Midnight Mayhem
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$1797
Chapter Book · Ages 8–12 · 2026

Midnight Mayhem

Written by Christina Uss

A sleepless boy faces endless nights and a choice between friendship and normalcy.

3.9 Goodreads · 36 ratings
176 pages· ~700L
$18.99Save 5%

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Bookroo's summary

Kaz can't sleep after a bizarre meal leaves him awake forever. In Philadelphia, he meets Floyd, another sleepless kid who sees insomnia as a superpower. Together, they embark on wild nocturnal adventures, but chaos follows. When Kaz discovers a cure, he must decide between a lifetime of sleepless nights with his best friend or returning to normalcy. Will he choose friendship or the chance to dream again?

From the publisher

Kaz Jakobsen can’t sleep.Ever again. Kaz Jakobsen knows things will never be the same after his family’s sudden move to Philadelphia. He’ll have to make new friends, which isn’t his strong suit. But an even bigger change arrives at a restaurant where he orders a bagel sandwich. Kaz eats a potent combo of the world’s greenest mustard and rootiest rootbeer and loses his ability to sleep. Scientifically, brain + no sleep = kablammo. The longest a human insomniac has gone without sleep is eleven days. What will happen to Kaz without sleep for more than seventy years? How will he survive the lonely boredom? Kaz luckily meets Floyd, a fellow non-sleeping kid, at a sleep study lab. Floyd thinks being sleepless is a super-power, a chance to try a million new things. He takes Kaz on madcap midnight adventures, introducing him to all the things kids are allowed to do at night in Philadelphia. And a few things they aren’t. The bad news: his ideas always seem to lead to mayhem. Kaz wants to keep Floyd’s friendship but lose the mayhem. When he learns there’s an antidote to a lifetime awake, he has a tough choice to make. If Kaz cures his sleeplessness, will he lose the best friend he’s ever had?

At a glance
Format
Hardcover
Pages
176
Reading age
8–12
Audience
Middle Grade
Lexile
~700L
The author

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The fine print

Book details

Reading levels
ATOS
~4.5
F&P level
~Q
Publication
Published
March 3, 2026
Publisher
Holiday House
Edition
Language
English
Type
Chapter Book
Identifiers
ISBN
9780823456352

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