Review of Open Minds by Susan Kaye Quinn- 5*

Title: Open Minds

Author: Susan Kaye Quinn

Genre: YA Paranormal

Rating: * * * * *

Publishers: CreateSpace

(Oct 3, 2011)

Paperback: 338 pages

ISBN: 1466354267

FTC Disclosure: Bought from Amazon

When everyone reads minds, a secret is a dangerous thing to keep. 

Sixteen-year-old Kira Moore is a zero, someone who can't read thoughts or be read by others. Zeros are outcasts who can't be trusted, leaving her no chance with Raf, a regular mindreader and the best friend she secretly loves. When she accidentally controls Raf's mind and nearly kills him, Kira tries to hide her frightening new ability from her family and an increasingly suspicious Raf. But lies tangle around her, and she's dragged deep into a hidden underworld of mindjackers, where having to mind control everyone she loves is just the beginning of the deadly choices before her. 

For some reason, this year, I've read more YA books than ever before. Why? I'm not real sure but I've sure not been disappointed. One of my top reads so far this year was Open Minds. I had agreed to do an announcement post for the Closed Hearts launch and thought I'd get a copy of the first book in the trilogy as once reading the blurb this sounded like one I'd enjoy. As the print copy was a little pricey at $13  (two paperbacks for me), I thought I'd get the Kindle addition for $3. Best $3 

I ever spent. This story sucked me in so fast it made my head spin and despite a weekend that was very hectic, I pretty much finished it in two days.

Kira's belief that she was a "zero", a person who could not read minds, led her to have a very lonely life, both at home and at school. And unfortunately, high school life in the future still sucks for those students that are thought of as "different".  At puberty, most people acquired the ability to read minds. But not only was Kira not a zero, she learned that she could mind jack (control their thoughts and actions). To her way of thinking, as she had never heard of this, this was even worse than being a "zero".

She encounters a boy in school who is also a jacker and he attempts to help her control this ability and she quickly learns how to make other people believe that she can now read minds. Unfortunately, this friend isn't as much a friend as he portrays. Talk about out of the frying pan into the fire! As all Kira has ever wanted to be was normal, she's not very happy when she discovers  that her friend has been lying to her the whole time and soon she is fighting for her very life.

I loved the world building in this book which is second only to the wonderful characterizations by Quinn. The story is very well paced and

the only thing that I hated was that it ended. Not a problem though as I immediately went to Amazon and got the next book, Open Minds, which started out with a bang. I only stopped reading it as I had to get this review done before tonight.

You definitely won't be wasting your money whether you get the Kindle or the print copy of this book. Just be prepared for the ride of your life. If I hadn't been reading this on my Kindle, I'd have left nail prints in my copy as I felt like I was barreling down an icy coated road in a car with no brakes. I could barely get my hands to unclench the steering wheel (Kindle) as I read this amazing story. This is one that I would definitely recommend to teens and adults who enjoy Dystopian YA fiction, sci-fi or suspense. I can't believe this was a self published book! Boy, somebody at a major publishing house sure missed the boat on this one. I can so see this feisty character and story as a blockbuster movie. Katness better watch her butt as Kira is the new kickass kid on the block. 

MINDJACK Trilogy

.5 Mind Games Raf's POV(prequel) 5/1/12

1. Open Minds 10/3/2011

2. Closed Hearts 5/16/2012

3. Free Souls?

Mind Games is the first in a series of five planned shorts, called Mindjack Origins: stories that look at characters in the Mindjack Trilogy universe before they make their debut in the series. Raf's story takes place a few months before Open Minds begins. The other four short stories will explore the origins of characters from the upcoming Closed Hearts novel, and will take place between Open Minds and Closed Hearts. I'll be writing these shorts in between drafts of Free Souls and releasing them throughout the year. Tentative titles...

Mindjack Origins

Mind Games

The Handler

The Scribe

The Puppeteer

The Viewer

Don't forget  the Virtual Party for Closed Hearts

(including bonus content for the Mindjack Trilogy and 

writerly guest posts) 

and/or 

ENTER TO WIN prizes Here

Crave by Laura Burns and Melinda Metz 4 1/2*

Title: Crave
Author: Laura J Burns and Melinda Metz
Genre: Young Adult Paranormal
Rating: * * * * 1/2
Publishers Date: September 21, 2010
Paperback: 288 pages
ISBN: 9781442408166
FTC Disclosure: Bought

“Born with a rare untreatable blood disorder, 16-year-old Shay knows she will never lead a normal life. She has accepted her fate but longs for the day when people can look beyond her illness and see her for herself. That day comes when her stepfather, Martin, an expert in the field of leukemia research, begins giving her a new type of transfusion. The treatments give her energy, strength, and awesome visions, which stir Shay's desire to live and cause her to want more. She breaks into Martin's office and finds Gabriel, the guy from her visions, chained to a table and sets him free. Kidnapped by him and on the run from Martin, Shay finds her world turned upside down. Crave is a fast-paced, action-packed vampire thriller with an original and refreshing story line. Gabriel's life is beautifully revealed through Shay's visions, and the well-written plot conveys depth and feeling while exploring important issues like friendship, loyalty, trust, love, and betrayal. A satisfying read with a shocking cliff-hanger ending.”

After a slow start, this book takes off at a speed that will not allow you to put it down. The only thing that annoyed me was I went into it thinking it was a stand alone. About 3/4 of the way through it – way before I got to the cliff hanger of all cliff hangers- I knew it could not possibly be wrapped up in one book. Thank goodness I only have to wait till the end of September for the next book-Sacrifice.
The characters in this book were so easy to get into. Sick girl Shay was totally fascinating. The authors did such a great job making you see and feel what she was going through on a daily basis, I have to wonder if one of them knew someone growing up that was terminally ill. Her best friend Olivia was there through thick and thin even when Shay wasn’t as good a friend back to her. And Gabriel, who we don’t actually get to meet until half way through the book, was a character of contradictions, that made him so believable. As a lover of paranormal romance, this was an awesome book. As a lover of YA novels, I felt it hit the nail on the head consistently.  You would think by know I’d be burnt out on vampire books but the authors have taken the oldest, most used, paranormal creature- the vampire- and penned a fresh new tale that will keep me and others up all night reading just one more chapter. I can definitely recommend this for middle school and up, though I (an adult reader) was just as hooked by this great story.

Crave (with Melinda Metz)
1. Crave (2010)
2. Sacrifice (2011)