BOOK REVIEW: Open Minds (Mindjack: Kira Book 1) by Susan Kaye Quinn

Open Minds

Series: Mindjack: Kira Book 1
Author: Susan Kaye Quinn

Genre: YA Fantasy / Dystopian

Book Description:

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 world of mindjackers, where having to mind control everyone she loves is just the beginning of the deadly choices before her.

Buy Links:

Amazon US ¦ UK

MY REVIEW

Trying to fit into a world of mind readers isn't an easy task for Kira Moore, a zero who can't read thoughts or have her thoughts read by others. Ever the optimists, her family and her best friend Raf still think there's a chance Kira could develop her mind-reading abilities despite the fact that at the age of sixteen she is long past the usual age of transition. As Kira starts to accept the fact that she's destined for life as a zero, the unexpected happens: she jacks Raf's mind and controls his actions. This new-found ability terrifies Kira, who not only has a hard time trying to find her place in the world, but she now has to hide the fact that she poses a threat to everyone around her. Kira is determined to stay away from Raf and push her new ability to the side, however, Simon, a fellow pupil at her school, has other plans. Simon is also a mind-jacker. Feeling a little less isolated, Kira allows Simon to teach her the ropes but soon start to realise that keeping the secret of being a mind-jacker comes with no perks as it means she has to decide whether or not to pretend to be a mind-reader or a zero, which would mean betraying the trust of those she loves.

It's not long before Kira's secret life start to weight heavy on her, causing a disruption in her home and school life. When she discovers that she and Simon aren't the only mind-jackers in town and that Simon has been trying to recruit her to join an organisation rooted in keeping the identity of mind-jackers a secret in order to evade capture by an organisation her dad works for, she starts to wonder whether or not Simon is friend or foe and whether or not her she can trust her family.

I must admit, I have had this ebook in my library for some time now, and while it has taken me over two years to get to it, it was worth the read. It was a thrilling book full of action, drama and intrigue. It reminded me somewhat of Brave New World by Aldous Huxley with the whole concept of existing in a world where your thoughts aren't private. It's very intrusive and terrifying, the idea that everyone is sharing their mental space, yet what I found interesting was the fact that Kira's fear stemmed from the fact that society ostracises those who cannot read minds and not the fact that being a mind-reader would be mean losing one's identity in a sea of intercepting thoughts.

It was an enjoyable read with a formidable leading character. I loved that Kira wasn't perfect, neither were the other characters. They wee flawed and didn't pretend to be anything more or less than who they were. I should have liked Raf more than I did, being that he's Kira's love interest, but I found Simon more engaging as there were more levels and complexities to his character.

VERDICT

Award: Gold

Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

Source: Own copy