The Insomniacs
by Marit Weisenberg
Pub Date 01 Sep 2020
Read Courtesy of NetGalley.com
Even though I really enjoyed this book, there were a few quirks about the characters' motivations that left me scratching my head. However, and more importantly, the main male character is consistent. Van doesn't waiver from whom he is; we just get to see him through many other people's eyes. That makes him interesting and engaging; the reader keeps waiting for him to falter, and he doesn't. I'm not a competitive athlete, so I don't know how to evaluate the main female character, Ingrid, as easily. She's a super confident athlete, but a wishy-washy friend. Well, at least she's consistently characterized that way.
The story kept my interest: I eagerly followed Ingrid's journey in wanting to know what caused her bad dive. I was curious about her relationship with Van. It was refreshing to see she had real friends. The adults were flawed people without being made out as stupid people - that's refreshing in a YA novel.
Some of the author's writing was basic YA; how's this for a metaphor? "...reminding me of a spoiled young nobleman in the red-and-faux-gold powder room." And when Ingrid is told by a teammate, "Don't worry...It's just a little injury. I had one in gymnastics before I moved to Texas." If it was just a little injury, why'd she leave gymnastics? OK, minor things that didn't detract from the story; they just made my reading stutter a bit.
Caroline (a diving teammate) kept me guessing. Kevin (Van's stepfather) kept me guessing. Even Ingrid's mom kept me guessing. That's what made this engaging and mysterious. In spite of me questioning some of the motives or actions that move the story forward, I was invested from the warm-up all the way through the dive in. Four ⭐⭐⭐⭐
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