Open Minds Review + Giveaway!

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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