Open Minds by Susan Kaye Quinn

This book was brought to my attention by BookBub (get it!).

Kira Moore lives in a world where the majority of the population is telepathic (readers) and it manifests at puberty. Kira is pushing on the age where if these abilities don't show up, she'll be classified as a zero. Kira resigns herself to her fate until her friend and hunky soccer star (who is a reader), Raf, tries to kiss her. She panics and causes him to hit his head on a table. She meets Simon who reveals she jacked Raf's mind and, like Simon, can fake being a reader with their new and secret ability: mindjacking.

To me, the difference between reading and mindjacking was not clear and I worked it out because my sister and I have been discussing it. Initially it seems a reader and mindjacker are both telepathic, but a mindjacker can also control a reader. As I read, it became clear that a reader will stay in their own mind while projecting and receiving thoughts. A mindjacker can't do that but they can get inside readers and masquerade as one. So in order for Kira to blend in with the readers, she has to network to everyone around her. Mindjackers can also make readers do things (e.g. sell beer to a person underage, knock them out).

I liked this book. The novel is about Kira and the plight of the mindjackers as she takes a reluctant, savior-type role to help them find their place in society; so a coming of age with a love triangle side story. She, along with the reader, learn all about mindjacking and how it relates to reading. The beginning and ending moved at a slow pace but the middle of the novel read very quickly with back-to-back action. At the moment, I don't plan to read the sequels; it was so tidy at the end I don't feel the need.

Visit Susan Kaye Quinn's website for more information about the author and how to purchase her books.