ARC Review of Mind Games by Kiersten White
PJV Quickie: A very complex plot full of twists and turns, MIND GAMES is a unique tale that had me engrossed from the very beginning. I wouldn’t have expected anything else from Kiersten White who entranced me with her Paranormalcy series, a PJV Fave.
Author: Kiersten White
Series: Mind Games #1
Type: Young Adult Paranormal
Published: January 22nd 2013 by Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Source: Publisher
Review:In MIND GAMES we focus on two sisters, Fia and Annie. Annie is the oldest and blind. Her younger sister, Fia is tasked with taking care of her older handicap sister. The task becomes even more intense after the death of their parents and their subsequent placement with an Aunt that didn’t expect to care for two grieving girls. Especially when one of those girls is blind and claiming to have visions of the future which had started with the death of her parents. When they are approached by a representative from an all girls school, claiming to be able to care for the girls, their Aunt and Annie jump on the idea. But Fia’s mind is screaming “wrong!” Fia can’t abandon Annie though and she reluctantly goes with her to the very wrong school.
The school turns out to be a tool for very powerful people that are aware of girls with extraordinary abilities. Annie had come on their radar and now with Fia’s insistence that they are wrong…they realize that Fia is also graced with an inexplicable talent of always knowing what decision to make. Perfect Instincts. Fia is also very aware of the school’s evil intent, while Annie remains blissfully unaware. Annie only knows that at her new school she has friends and a ton of new tools to help her, while Fia is relentlessly harassed, taught and forced to do things that she knows is wrong. It is a terrible experience for Fia, especially as she comes to realize that not even her thoughts are her own and the school will use everything against her, even the life of her sister.
The story actually unveils from many different timelines which I’m usually not a fan of, well at least this many transitions, but I believe White did a good job with the timeline. They were relative to how the story unfolds instead of just gratuitous back and forth transitions to perpetuate confusion in the reader. The two sisters, Annie and Fia were in different places mentally so the back and forth timeline helped to cohesively flow the emotional track of the book. Annie was the light to Fia’s dark and it interplayed with the story very well. It also helped in making a story that could just be “another” boarding school type paranormal young adult into a very unique and complicated plot. Another very interesting result of the back and forth was the feelings towards the characters, both the two sisters and the man in the story, who was the worst…I felt a range of emotions for him it went from hate, to like, love, hate, back to like, then what…? How fun is that??
Things that didn’t thrill me as much was the fact that some of the thoughts and ideas were repeated over and over again. I believe that was to show the sort of looping pattern that was Fia’s way of thinking, but, it became repetitive and led to a predicability. The ending scene, which was supposed to be very high anxiety was rather lack-luster because I knew it was implausible and the Fia’s intension and the reasoning behind the set-up. I also didn’t understand why Fia did not explain to her sister what was going on. She closed herself off and this struck me as kind of false, even though I did get the impression that Annie wasn’t the smartest crayon in the box – so maybe Fia’s intuition was telling her not to trust her sister, because Annie was constantly doing something mental to try and “fix” things.
Overall an interesting read that had me engrossed from beginning to end. I highly recommend MIND GAME for fans of Young Adult Paranormal.
Recommendations: If you are a fan of Kiersten White you will not be disappointed. This is for a more mature Young Adult reader because of scenes of violence and some sexual interactions. There is nothing graphic though, I’m giving this a 15+ recommend. Fans of authors like Rachel Ward, Jesse Karp and Robison Wells should really enjoy.
Similar Young Adult Paranormal Novels and 4 Star Ratings:
Those That Wake by Jesse Karp
Cinder (Lunar Chronicles, #1) by Marissa Meyer
Rating: 
Latest posts by Parajunkee (see all)
- Blogging 101 Presentation – May 23, 2013
- Gag Worthy Cliches – May 22, 2013
- Audiobook Review: The Program – May 21, 2013
- The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau – May 20, 2013
- Feature & Follow #149 – May 16, 2013
- Ten Tips for New Bloggers – May 16, 2013
- The Adventures of Evil Book Blogger Ep. 1 – May 15, 2013
- PJV News: Hot Books Releasing Today – May 14, 2013
- Breath by Jackie Morse Kessler – May 13, 2013
- Feature & Follow #148 – May 9, 2013
Great review! The book sounds good, but I think I might have to lower my expectations a bit. I really wanted this book to be FREAKING AMAZING, but by the sound of it, it’s more along the lines of ‘pretty good’.
I never read her first series because it didn’t seem like my kind of book but this one sounds really interesting and right up my alley. I’m very excited to check it out
You know, I’m really anxious to read Mind Games. Part of me is excited for another amazing Kiersten White tale (I LOVED Paranormalcy and White’s writing), but on the other hand, it sounds like Mind Games has a much more serious tone and I don’t know how I feel about that!
I’m kind of on the fence about this one. I really liked the first book in the Paranormalcy series, but the subsequent books were a little lacking. I still might give this one a try.
I love White’s books so I’ll definitely give this a try. Even if its only pretty good instead of knock your socks off.
I really want to read this one!
This book sounds really interesting. I enjoyed her Paranormalcy series as well. Off to add it to my ever growing wishlist!
http://thparanormalpalace.wordpress.com
Great review, I love Kiersten White and good to see that she’s produced a very different title here.