Review: Mind Games

Mind Games
Author: Kiersten White
Published: February 19, 2013
237 pages
4 Gold Stars

(summary from Goodreads)

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.

Oh boy, does the title for this book ever suit it! From the first page, my mind didn't quite get every detail and I got confused over events very quickly, but this is exactly what the author intended. With two very different view points, Fia, a bold femme fatale who risks everything for a guy who decided to pet a dog, and Annie, her blind, seer older sister whom she is sworn to protect. Two different girls living two very different lives, yet connected by each other. Flashing between both girls and the past and present, Mind Games left me questioning everything at the end of each chapter with no idea as to how everything would pay out in the end.

The sisters live at a school for girls with abilities. There are seers, feelers, and readers, and then there's Fia. She is one of a kind and her instincts are perfect. She knows exactly what to do and when to do it to get what she wants, and that's why Keane is so keen on keeping her around. By keeping Annie locked up in her own little apartment, Keane knows Fia won't go far because she would never leave her sister. The mystery behind these girls kept me on the edge of my seat. I didn't know for sure what Fia was really capable of, but I knew she was bad ass. She knows how to hold her own and I never knew how she'd react in a situation (and yes, that was the point, she had to be unpredictable) Though she pissed me off with some of the things she did (most of which involved James, Keane's son) Fia was a strong character who was just really messed up. considering how she's been living most of her life, it's understandable and White wrote her extremely well. Annie is kind but powerful, and though people try to take advantage of her because she's blind, she's smart enough to know when to keep some of the things she sees secret.

The book flowed perfectly, and even though I kept getting a little confused since White was only letting out so much information at a time, it just made me want to read more. Fia and Annie have been trying to plot their escape from the school for so long, without actually plotting. Both their lives are complicated and not easily described in one sentence. What I loved most was how slowly we learned about each girl's life through their individual chapters. I think this book could have been longer just so I could get to know the sisters better. There is easily room for more books and I would love to see what happens with the school after the events of the book.

White wrote that this was originally meant to be a femme fatale book, which is definitely was, but it turned out to be more about choices and how far you would go to save the ones you love. Fia and Annie have to make many tough choices throughout the book and some were good and some were very sad. Responsibilities and loyalties are put to the test as both sisters face their own challenges. Their relationship was realistic, heartbreaking and touching. Mix that in with supernatural powers, and I'm sold.

(This is going to be a series!)

“Still, I will protect Annie. She is the only person in the world who loves me. She is the only person in the world who would never use me. She is my anchor, the chain around my ankle, the thing that means it doesn't matter what James does or who he is - I will still be his because I will always be Annie's.”