Review: Mind Games by Kiersten White

Mind Games by Kiersten White
Minds Games #1
Publisher: HarperTeen
Published February 19, 2013
Hardcover, 237 pages

Overview:

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.

Review:

I read one of Kiersten White's other books, Paranormalcy, a few years ago and didn't really like it, but I was feeling optimistic and decided to give Mind Games a try. Mind Games is very different from Paranormalcy, but I had some of the same problems with Mind Games as I did with her other book, and was left feeling disappointed by the end.

My biggest problem with Mind Games was the characters. Fia and Annie are twin sisters with amazing abilities who are supposedly willing to do anything for each other, not matter what... but I could never understand why! It seemed to me that the sisters were more of a burden to the other more than anything. Throughout the book, the audience is constantly told that the sisters are willing to risk everything for each other, but never shown why. Fia and Annie's relationship seemed empty and lifeless, more of an unwelcome obligation than a choice for either of them.

I felt the same way about Fia's relationship with the "bad-boy" James. Even though Fia repeatedly told herself to keep away from James, she continuously let him push her around, never learning from her mistakes. Fia becomes increasingly whiny and annoying as the story moves along, but never actually develops as a character.

I finished the book because I thought it might pick up towards the end; it never did. I was never able to care about any of the characters, and despite all the high-action/suspense events that were happening throughout the entire book, I felt bored and uninterested. Mind Games was a huge disappointment for me, and I will not be reading the sequel.

Overall rating: 1.5 of 5 stars.