The Non-Obvious Book of the Week: The Awoken by Katelyn Monroe Howes & The Sleepless by Victor Manibo

It’s the summer and when it comes to reading, for many people that means reading fiction … so this week I’m shifting my book recommendations to a different genre. My two picks this week came out within a month of each other back in 2022 and may seem similar based on their titles but are actually quite different but equally compelling imaginings of a dystopian future. In The Awoken, author Katelyn Monroe Howes transports the reader to a potential future where cryogenic freezing is a reality and people are awoken after a century and cured of whatever condition would have killed them in the past. The resulting world is plunged into a chaos between those who believe “the awoken” are unnaturally living and those who embrace them as a hallmark of human progress.

In Sleepless, author Victor Manibo creates a world with a new class of people who no longer need to sleep. It turns out this superhuman ability becomes both a gift and a curse. The “sleepless” are more desirable workers because of their enhanced attention. They often take second jobs or learn more hobbies with all their extra time. They are envied and feared. A key theme across both books is the use of future fantasy scenarios to explore modern themes of bias, belonging, fear and hope. If you’re looking for two action packed stories that will probably be optioned for movie rights if they haven’t already, I highly recommend these two as additions to your summer reading list.

Buy The Sleepless on Amazon                Buy The Sleepless on Bookshop.org

Buy The Awoken on Amazon             Buy The Awoken on Bookshop.org