Christy Snow wants to find her lost locket... but instead finds herself trapped in a coffin! Her last call before her cell phone dies is to best friend, Austin Hartt. Now they are both trapped in a psychiatric hospital where nothing is as it seems and all the rules they thought they knew no longer matter. Christy and Austin will have to look deep within themselves as they struggle to determine what is real and what is just an illusion.

Ted Dekker is the king of weird but thought provoking Christian fiction and he shows this once again with EYES WIDE OPEN. Originally written in four episodes, EYES WIDE OPEN contains all four segments and introduces reader to The Outlaw Chronicles. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough, wondering how in the heck he was going to explain all of the twists and turns, and I'm more than thankful I didn't have to wait and read EYES WIDE OPEN segment by segment!

Ted Dekker asks readers to look deep within themselves, just as Christy and Austin are forced to do, and ask, "Who am I?" EYES WIDE OPEN covers some very deep philosophical thoughts and I found myself rereading various lines just to ponder the ideas presented. The nontraditional psychiatric treatments used in EYES WIDE OPEN had me shuddering just a bit as my fingers still itch to call in an abuse report on both the doctor and the therapist. However, it is also these exaggerated elements that help the reader see the allegorical elements Ted Dekker is conveying in the storyline.

Ted Dekker never ceases to amaze me with the richness of his stories and EYES WIDE OPEN is definitely a rich story, despite the seemingly simplistic plot. I love the various metaphors he uses throughout the story and I can't wait to start reading WATER WALKER to see where the hints about Outlaw lead us. EYES WIDE OPEN is brilliantly executed and a tale that will have readers re-examining all their beliefs about self-esteem and perception.