Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.

Unfortunately I didn't finish this book, as I couldn't get into it - nothing against the author or book, just not to my personal taste. Thank you for the opportunity to read it.

*DNF @ 25%*

Copy kindly received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I hate to DNF a book, but unfortunately in this case, I just wasn't feeling this one. I was very kindly given a review copy through NG and, I think the idea of this book is a really great one, and I'm sure other people will like this. It just wasn't for me. I think thats because of the way its written - the story is told through the form of interviews and chats between friends, and a little bit of what happened at the time. So while this isn't my kind of writing style, I'm sure other people will enjoy this, because the idea of the storyline itself is a good one.

When I first picked up Close Your Eyes by Nicci Cloke, I didn't know just how complicated and thought-provoking this story was going to be. Nothing is as simple as it looks, and everyone sees things differently.

Close Your Eyes is about a diverse group of friends, how their friendships change over the course of a year, and how those changes lead to one of them picking up a gun and taking it to school. The story is told half in retrospect, after the shooting, with transcripts of interviews with some of the friends, one of the teachers, a psychologist, but also with news and radio reports. Those (we never really know who) who are putting all of this information together also use blog posts, diary entries, and text messages between the friends from before the school shooting, too. And the book is told half in third person from the perspective of a number of friends, of the events leading up to the shooting, as they happen.

What's really clever is the way the book is put together. The third person narration is told in chronological order, from a holiday the six friends went on until after the shooting. The epistolary part of the story almost feels like a jigsaw puzzle; We'll be shown an interview with one of the friends, then something in third person from that friend's perspective (showing the difference in what they say happened and what actually did happen), then next we'll have an interview with a psychologist, who seems to be talking about what we've just read about. For the most part, the interviews with the friends, the text messages, the blog posts, correspond to the third person narration, but everything else, there's nothing that says it's to do with the specific event you just read about, but it very much feels like it is.

You'll have noticed I've not mentioned which friends narrate the story, whose blog posts are used, etc. This is due to spoilers. The narration changes hands as the story progresses; one tells the story for a while, then someone else takes over, and then things change again. So at the beginning of the book, you don't know who will be narrating later, and as the interviews also correspond with the narration - interviews with the friends after the shooting - to say who narrates is also to say who survives. Even though part of the story is being told in retrospect, certain things are only revealed to the reader at certain times, so you never quite know. You're being guided through the story; you've been taken by the hand and are walking down a certain path, a path of the leader's choosing. So, in some ways, there's a mystery aspect to the story.

And, really, there's a mystery aspect to the whole story. You're being led to believe that friend X is the shooter, but while you're being led to believe this, from the way the epistolary side of things is pieced with the narration, it is never actually said that "X was the shooter." So is it X? Everything points to X, but is it too easy to be X? Or is that the point, a double bluff? Because it looks like it's X, we may doubt it is X, have us guessing it might be someone else... and then end up being X anyway? It was very, very clever. There were a couple of days in the middle of reading Close Your Eyes I was unable to read for, but I was still thinking about the story. I thought about where I was in the story, and about what I had read so far. I was thinking it was far too easy to be X - I've read Cloke's previous novel, Follow Me Back, and knew how good Cloke was at twists and the unexpected - and then something struck me. Something a psychologist said. It seemed at the time to be talking about X, but I then realised it's quite possible what the psychologist was talking about could refer to Y! From then on, I was convinced it was Y, and I thought myself so clever as little things I remembered from what I'd previously read, and what followed when I could read again all seemed to fit my theory. But it turned out I was completely wrong. As I said above, nothing is as simple as it seems.

As clever as Close Your Eyes is, it is also heartbreaking. There are things about the past of a number of characters' pasts that are just unimaginable. Close Your Eyes really plays on your emotions, because you end up really feeling for those it would be easy to tar with the "bad" brush, and being really bloody upset with those who are "innocent". Though it depends on how you define innocent, and how you define bad. Because what this book is really about is bullying, and the consequences - the effects - of your actions, no matter how small. What is bullying, anyway? Teasing someone a little here, a laugh at someone's expense there - just what friends do, right? There's no malice in it, and definitely no harm. But is there? We don't know what people have been through, we don't know their pasts, so we don't know how that will affect them. And, as an outsider, we don't really know what is going through the head of the one making the joke, or the one laughing. And then there's perspectives and the truth; you can have A think B is just shy, that there's nothing weird about them being quiet and observant, but then C can think B is creepy the way they watch everything, notice everything, plotting maybe, and then you can have the real reasons B is like they are. And if you're C who feels a little uneasy around B, not knowing about B's past? Even though they are your friend, what might you do? There are a lot of people who do a lot of bad things, some small, some huge. They may not have a gun in their hand, they may not be taking life, but they're definitely not innocent. And you never know how much can be too much for some one, nor how someone who it's too much for will react. So, like the description above says, who is truly responsible? It's really very thought provoking.

There's one niggle I had with this book. Once we get to the shooting and we're inside the shooter's head, it is very clear that this person is in need of help. I couldn't say for sure that they have a mental illness, because I'm not a doctor, but they definitely need counselling. It does feel like they have a problem, though, that they could potentially have a mental illness - and there are even interviews with a psychologist who talks about the shooter's past and what that could mean to them. And that made me feel a little uneasy. When things like this happen - when someone picks up a gun and goes on a shooting rampage - the state of their mental health is questioned, or any mental illness they have come to light. I worry that this story may be adding to that idea the news perpetuates when things like this happen, that those with mental illness are dangerous, and therefore upholding the stigma surrounding mental illness. I don't know, I simply don't know enough to be sure that that's what this book is doing. At the same time, for the shooter to not need help, their whole backstory would need to change, because they need help long before they pick up a gun. I don't know what the answer is here, but it did make me feel a little uncomfortable.

Still, Close Your Eyes is a very clever, very thought-provoking, and very upsetting novel. The scenes when the shooting is taking place, the accounts of it - even though I knew it had already happened and was over - it was just terrifying. I felt for the shooter, but I also feared them. Close Your Eyes has so many layers to it, and is so complex; this is more than just a school shooting with a whodunnit element, this is a story about people, how we can never really know people, and a book, I feel, promotes kindness and compassion. What Cloke has done with this story, with these characters... it's pretty incredible.

Thank you to Hot Key Books for the eProof.

This story is incredibly fast-paced. It's hard to put it down, it would be like pausing a movie during the most climactic moment, the whole time.

The foreshadowing of the plot twist was done so brilliantly that you're left wondering how you didn't see it coming. I've always admired subtle foreshadowing, it's not easy to accomplish.

All in all a great read.

It wasn't till I opened the first page of this book that I realized it was going to be a school shooting novel. I, however, am a fan of the school shooting novels as I find them so powerful and emotive as I am the type of person who would to reach out to the shooter and befriend them before things turned bad to the point of no return. Close Your Eyes tells the story of a group of friends at Southfield High School. There are the twins Aisha and Ash, Remy, Gemma, Elise, and Eli. Elise and Eli are the last two to join their group of friends, and things seem to be going well except this last few months, their group of friends have been separating and spending time in twos or elsewhere and strange things have been happening. Each of the friends is going through their problems, but we discover that a couple of them, their problems run deeper than anyone ever realized. We have Aisha who has been spending a lot of time lately partying and sneaking out, only to have her life exposed to a Gossip Girl sort of blog. Eli's sister had a breakdown at their old school which forced them to move, and Elise's family went through a similar situation to Eli's which makes sense to why the pair connected. I have to admit the last few chapters of this book; I did not see that coming. When the truth was revealed, I have to say part of me was blown away, but the other part of me could see how everything had eventually built up to this moment and showed what a tipping of the scales could do as desperation , injustice and a feeling like we have nothing can lose can push us all into a spiralling oblivion. Just think - what would you do if you had nothing to lose and the only consequence was death which you knew was coming anyway.Would you be like one of the characters in this book and either commit suicide or would you be like the other and shoot up the school? Close Your Eyes by Nicci Cloke was a thought-provoking, and emotional rollercoaster of a YA read.

Struggled to get into this book. I will give it another chance at a future date but for now, I had to DNF.

I have read a few books that have tackled the topic of a school shooting, notably Jodi Picoult’s 19 Minutes. However, these books never seem to be aimed at a younger audience who arguably should be exposed to books about this topic to make them aware of what to do and more importantly the consequences of actions.

Close Your Eyes focuses on the dynamics of friendship and how we may think we know people but can we ever truly know someone? Told in a quirky way (blog posts, police interviews, group messages and narrative) it is a really easy book to read which considering its main topic is pretty impressive. My one bug bear about Close Your Eyes is during the beginning section when Of Mice and Men is said to have 20+ chapters. As a high school teaching assistant who has worked with students studying this book I know it doesn’t have that many chapters. It is a forgivable error…but only just.

Close Your Eyes is a really good story that deals with a complicated topic but it is essential reading for young adults.

Close Your Eyes by Nicci Cloke is available now.

For more information regarding Nicci Cloke (@niccicloke) please visit www.niccicloke.com.

For more information regarding Bonnier Zaffre Books (@BonnierZaffre) please visit their Twitter page.

For more information regarding Hot Key Books (@HotKeyBooks) please visit www.hotkeybooks.com.

-Just after completing the book.-

I literally don't know what to say. I just spent a good amount of time crying at the end of this book as the feelings of shock and sadness are overwhelming. I am so glad that my favourite character is alive though.
I hope that there is like a short companion novel though, like maybe 3 years on, after GCSE's and A-Levels where the characters are going to uni and we can find out a little more.
Please Nicci? Please?

Some time later-

Okay, I am ready to give a full review now. I am going to start off by saying that I did receive the book for free to review as an arc, but this in no way effects my opinion of it or my review. All thoughts are my own.

This book follows a group of school friends; Aisha, Gemma, Remy, Elijah, Elise and Ash (probably someone else but I am pretty sure that is it). It is set in the U.K., in a school in the South-West of England called Southfield High, where the group is about to do their GCSE's, and are in their final year before sixth form/college.

We are told at the beginning of the book that there is a shooting and then we backtrack to the beginning of the year when things begin to change between the group.

This book deals with such a serious topic and so easily could have been done wrong, however Cloke made the novel so thoughtful and engaging and realistic. She was also able to add so much to the plot in terms of how everyone was feeling and thinking. The struggle of trying to decide your future, friendship and dating issues are all something that teens go through and she made the book so relatable.

I really loved this book. It gave me huge range of emotions and I really got deep into the story. I definitely cried and locked my Kobo and unlocked it a lot because I struggled to deal with my emotions.

I was really surprised this was a debut novel, and Nicci Cloke is really one to watch because if all of her books are like that, she will be in my top 3 with Jandy Nelson and Nicola Yoon.

I am most definitely gushing but I am really loved this book. I would recommend it to everyone

This brutal & quite original story about a school shooting, deals with the repercussions of any sort of bullying. The story focuses on the events that lead to the horrific incident using transcripts, interviews, online conversations etc which adds to the drama & thriller aspect. Starting with the emergency call captures your attention from the very beginning.

At the center of the story is a group of 6 teens with one of them being the quiet "weird" one, Elijah, who you don't know at the beginning if he is shooter or victim. Their POVs tell us the story until that devastating curve ball that just "whoosh" hits you in the chest and you are numb till you realize what that even bigger curve ball is!

The book deals with the questions of when behavior becomes a type of bullying, violent, when should or if we should get involved? Where does privacy end and genuine concern begin/ Are their signs of the oncoming tragedy, or is it all 20/20 hindsight?

As the web of the group's interaction untangles, you get the feel for each one's role & start having your own theories of what is to come and opinions of fault. I believe the POVs of everyone involved were done very well, with each having the appropriate voice.

The accounts during the shooting, especially of the shooter, crank the intensity really high, and your heart is in the throat until the end. A thrilling captivating read which will spark many discussions of its themes.

Close Your Eyes was everything I expected to be, and more. It was tense, fast-paced, and raw. I loved the different style of narrative - the transcripts from 999 calls, prose, police interrogations, diary entries... I thought it was pretty unique and fit very well with the story. I was continually guessing what had happened, and didn't want to stop reading, because I needed to know what had happened. I really liked the characters, although I feel like maybe we didn't get the clearest insight into who they all were because of the style. I only felt like I knew Elise, Elijah and maybe Ash, but not the other characters, especially not Remy. Also, I thought the ending was slightly too rushed, although because the police interrogations throughout the novel were set after the event, I guess that's okay.

Overall, a very addicting read.

This was such an interesting read. I love the way that it was set out, so that the even though we knew from the start what was going to happen, it wasn't revealed until later exactly who was involved and how it would unfold. It was so fascinating to be introduced to the characters and get to know them in the time leading up to the event so we could see what drove the events to happen.

It was told in several different ways as well, There were twitter feeds and blog posts were a good way to show what was going on and the way that the people both inside and outside the school would react.

The I was quite excited by the twists as well. It was a good way to separate this book from others with the same topic.

It feels slightly wrong to say I am drawn to books about school shootings but I have read quite a few over the years and always find it interesting to get into the mindset of such complex characters.
What made this book so gripping and fast to read was the fact it features interviews and text messages and many other ways to piece the story together and it features one hell of a twist which I didn't see coming.

This was an engaging read with an interesting structure, though I found the twist quite predictable (though if I hadn't known there would be a twist, I would probably have been more surprised by it). Some characters were better drawn than others - Gemma, Elijah and the twins were written well, but I found Elise and Remy to be lacking - especially as most of Elise's characterisation was shoved into the second half of the novel (presumably so Elijah would be the focus of the first half and to make the twist more surprising). Overall I found this to be a decent read, easy and quick with a lots of drama, but nothing particularly stood out beyond the twist for me.

I don’t honestly know how I feel about this book. I didn’t like any of the characters even though the only reason I read this book was because one of the main characters has my name and I didn’t like how the style of the novel dragged out the mystery of the story. The book twist at the end was pretty predictable. The thing I don’t get is the way the book is written presents the story as a bunch of friends who fall apart because they really shouldn’t be friends in the first place and all of them are really annoying and unlikable and yet it actually has an important message about how you treat people.

Excellent read with a different kind of presentation in how the story is told format wise that I felt really worked. It was like you were observing this story transpire in the news, which sadly does happen all too frequently these days. I enjoyed the characters and loved the tension that really held this one together. 4.5 stars, rounded up to five.

Multiple viewpoints are an effective device for exploring culpability & there are no easy answers to the difficult questions raised. Compelling, pacy & thought-provoking with great teen appeal

We were initially drawn to Close Your Eyes because Bee was desperate to read a YA about a school shooting after missing the opportunity to get This Is Where It Ends for 99p, and the fact that this is UKYA made it all the more enticing. We’ve all heard about shootings in America, that are more likely because of the gun laws, but in the UK, they’re as unlikely as a dragon crashing into the science block. Close Your Eyes did not disappoint in its capability to build suspense and intrigue and freaking out everyone who reads it!

Plot and Pacing
What’s the real USP for Close Your Eyes is its use of diverse and interesting material. Not only do you get a third person narrative that fills in the blanks before and after the shooting, but you also get interviews with each of the main characters involved, blog posts, transcripts of the 999 conversation (this opened the novel and it was INSANELY GOOD) extracts from forums and messages boards…it was such an immersive reading experience that gave you all the evidence you needed, and more. Our favourite parts were definitely the interviews, because they were so enriched with the characters’ voices. The third person had a tendency to tell rather than show, and be overly expositional but the interviews gave you a real sense of how each character spoke and reacted and thought. Pure genius.

Because of all of that, the pacing was great. This is a book that, no doubt, you can read in one sitting, and you’ll want to.

Characters
The characters aren’t the part of the story I can talk about too much, because the plot twist is so embedded in your expectations, and how the narrative is built to lead your suspicions in a certain direction. Let’s just say that there’s a mysterious boy called Elijah who gets a lot of attention because of how odd he is compared to other teenage boys.

The group dynamic, though, was fascinating. There was a really interesting mixture of cliches within the main cliche. You had the sporty ones, the arty ones, the popular ones, and the smart ones all co-existing in a little microcosm of the school environment that was so refreshing to see. The usual segregation of secondary school was broken down, and I really appreciated the nuances of the five friends’ friendship.

My favourite character was probably Ash, because there was so much going on beneath the surface. I can’t be sure, but I think there might of been suggestions of a crush between Ash and Elijah, and I wish, if that were the case, it had been developed more. Ash was so heroic and lovely, the bit where he figures out the shooter’s identity and goes in to save those still in the school was just amazing.

Special mention to Mrs. Wu. She was an absolute legend of a character and deserves all the special mentions. I did also have a soft spot for Gemma, because she was so there for her friends. She’s the kind of girl you’d want with you in a hostage situation, that’s for sure.

Verdict
Overall, we were both really impressed by Close Your Eyes, although the red herrings of the mystery were easy to identify if you’re the kind of reader that second guesses things the way we do. But, for a fast, engaging story with such a strong plot hook, we were entertained all the way through, and left slightly unsettled by the end! We’d definitely recommend it if you’re looking for something guaranteed to keep you hooked until the very final page.

What stops the book getting a higher rating was just how abrupt subplots felt, and how unresolved things felt apart from the school shooting narrative. I recognise that that was the most important part, but I would have loved more attention paid to the little details.

I read “Close Your Eyes” in one sitting – this is not the first (nor is it likely to be the last) book I have read recently that has a school shooting at the heart of it – but this one resonated, probably due to the clever plotting and emotional core of it.

We follow a friendship group through the ups and downs of school life, of family, the deeper connections forming, all whilst knowing that things are not going to end well for everyone. I think what I liked most was the depth given to each of the characters – and how, in the end, the author brought a difficult but realistic understanding of why a tragedy unfolded. Nicci Cloke got me invested in these people, in their inner thoughts and feelings and so when things go so horribly wrong there is a real tug on the heartstrings.

It is beautifully written, cleverly obfuscated and purely character driven. It is not about shock value but about personality, events that form us, things that others casually throw out there not knowing the hurt they are causing (or sometimes knowing exactly that) Nobody in Close Your Eyes has entirely pure motives all the time, they are human beings with all their flaws, jealousies and idiosyncrasies – and sometimes that adds up to mental instability and a lashing out. Not always with violence, but this author takes on the nuances.

I thought it was very very good indeed. Because it is an easy read but also an extraordinarily hard one. Addictive and pacy at the same time as considered and intriguing.

Yes. I’d definitely recommend it.