We Shall Not All Sleep: A Novel

We Shall Not All Sleep is a novel by Estep Nagy. It is a story that takes place on an island off the coast of Maine, where only two houses sit. It takes place over three days. The setting is intriguing, as the families on the island don’t really speak to one another, and the island is relatively isolated. The tension in the novel comes from family and spy plots, as well as from a 12-year-old boy on a nearby island by himself for the night. The reader really isn’t sure what will become of him as his time there plays out. There are some particularly good moments; one involves whether owls live in the area, but I won’t say more in order not to spoil these nice moments. I did think that the writing needed one more revision, as some of the narrative is confusing, especially in the beginning, and there are some lengthy descriptions. In addition, some of the plot feels like an inside story that the reader can’t fully understand or connect with.