Author: Susan Kaye Quinn
Genre: Science Fiction
Published on: October 24, 2011, self-published
When everyone reads minds, a secret is a dangerous thing to keep.
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 world of mindjackers, where having to mind control everyone she loves is just the beginning of the deadly choices before her.
It’s a thrill when I find books that exceed my expectations. I didn’t think I would be blown away after finishing this book. Open Minds was more fabulous than one could garner by the synopsis. Sure, it’s about a girl living in a society where everyone can read minds. Sounds simple, right? Well, there is far more stuff going on than that.
Open Minds is a sci-fi novel with a dystopian feel to it. It takes place sometime in the first decade of the 22nd century. The setting is Chicago, then known as Chicago New Metro. The protagonist/narrator is Kira Moore, a seventeen-year-old high school student. She appears to be a normal, average girl. However, by her society’s standards, Kira is an outcast. She is a "zero," someone who hasn’t developed the ability to read minds. This is more of a detriment than it sounds like. In their future teachers impart classes in near-complete silence. How? The teachers think instructions in their heads, which the students—those who can read minds—are able to “hear”. Kira has been struggling to avoid failing her classes.
Most zeroes do not have friends, because student conversations are mostly silent. Kira does have a best friend, Rafael Lobos. He's a mindreader, which is a testament to their friendship. Kira, though, wants more from him than friendship. She’s unable to start a romantic relationship with him because she wants to go through the change first. Raf doesn’t shun Kira because she is still powerless. They’re both confident that she will change soon. And it happens sooner than they expected.
Strangely, the change is not what Kira was awaiting. At first, she has no idea it has happened. Kira isn’t aware of her change until Simon Zagan, a seemingly strange boy from Math class, tells her about it. Kira is dismayed when she finds out that she can control minds. Simon is like her, too. He makes Kira promise that she won’t reveal their secret. Simon then takes Kira under his wing, teaching her how to use and control her new, unexpected power. Unbeknownst to Kira, Simon has a secret agenda. This creates a chain of events that ends up putting Kira in a dangerous situation. She lands in the clutches of FBI Agent Kestrel. At first it seemed like he might become an ally. It's soon apparent that Kestrel will be the main antagonist of this series.
Open Minds starts a bit slow, but once Kira stumbles upon her strange powers, things pick up. The story kept me on the edge of my seat. Whenever I had to stop reading to take care of everyday stuff, I itched to continue. The author did a great job building up this world. And the characters are well fleshed-out, too. Since this book takes place in the future, the author had to think up a lot of new stuff. The technology is state-of-the-art: computers, cars, and other electronics have what's known as mindware. This is software that mindreaders can control with their thoughts. Also, you’ll find that the author came up with slang language which kids of the time use. Most of it isn’t hard to deduce, though a lexicon would have been handy. One word in particular gave me trouble. I spent over half the book trying to divine what in the world Kira meant by mesh.
Fans of sci-fi and dystopian novels will enjoy Open Minds. It was definitely one of the best books I’ve read this year. Kira Moore is another example of a strong female character who isn’t afraid to grab the bull by the horns. Be sure you have plenty of time set aside, because you’ll want to finish this book in one sitting.
My rating: ★★★★ 1/2
4.5 stars - A fantastic page-turner!
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