Official Review: And All because I couldn't sleep one night

banevius · Post by **banevius** » 29 Aug 2020, 15:58

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "And All because I couldn't sleep one night" by D. Michael Hewlett.]

2 out of 4 stars

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And All Because I Couldn’t Sleep One Night by D. Michael Hewlett is a fictional story for young adults that is told from the perspective of a fifteen-year-old teenager named Carter Jackson. Most of the story focuses on what Carter and his friends do during their spring break. At the beginning of spring break, Carter stays awake one night and ventures outside. Staying up late and sneaking out of the house becomes a regular occurrence every night for Carter and his two best friends, Jason and Tony. While out at night, they find themselves in the company of Lindsey, the most popular girl at school. Because Carter and his friends have never been a part of the popular crowd in school, they were never friends with Lindsey. But during spring break, they all form a close bond during their nightly adventures.

There were several things I liked about this book. First, I enjoyed the young adult themes on display. I thought the first-person point-of-view made the story very easy to read, and the premise of the story wouldn’t have been as good if told any other way. I liked the flow of the story and the definitive plot that quickly emerged when Carter and his friends started their nightly routine. The humor in the story helps remind the reader of the age group of the main characters.

Themes of young love and first love are very strong in this book. These themes are typical in a book for young adults, and how these themes are portrayed is very appropriate for this story. Unfortunately, some of the love triangles that emerge appear to be resolved too easily for someone reading this book to be able to relate. More realistic outcomes would make the story more believable and relatable.

The type of humor used and the excessive use of borderline profanity were two things that I disliked most about this book. While some of the humor helps remind the reader of the age group of the main characters, I felt that some occurrences were more adolescent than the actual ages of the characters. Regarding profanity, I counted forty-nine occurrences of the word “crap” throughout the book. While I counted this as borderline profanity, I felt the quantity was excessive for a book intended for young adults.

Another thing I disliked about this book was the frequency of simple grammatical errors. Throughout the book, there were multiple occasions of words capitalized that shouldn’t have been, missing punctuation, incorrect punctuation, and misspelled words. Based on the number of errors identified, I cannot conclude that this book has been professionally edited.

Overall, I enjoyed reading And All Because I Couldn’t Sleep One Night by D. Michael Hewlett, but there’s much room for improvement. Because of the numerous grammatical errors identified and the lack of believability, I have to rate And All Because I Couldn’t Sleep One Night 2 out of 4 stars. I think the book can be improved with a round of professional editing and consideration for the age group of the main characters. I would also remove most instances of borderline profanity to keep the book friendly enough for the intended audience. This is a fun story that I believe will be well-received among young adults.

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And All because I couldn't sleep one night
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Post by **Christabel Uzoamaka** » 31 Aug 2020, 10:42

This plot sounds like it’ll be perfect for a light-hearted teen flick on Netflix. It’s a pity about the editing though.

I really enjoyed your review.

SarahShebl · Post by **SarahShebl** » 31 Aug 2020, 11:11

Although I think that humor should be an essential in any book, I get that a certain type of humor, mixed with excessive use of profane language can be vexing. Thanks for drawing our attention to this downside.

Topsey · Post by **Topsey** » 31 Aug 2020, 12:09

This sounds like an enjoyable read. It is a shame about the many errors but thank you for an honest review!

Star_and_Buck · Post by **Star_and_Buck** » 31 Aug 2020, 15:03

Plot is good, I am not sure about the humour. I will skip the book. Nice review.

Cleo Smith · Post by **Cleo Smith** » 31 Aug 2020, 17:58

The book sounds overall amazing and like something I would love to read. I appreciate your view of the book and how you interpreted it. Nothings perfect and even with the grammar errors I would still love to read it soon.

banevius · Post by **banevius** » 31 Aug 2020, 19:47

Christieee wrote: ↑31 Aug 2020, 10:42 This plot sounds like it’ll be perfect for a light-hearted teen flick on Netflix. It’s a pity about the editing though.

I really enjoyed your review.

What a great idea! I could definitely see this on Netflix. It's definitely intended to be light-hearted fun for teens.

banevius · Post by **banevius** » 31 Aug 2020, 19:47

SarahShebl wrote: ↑31 Aug 2020, 11:11 Although I think that humor should be an essential in any book, I get that a certain type of humor, mixed with excessive use of profane language can be vexing. Thanks for drawing our attention to this downside.

Thank you so much for your comment!

banevius · Post by **banevius** » 31 Aug 2020, 19:48

Topsey wrote: ↑31 Aug 2020, 12:09 This sounds like an enjoyable read. It is a shame about the many errors but thank you for an honest review!

Thank you for your comment!

banevius · Post by **banevius** » 31 Aug 2020, 19:49

Star_and_Buck wrote: ↑31 Aug 2020, 15:03 Plot is good, I am not sure about the humour. I will skip the book. Nice review.

The plot was definitely an original one for me. Thank you for your comment!

Suesea · Post by **Suesea** » 31 Aug 2020, 19:54

I'm no longer a young adult, but I look for books appropriate for my daughter's children. Based on your review, I couldn't share this with the oldest girl who is turning twelve in September. The sexual content and the use of the word "crap" 49 times would be too much. They aren't even allowed to say the word crap.

Life exhibits enough cheapening qualities on T.V. and even in what children hear in school. Reading, in my opinion, should offer some kind of elevation in thought and help strengthen a young adult's character. I would include adults in that category as well. Why waste time on a book that is bent toward the shallowness and baser qualities in life?

Thank you for your review.

banevius · Post by **banevius** » 03 Sep 2020, 05:54

Suesea wrote: ↑31 Aug 2020, 19:54 I'm no longer a young adult, but I look for books appropriate for my daughter's children. Based on your review, I couldn't share this with the oldest girl who is turning twelve in September. The sexual content and the use of the word "crap" 49 times would be too much. They aren't even allowed to say the word crap.

Life exhibits enough cheapening qualities on T.V. and even in what children hear in school. Reading, in my opinion, should offer some kind of elevation in thought and help strengthen a young adult's character. I would include adults in that category as well. Why waste time on a book that is bent toward the shallowness and baser qualities in life?

Thank you for your review.

Thank you for your comment! The sexual content did not extend beyond on-page kissing and holding hands, so I'd consider that very mild and consistent with most other young adult books I've read. As for the borderline profanity, that's what caught my attention as a big turnoff to potential readers. This book has a lot of redeeming qualities, but it could've been executed better.

NDeMeer · Post by **NDeMeer** » 03 Sep 2020, 12:05

This sounds like such a fun story! What a shame about the lack of editing. I'll skip this book for now. Thanks for your insightful review!

banevius · Post by **banevius** » 03 Sep 2020, 21:11

NDeMeer wrote: ↑03 Sep 2020, 12:05 This sounds like such a fun story! What a shame about the lack of editing. I'll skip this book for now. Thanks for your insightful review!

Thanks so much for your comment!