars is because it was a little predictable to me. Maybe because I’ve read too many thrillers and a little because it’s theme was kind of similiar to this short horror movie I saw on YouTube by Alter.Let it be said that it did not at all take anything away from the experience. I absolutely enjoyed this book and HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT.I’m already getting her other book next month which sounds just as interesting if not more.😍

Kathryn Evans' debut novel, More of Me was, in my opinion, one of the best debut novels in any genre in recent years. Matching the quality of that book in the follow-up was always going to be a big ask, but Kathryn has more than answered by delivering a book which cements her place as one of the finest authors of Young Adult fiction working today. The plot has a clever premise - that of a teenage girl who was cryogenically frozen in the 1980s and has now been revived 40 years later. Like the author the 1980s were my teenage years (though I must add, she is rather younger than me) which makes the book enjoyable for today's teenagers and also relatable to yesterday's teenagers, which is a very neat trick. The plot itself is highly ingenious. It starts slowly but builds and builds through some very surprising twists and turns to a very satisfying conclusion. This book deserves to me read and loved widely. Read it now, because everyone will be reading it soon. Can't recommend it highly enough.

Laura and her younger brother are both suffering from an extremely rare cancer that has no cure. So, her mums decided to put them both into a cryogenic sleep until a cure can be found. Forty years later, Laura is revived to discover, she is cured but both her mums and brother are dead. The only person from her past that is still alive is her best friend Stacey. The only issue is there is an injunction that prevents Stacey from getting anywhere near Laura. Laura goes on a mission to find out what happened in the forty years she was in cryogenic sleep and who she can truly believe.Photo_1555097151878This book captivated me right from the first chapter. It is Black Mirror meets Sleeping Beauty and it was spectacular. It is full of topics that are incredibly important and should always be tackled in YA books. Also, this book has ethical debates throughout which was new to me in YA but is another thing I think is important to be discussed. If we can make a scientific advancement, does it matter what the cost to life is?This book is told from dual perspectives. The first is Laura’s who has just woken up 40 years in the future and is trying to get her head around the technological advances as well as what happened to her family in the 40 years, she was frozen. The other perspective is Shem’s, a boy who is similar in age to Laura. Shem has been trying to live under the radar on the streets of the south coast of the UK where it is illegal to be homeless and living without an electronic footprint.I was drawn into both characters stories as soon as they were introduced. Kathryn Evans has done an excellent job to set up these two characters and their stories. Both characters interested me right from the offset, not just that but so did all the secondary characters. Although they are secondary characters, they play such a huge part in the overall story.Another thing I loved about this book was the author’s vision of the very near futures technological advances. For example, the 3D tablet interactions, tracker injections and even touch time. This made the book feel as though it could all come true because a lot of these advances are happening as I write this review. Also, this made the book feel very much like an episode of Black Mirror.This book is an excellently written science fiction mystery novel that will leave you guessing right till the very end. I enjoy that the ethical debates throughout the book were written extremely accessible for younger readers.The books is dark, futuristic, science fiction, mystery and contemporary all rolled into one. You won’t be able to put this book down once you start it. I cannot recommend it enough and I cannot wait to read more of Kathryn Evan’s books in the future.

I stumbled on a sample of this and couldn't resist downloading it. I quickly became obsessed with it and HAD to know what was going to happen (to the extent that the next morning, everyone in the house had to wait until I finished before we could go out). It's such a joy to find a book like this - one that reads like a thriller movie! Clever. Gripping. Moving. So good.

An absorbing story with intrigue and jeopardy at its heart. I hadn't read anything quite like it before and it certainly kept me turning the pages. Without giving spoilers, there were a couple of things that for me were concluded in a rather perfunctory manner and left me asking questions and wondering why they were included at all. However, it was a good read that I would recommend.

After reading Kathryn's first book "More Of Me" I was afraid she wouldn't be able to enthrall me again. However my concerns were unfounded. There were so many twists and turns I could barely keep up. Even though there was a solid conclusion the back story was so rich I wanted more. All in all an excellent read.