Okay, here's the deal. When did people become "that" instead of "who?" I hear this on the radio on the TV ( and shouldn't news reporters know better )? and unless my memory is wrong, have even read it in places. Why? How hard is it to remember that people require a "who"? And here's another--myself instead of me. My boss did this all this time and it drove me crazy. Are we so afraid to be in the spotlight that we have to say, "So-and-so and myself did such-and-so?"
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Delacorte Press Hardcover 336 pages
Received e-ARC from Publisher for Review
YA Paranormal
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Goodreads- We weren't always like this. We used to be average New York City high school sophomores. Until our homeroom went for flu shots. We were prepared for some side effects. Maybe a headache. Maybe a sore arm. We definitely didn't expect to get telepathic powers. But suddenly we could hear what everyone was thinking. Our friends. Our parents. Our crushes. Now we all know that Tess is in love with her best friend, Teddy. That Mackenzie cheated on Cooper. That, um, Nurse Carmichael used to be a stripper.
Since we've kept our freakish skill a secret, we can sit next to the class brainiac and ace our tests. We can dump our boyfriends right before they dump us. We know what our friends really think of our jeans, our breath, our new bangs. We always know what's coming. Some of us will thrive. Some of us will crack. None of us will ever be the same.
So stop obsessing about your ex. We're always listening.
Review
Well, not every book can work for everyone, right? Sadly, this one just fell flat on it's cover for me. Going in, I was expecting something funny and lighthearted. But I should have remembered- HIGH SCHOOL. Having a peek into the minds of my friends and peers back then probably would have been crippling to my already not very high self esteem. Or it might have been helpful. Who knows. But I do know, that after reading DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT, when I see the question what superpower would you like to have, I am no longer going to put ESP or mindreading or anything like that.
Characters- As I have said many times, I am a character girl. Give me strong characters and I will persevere through bad grammar and shoddy plot lines. As long as you've got good characters. I can't pick a main character out in this one, there are too many. But there comes a point where there is a collective "we" as if they all think the same thing. "We all thought so too." I had no idea who was narrating that part of the story. I am guessing this is a series since we never get that answer. I couldn't follow the collective mind. There was only one character I liked, Cooper, and he was having the worst time of his life throughout the book. The other characters were petty, vindictive, judgmental and vapid.
Setting/World - It's in and around high school, one that has the students of wealthy parents, though not all of them are. Set in NYC. The setting seems to have little to do with the story except maybe explain why some of the characters act so entitled.
The Story- The students in Homeroom 10-B all went to get flu shots. Renee refused because she didn't believe in vaccines. One student was out. Everyone else got the shot. Everyone got ESP. The story is about how they use it, how it affects their lives, how it messes up their lives, and who else knows about it.
What I thought- As I indicated, this one did not work for me. The characters were too flat. Maybe there were just too many highlighted to give any depth to them. But I only felt anything for one, Cooper, and that was because his whole world fell apart in the book. I could empathize with him. The collective "We" did not work for me. As I didn't like the characters, I didn't connect with the story at all.
I think the biggest let down was that I had the idea this was going to be a funny lighthearted novel. Instead it was mean, bittersweet, heartbreaking and had a little governmental conspiracy in it. Maybe if I had expected something different, I might have liked it more. But watching everyone have their lives and friendships torn apart by their new ability was not what I was in the mood for. Now, I will admit, new friendships were forged and I believe one character grew. But I didn't like where things were headed as the book ended with some of the characters.
And then the book ended with a huge twist and betrayal. It was a surprise and probably the best part of the book. It's also why I think there will be another book. Things are not resolved in this one.
This definitely had a contemporary feel to it with a huge slice of the paranormal ability of ESP. The writing was easy and I never had to stop reading, but I wasn't excited about reading it. I didn't find it hard to read, just let down. You may find it totally different and I hope you do. I saw many other reviewers on Good Reads that LOVED it. So this is just one opinion, mine.
Again I received an e-ARC from the publisher for review. This in no way influenced my review. The opinions expressed in my review are my own.
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Sarah Mlynowski
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