Mind Games
Author: Kiersten White
Release: February 19th 2013
Genre: Paranormal, Science Fiction, YA
#1 in the Mind Games duology
Sequel: Perfect Lies (#2)
Plot:
Fia was born with flawless instincts. Her first impulse, her gut feeling, is always exactly right. Her sister, Annie, is blind to the world around her—except when her mind is gripped by strange visions of the future.
Trapped in a school that uses girls with extraordinary powers as tools for corporate espionage, Annie and Fia are forced to choose over and over between using their abilities in twisted, unthinkable ways…or risking each other’s lives by refusing to obey.
In a stunning departure from her New York Times bestselling Paranormalcy trilogy, Kiersten White delivers a slick, edgy, heartstoppingly intense psychological thriller about two sisters determined to protect each other—no matter the cost.
Review:
Kiersten White and me are probably never going to be friends. At least, not in this life. I've tried, and I've given her multiple chances, but she has always failed me. Maybe her 3rd series will be a charm and I will try out The Chaos of Stars if I'm feeling really suicidal one day, but... I can't deal with her.
Mind Games starts out with a fuckton of question marks, because they're talking about all these people and names are dropped and things are said and I don't get anything at all. Now, that is not bad, being dropped right into the story without having anything to hold onto, but not if you have to wait a hundred pages until you finally grasp everything. I only ever figured out who the hell this Keane was until page 170 or something. If the book is only 230 pages, that is not good. That is actually pretty bad.
Now, the beginning was just so poorly executed I can't believe they actually let her get away with this. No, no, no! It's trying to show Fia in a kickass light and start off by showing us how much dirty work she has to do and that she has blood on her hands. Alas, she weakens Fia's badass-ness by having her disobey orders and risk not only getting killed herself, but also dooming her sister to the same fate. Because the boy petted a dog. And if that isn't enough, she promptly falls in love with a boy she has been ordered to kill, and has known for a few hours. Whaaaaaaaaaat?! This was on page 40 or something and after that, I was already fucking done with this book. Fucking done.
Needless to say, Fia, and basically all other character, sucked. They sucked. The only one I came close to being fond of was James, because while being a lying and manipulative asshole, he was also very real and genuine and honest. Besides the terrible characters, there was way too much drama about Fia and Annie's relationship and all those flashbacks were only confusing and almost unnecessary. The POV switch between Annie and Fia wasn't well done because their voices sounded very much the same. There were a few differences, but all in all I couldn't differentiate between them that well.
Writing. Weeeell. I don't have enough fingers on both hands to count how many times there was the line "I want to/I need to/and I tap tap tap my fingers." Every time I came across that tap tap tap I was getting a bit closer to setting fire to this book and throwing it out into the woods.
I will say, though, that Mind Games had structure. Or, attempts at structure. If the climaxes work for you, they do and if they don't, they don't. I can't deny that there are climaxes, though, so... you can take solace in that, White.
I have this huge desire to never ever read another book of hers again. Now, you can't say I haven't tried with her.
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