All Sleep Along posts may contain spoilers for The Shining.
It’s time for another Sleep Along check-in! This week we’re covering Chapters Seven through Thirteen, or all of Part Two and the first chapter of Part Three.
(This discussion will contain spoilers through Chapter Thirteen of Doctor Sleep.)
Almost immediately upon starting Part Two, I started getting more excited about the story. I loved the development, I loved Dan and Abra’s growing relationship, and once we start Part Three… seeing our characters heading toward their first real confrontation with the True Knot, and knowing that not everything is going according to plan – for either side – was crazy intense!
In Part One, we get to know Abra mostly through her parents or other adults. In Part Two, we get to know her much better. What do you think of this extraordinary girl?
I’m really loving Abra. Just as Danny seemed very much a vulnerable little boy (“Doesn’t it matter that I’m just five?!”), Abra seems very much a pre-teen girl. I like her angry smile, and her overconfidence in her abilities, and the way that she sometimes overlooks the danger and focuses on the adventure and excitement.
Do you have any speculations on what the True Knot are? We know how they sustain themselves, and we’ve seen the way they die. They’re not, as Abra calls them, “ghostie people,” but they aren’t really human either.
I don’t know what they are, exactly… but the more details we get the more interesting they become. I think what interests me the most is the fact that they used to be human. They used to be just like us. So how did their kind begin? And for all of their insistence that they’re superior, that they’re simply at the top of the food chain, that they’re just doing what they need to survive… how are they able to so clearly differentiate themselves from what they used to be?
Considering that Chapter Thirteen is one of the most intense in the book so far, did anyone actually stop reading here? Or could you not wait to race on ahead?
I did take a short break, to get my thoughts together and take a bit of a breather, before moving on. I did finish the book this week (I only had the book on a two-week loan from the library, so I didn’t really have a choice) but the rest of my thoughts will just have to wait…
If you’re reading along with us, don’t forget to head over to Tif’s blog to link up or to join the discussion in the comments. If you haven’t finished the book yet, you’ll want to do that by next week; that’s when we’ll be wrapping up and discussing the whole thing. And until then, keep up with the Twitter hashtag #sleepalong to check in with other readers throughout the week.
What are your thoughts on Doctor Sleep so far?
Cheap Thrills 
I had to catch up and do Chapters 1-13 all in one post today. I also raced through the whole book on audio and didn’t remember to keep track of what happens when! I liked the book a lot, and am enjoying reading everyone’s answers. The insight into Alcoholics Anonymous has been very interesting, along with all the scary stuff one expects from a Stephen King book!
I do love seeing how everyone sees the book differently.
Well blogged! I can’t imagine how hard it is for you to hold back on the rest of the story.
I had most of this written before I continued reading, so that I wouldn’t be tempted to write about the later details (or slip up inadvertently).
Ah. That makes sense. I found the True Knot intriguing.
I cannot wait to chat next week. Now that I’m done with the book, I have so much to chat about. The question is where do I begin!! :)
I know, right?!
I think I’m waiting on sharing my complete thoughts until the book is complete. I’m not sure if I can avoid spoilers! Loved, loved it though.
It’s hard! I had most of this written before I continued reading, but I’m having to be careful in commenting on everyone else’s updates!
Abra overlooking the danger her powers can put her in and focusing on the adventure and excitement is typical young adult behavior. I really like that King balanced, so well, the “older” Abra with the teen she is and wanted to be.
Chapter 13 was great! I screamed a little at the end when I realized there was more intensity to come!
Yes! It was such a mean place to end the week’s reading… but at the same time good because I don’t think I would have been as excited about it if I’d just stopped at the end of Part Two.