Tuesday, December 27, 2011

A mind-bending read

I've been wearing an orange wrist band I love for the last month. I won it in a contest on Susan Kaye Quinn's blog. The band reads: openBOOKS openMINDS TheLiteracySite.com. The organization raises funds to give books to children, some of whom have never owned a book of their own, and I love that Susan chose to include that during her book launch.

OPEN MINDS also happens to be the title of Susan's YA novel, which should be added to your TBR pile if you haven't sat up reading it late into the night already. Really, this is a great read for young teens to adults, both male and female.

This fast-paced thriller is set in a world where mind-reading is the norm, and Kira, the teen-age protagonist is a freak--a zero, who hasn't developed the ability to communicate by thought. But what really sets her apart and catapults her into danger is her newly-discovered ability to jack into other people's minds and control them.

When she realizes there is a subculture of jackers, who range from benign undercover citizens to vicious criminals and ruthless military agents, she faces choices she could never have imagined. If you can control other people's minds how far would you go and can you ever justify what you're doing?

Susan deftly developed a captivating concept with solid world-building, comprehensible futuristic slang, and characters who matter. There are two love interests for Kira. Raf is a loyal friend and all-around good guy, who the reader can't help but love, but bad-boy Simon turns out to be a heart-breaker, too. They're all caught up in a complex society they barely understand.

This is Book One of the Mindjack Trilogy, and I'm eager for more.

An interesting note about Susan, she's not only a talented writer, she's a rocket scientist. If you poke around her blog--for instance, check out the For Writers page--you'll find links to fascinating, informative and fun past posts on everything from developing characters to analyzing the publishing possibilities open to writers these days.

And there's a sample available you can read of OPEN MINDS on her site, too. Have a peek, but beware. You might get jacked!

23 comments:

CP Design said...

What a wonderful review! Susan is a fantastic author and I loved Open Minds. I'm giving you a shout out on the Indie Elite site.

http://theindieelite.blogspot.com/

Donna said...

Wow. Mindjacking. A fascinating concept.

Susan Kaye Quinn said...

Thanks for the wonderful review, Tricia! It made my day. :)

Cynthia Chapman Willis said...

Great review! And now another book to add to my to-be-read pile! : )

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

CP: Thanks. I'm so glad to spread the word on Susan's book!

Donna: It is totally fascinating.

Susan: :D:D:D

Cynthia: Oh, good! I hope you enjoy.

TerryLynnJohnson said...

Agree! Love this book! Great review!

Leslie S. Rose said...

I was jazzed to be part of Susan's Virtual Launch Party for OPEN MINDS. I can't wait for the next book in the series. What an intriguing concept Susan puts out there. Fascinating and terrifying at the same time.

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Hi Terry and Leslie! Thanks for leaving comments and supporting Susan. :)

Sarah Ahiers said...

This sounds excellent. I really need to add it to my "to buy" list. Good thing my birthday is coming up

Suzanne Casamento said...

Great review, but I gotta say, the whole concept freaks me out. Imagine if people could jack our minds?! Yikes!

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Sarah: Yay, for birthdays and a very happy pre-birthday to you!

Suzanne: It's very much YIKES!

Unknown said...

Sounds like a wonderful book from a super-smart writer. Imagine being a rocket scientist! Thanks for the review.

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Clarissa: I can't imagine it. I could barely do regular Algebra and Geometry!

Catherine Denton said...

What an amazing idea--especially with that title. The book sounds amazing, gonna have to check it out.

We watched Harry over Christmas too. :) My Blog

storyqueen said...

Can I just say how much I love that Susan is a rocket scientist!!

And the book sounds very fast paced and exciting!

thanks for the sneak peek.

Shelley

Jemi Fraser said...

I just finished Open Minds too - and it's terrific! Great review! :)

Anonymous said...

Yes, this one is on my TBR list.
:)

Golden Eagle said...

I've seen this book all over the blogosphere; I really want to read it! It sounds great. :)

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Catherine: Yay for HP movie-watching. It's fun again and again. :)

Shelley: I know! I think that is so cool, and she brings a very scientific attitude to kidlit writing.
And, exciting, yes, that's it exactly.

Jemi: Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it so much, too.

Eagle: I hope you track down a copy and enjoy!

LynNerdKelley said...

Hello Tricia - Great review! I love Open Minds so much, I had to reread it right away. I'm excited to read the next two books, too. Susan is quite an amazing person, for sure!

Happy New Year, Tricia!

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Michelle: Hi and thanks (for some reason your comment went to Spam so I only just found it)

Lynn: Wow, that says a lot when you reread a book immediately. Susan awes me!
Happy New Year to you, Lynn. :)

Sarah Laurence said...

Haven't heard of this one yet so thanks for the intro. I like that term: mind jacking.

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Sarah: Susan self-published this one, which is an interesting story in itself. She's kind of amazing in all the hats she's worn.