Title: Open Minds
Author: Susan Kay Quinn
Book Summary:
“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.”
I think I would consider myself lucky to be a zero… why would I want other people to hear my most private thoughts? Kira, however, does NOT share my opinion on the matter. She is a zero and hates being so different-- no one trusts her, she won’t get a good job, and she is made fun of at school. Her parents and brother are supportive, but Kira knows they wish she were normal. When a situation arises with her best friend Raf, she panics and ends up controlling his mind… not bad for a zero. Horrified with her newfound ability, Kira fears the destruction her ability can cause. She will have to learn quickly what she is and how to control herself.
Kira is a fantastic lead character; she has huge amounts of courage and is the type of person I wish I could be like! Kira is ridiculed for a while about not having the same abilities as everyone else, and she does a great job holding it together. Put in that situation, most people will cave and get upset, cry, maybe runaway, but not Kira. She takes it. Day. After. Day. She is determined to live her life with or without the “normal” society’s mindreading abilities. Despite my dislike in her choice of guys, I think Kira is an exceptional character who I would love to have as a friend… even if she can control my mind.
Open Minds is a very intriguing story. A story in which one of the characters can read minds isn’t all that new of a plotline, but having a world where most everyone can read minds and only a few can’t is definitely unique. I really like that genetics come into play here. Mindreading is supposed to be a hereditary ability; so it makes sense that a few people are missed and don’t develop it. Another reason I like the genetics aspect is that it explains how the mindreading starts and becomes widespread. This type of phenomenon isn’t like the plague or malaria that can be spread to hundreds of thousands of people virtually overnight by flies: this is something that happens gradually.
The flow of Open Minds seems pretty smooth. I have a few cases when I wonder how things happen so fast (mostly towards the end) and it gets a little hard to follow, but overall it has a good pace. The other thing that makes this book captivating is the amount of surprising plot twists. I distinctly remember at least three times reading and thinking, “Well, didn’t see THAT coming”. Some of these surprises are good, and I’m glad they happen. Others are not so good, and I want to shake Kira for letting them happen… Luckily Kira learns from her mistakes!
The Cover:
This cover is STUNNING. Seriously. I love all the shades of blue that are in it and how they all mix together! I especially like the cover model’s eyes and the light blue swirls up around the title. The swirls of light blue give the cover a mysterious, supernatural/paranormal feel that fits well with the theme! The way the girl’s hand is up in front of her face really intrigues me. Whenever I see it, I think of Kira. Since other people cannot read Kira’s mind, I always kinda thought of her brain holding up a stop sign that no one could pass. It’s interesting that the girl is holding up her hand in the gesture for stop, just like Kira’s brain does to other people’s minds!
I give Open Minds 4.5 out of 5 hearts: Very Highly Recommended
Find out more about Susan here: http://www.susankayequinn.com/
You can also enter to win a ecopy of Open Minds and a ecopy of In His Eyes below! There will be two winners. One will win a ecopy of Open Minds and one will win a ecopy of In His Eyes. These giveaways ARE international!
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Not only does Sue write a great story, she's also an awesome person. :)
ReplyDeleteI believe it!! She has been so nice when we have talked!! (:
DeleteIve been seeing this book around some and I love the synopsis! It sounds like a good story and you write great reviews :) Way better than mine =/
ReplyDeleteThanks Bri, but I wouldn't say I write better reviews than you. I like your reviews!!
DeleteSo glad to see another awesome review for Susan! I thoroughly enjoyed this book as well.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jessie :) Glad you liked the book too!!
DeleteThanks so much for the lovely review! (Lisa, you are too kind!) I'm a huge fan of the cover as well. :) My cover designer, Dale Pease, is a genius! I gave him the basic idea of the girl and the hand, but he came back with this amazing cover concept that I just fell instantly in love with. (I like your take that it is basically saying "stop!" - I envisioned it being partly a fearful "stop" kind of feeling, for all the bad things that happen, but also a powerful kind of visual of Kira projecting her power. :))
ReplyDeleteJust wait until you see the cover for Closed Hearts! :) *coming soon*
You're welcome Susan!! Ohh, I can see a "fearful stop" too now that you mention it. I agree, your cover designer is obviously genius!!
DeleteNow I cannot wait to see the cover for Closed Hearts! :P
I can't wait to read this book now! Your review of it makes it sound really great, and I immensely agree with what you said about the cover. The blues have a really nice overall effect, and if books were meant to be judged by their covers, I would read this in a heartbeat. Cool theory, on the whole "stop" idea; I hope that is what it was meant to be.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean!! I was hooked from the cover :) Luckily this was one of those books where the cover didn't lie!
DeleteThis sound good ,,, I will add it to my TBR pile and will check it out later ,,, great review :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Lilly!!
DeleteReminds me of "squibs" in the Harry Potter books (only angrier:)Yeah, I think reading someone's mind is a superpower I could do without. And I love when a story includes "scientific reasoning" for crazy abilities (even if it's totally made up, guess it's the science nerd in me!) Another cool review Lauren. Sounds like an intriguing story!
ReplyDeleteSadly I never read HP.. (a sin I know!) I think you would like this one Heather!! :)
DeleteI'm really excited about Open Minds. I'm not entering, I already own a signed PB copy!!! :) I just got it in the mail from another contest, and I can't wait to read it. Your review makes me want to hurry the heck up and finish what I'm reading now so I can get to it!
ReplyDeleteWow I am jealous ;) I cannot wait to see what you think of it!! (=
DeleteOpen Minds seems amazing, a story that not only includes characters with special powers (one of my ultimate weaknesses), but has a really unique plot-line that stands out from a lot of other YA books. It sounds very interesting indeed, and hope I soon get a chance to read it!
ReplyDeleteI hope you do too! It was amazing (=
DeleteI've been wanting to read Open Minds ever since I first read the blurb for this book. The premise has me intrigued and your review certainly has me wishing I had a copy to dig into right now. Thanks for sharing your thoughts:)
ReplyDeleteRafflecopter name: Sarah Bibi Setar
Thanks Sarah!! I hope you get your hands on a copy!! :)
DeleteOpen Minds sounds awesome! I cant wait to read it. Thanks for a great giveaway!
ReplyDeleteThanks for entering!! :)
DeleteI agree, I would rather be a Zero, but I can see the why they would be outcasts as well when everyone else can be read. This book sounds like one I would fall in love with! Thanks for the review :)
ReplyDeleteI hope you get a chance to read it then!! I think you would like it too :)
DeleteThis one sounds amazing!
ReplyDeletesuch a great dystopian and I like the sound of the characters:)
I never though of it as a dystopian... I guess it could be though.. maybe
DeleteI have this on my Kindle but I haven't had the chance to get around to it yet, I also haven't heard much about it. So your review is super helpful, it sounds like a really interesting book.
ReplyDeleteWell thanks! I'm glad its helpful :) I hope you like it!!
Delete+JMJ+
ReplyDeleteWhen I encounter a new Paranormal book, I try to come up with the real-life equivalent of what it's satirising; and in the case of Open Minds, I think it's the fact that we're all easier to read than we think. A friend of mine reads books on body language, and what she can tell about people in parties or business meetings might as well be mind reading! And I'm sure she'd be really threatened by a "zero" as well.
Thanks for the review. =)
Wow. 4.5 stars. It must be a good book. Great review!
ReplyDeleteNot sure what you mean by "leave a meaningful comment" but here goes: I completely agree with you on being a zero - much prefer to keep my thoughts to myself. Though I can imagine, just as with any so-called "difference", the person being ostracized wouldn't agree. Am also in agreement with you that Open Minds sounds like an intriguing story. I've DL'd the prequel, Mind Games from Amazon, and along with Open Minds/Closed Hearts have moved to the top of my TBR list. Now I just need to finish the series I'm currently on so I can get to them. Cheers!
ReplyDelete