A Semi-Definitive List of Worst Nightmares

By: Krystal Sutherland

Narrated by: Tara Sands

Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's summary

From the author of Our Chemical Hearts comes the hilarious, reality-bending tale of two outsiders facing their greatest fears about life and love—one debilitating phobia at a time.

Ever since Esther Solar's grandfather was cursed by Death, everyone in her family has been doomed to suffer one great fear in their lifetime. Esther's father is agoraphobic and hasn't left the basement in six years, her twin brother can't be in the dark without a light on, and her mother is terrified of bad luck.

The Solars are consumed by their fears and, according to the legend of the curse, destined to die from them.

Esther doesn't know what her great fear is yet (nor does she want to), a feat achieved by avoiding pretty much everything. Elevators, small spaces, and crowds are all off-limits. So are haircuts, spiders, dolls, mirrors, and three dozen other phobias she keeps a record of in her semi-definitive list of worst nightmares.

Then Esther is pickpocketed by Jonah Smallwood, an old elementary school classmate. Along with her phone, money, and a fruit roll-up she'd been saving, Jonah also steals her list of fears. Despite the theft, Esther and Jonah become friends, and he sets a challenge for them: In an effort to break the curse that has crippled her family, they will meet every Sunday of senior year to work their way through the list, facing one terrifying fear at a time, including one that Esther hadn't counted on: love.

©2017 Krystal Sutherland (P)2017 Listening Library

Critic reviews

An Amazon Editor's Favorite YA Book for Fall 2017

An Amazon September Best of the Month Pick—YA/Teens

A Hello Giggles Best of September Pick

A Bustle Best of September YA Pick

A 2017 B&N Best Young Adult Book

★ “Imbue[d] with energy, fascinating histories, wisps of humor and, ultimately, grace. . . Equal parts inspiring and good fun.”—The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review

“[A] bewitching book . . . Sutherland's fertile imagination makes this book a deep dive into the intricacies of family, friends, and personal history. . . . A fresh and compelling look at mental illness.”—Kirkus Reviews

“[A] darkly ironic tale about an offbeat dysfunctional family.”—Publishers Weekly

It was a Tik Tok recommendation.

I am in tears, with the biggest smile I've had in a year. Must read.

Unique, superstitious, interesting teen drama

First, love Tara Sands as narrator! Amazing as always. Loved Our Chemical Hearts by Krystal too. This one is darker. A great novel for Halloween with spooks and fears for those who do not want to be truly terrified. Loved the costumes that the main character wears. Also enjoyed the bouncing between the grandfathers story and the teens. Didn’t realize it would develop into such a mental health story, but that was a good surprise, well-written. Could be triggering for suicidal issues. It was creepy but not scary.

Great book!

So the synopsis of the book is true but misleading all at the same time. Esther is afraid of everything and when Jonah pickpockets her he gets not only her cash, phone and fruit roll up but he also gets her list of worst nightmares.

Death cursed the Solar family, and the interludes where you learn more about that is a nice touch, but the main arc of the story is Jonah helping Esther overcome her small fears while driving her to face her biggest fear. The writing is really good, I hate when YA books are dumbed down.

Tara Sands does a nice job. You can tell the characters apart and she injects the right amount of feeling into her reading.

Sweet but raw

A sweet story about a girl who falls in love with the boy who pick-pocketed her years earlier and their journey through anxiety and fear and unconditional love. Two of my favorite quotes included: “The curse doesn’t make you interesting. You think the curse is the most interesting thing about you, but it isn’t . It doesn’t even make the top 5. Everybody’s fear sounds the same in their head.” and “What was fear trying to hide from her this time?” The Some themes involving self-harm and sexual assault/violence.