See Close Your Eyes in our catalogue
“Southfield High School is typical for its too big, slightly grotty building, its good teachers, its bad, and its cliques. But despite all of that, there’s a particular group of friends who have known each other forever and know that they can rely on each other for anything.
“But at the start of Year 11, when the group befriend the new boy, Elijah, things start to change. The group find themselves not as close as they used to be. Until one Tuesday, when the student body is locked inside the school building. And one of them has a gun.
“Close Your Eyes is the story of a school shooting which, through interviews, messages and debatable actions, asks the question: Who is truly responsible?”
I would recommend that you read Close Your Eyes without knowing anything about the plot (aside from the description above), as it really adds to the atmosphere the book is built on.
Cloke draws you into these characters’ story with the knowledge that there was a shooting, but not whodunnit or, more importantly, why they did it. It really challenges preconceptions around this topic and does get quite graphic by the end, but it really impressed me.
Close Your Eyes is a gripping YA thriller with twists galore, so many red herrings and a brilliant use of multiple narratives to really mess with your head. I devoured it in one sitting.