Fictional Candy: Don't Even Think About It by Sarah Mlynowski (Review)

Saturday, April 19, 2014

Don't Even Think About It by Sarah Mlynowski (Review)

Title: Don't Even Think About It
Series: Don't Even Think About It #1
Author: Sarah Mlynowski
Published: March 2014 Delacorte Press
Format: Egalley

Contemporary teen fiction with romance, secrets, scandals, and ESP from the author of Ten Things We Did (And Probably Shouldn't Have).

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.

I picked this book up from NetGalley, hoping for something different. I was getting over-romanced, and I needed a break. Don't Even Think About It sounded like it would be a fun book. Young Adult, but fun nonetheless.

The Sweet

This book turned out to be a fun and quirky read. It's definitely a new take on telepathy. I'm not so old that I don't remember the drama of high school, and if everyone could read my thoughts I would have freaked! The author, Sarah Mlynowski, definitely created some very funny situations for these students to go through.

The Sour

I really don't have much bad to say about this book. The beginning was a bit slow for me, but it picked up after a couple chapters and I was drawn in. Since there are so many characters, you don't really get an in depth view on all of them, but you do get to know a couple pretty well. I didn't really have a problem with the group POV. The author did a good job differentiating when it was someone else's mind within the point of view, or if the character in question was reading someone else's mind. (Got it?) This is definitely a teen/YA book, so if you are hoping it leans towards New Adult, think again.

Overall Taste

I liked the book. I would recommend it to people who like shows like Heroes (without the action and multiple powers), or really any type of super power type book. It's a bit disconcerting at times, but when you have 22 people who can suddenly hear every thought around them, it would be. I enjoyed the book, and it definitely was unexpected. The way they all got telepathy was a bit of a stretch, and when it was discovered, that was even more of a stretch. But hey, I wasn't reading this for the reality of it.