Open Minds

Mindjack, Book 1

By: Susan Kaye Quinn

Narrated by: Kelli Shane

Length: 7 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

When everyone reads minds, a secret is a dangerous thing to keep.

Sixteen-year-old Kira Moore is a zero, someone who can't read thoughts or be read by others. Zeros are outcasts who can't be trusted, leaving her no chance with Raf, a regular mind reader and the best friend she secretly loves. When she accidentally controls Raf's mind and nearly kills him, Kira tries to hide her frightening new ability from her family and an increasingly suspicious Raf. But lies tangle around her, and she's dragged deep into a hidden underworld of mind jackers, where having to mind control everyone she loves is just the beginning of the deadly choices before her.

©2011 Susan Kaye Quinn (P)2013 Susan Kaye Quinn

What a wonderful surprise

What did you love best about Open Minds?

I wasn't expecting this book to be like it was so it was a great surprise and an enjoyment. I'd wake up in the middle of the night just to listen to it.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Don't mess with a Jacker

Any additional comments?

I look forward to the other 2 books in this trilogy and I hope they are as good as the first because I want to know the rest of this story. This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBoom

Great story

Good story that was hindered by the reader. the idea that our minds have evolved to the point we can do things with our minds us awesome. the fact some evolved differently is probable. and of course there will be some who will want to stop or control progress. check it out. it's good

Hope there is a second book

The story of government misdeeds and struggle of those seen as different is a vast storyline done multiple ways. This story took storylines of common and uncommon topics and masterfully put the together. I will not go into details for I hate reviews that tell the story before you can read it but know this is a great book.

I received the book free for a unbiased review.

Slow starting, but too good to put down...

This book is everything that I expected from a Susan Kaye Quinn novel, great writing, and world building. I felt that it was a bit slow outta the starting gate, takin' me awhile to become fully vested in the characters, and story.
It could have been the narrator's fault, though... Kelli Shane was just too stiff with her delivery of SKQ's work... but, I found that I could deal with the narration, as the story was too good to put down!

Open Minds

Any additional comments?

Creative, engaging and entertaining story. Interesting concept and plotline. Really like the world the author has created. Living in a world where everyone can read minds. That's a scary thought. Every thought open to the world. No thank you.

How can you keep a secret in a world where everyone can read minds? A very dangerous secret.

Kira Moore thinks she is a Zero. She is about to find out that she is much, much more. A Mindjacker. Something that is a very dangerous thing to be. With Simon to show her how to use her new abilities Kira discovers a whole new world. As Kira is discovering her "new" world, she has also been discovered.
Don't really care for the love triangle.

Kelli Shane does the narration for this book. The narration is to monotone, no inflection, no emotion. She does have different character voices, some of which are very good. Her young sounding voice does fit the story. I had to listen a little at a time which is a shame because I really did enjoy the story. I do have to say she is a better narrator than many I have listened to.

This audiobook was provided by the narrator, author or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review.

Scary idea...

The narrator is all monotone. I wouldn't say it was easy to follow listening but the story is an interesting idea. Story seems rushed and poorly edited in parts.

Great story all around!

Open Minds is an excellent read! The storyline is original and nicely written. In this society most people are Readers, meaning they read minds and talk through common consciousness. Those that can’t read are labeled Zero’s. Kira is a zero or at least she thinks so until she’s introduced to mind-jacking then a whole new world is opened up for her.
Along with reading and min-jacking Kira is also a regular teenage girl who has a massive crush on her best friend Raf. He’s a reader and since she’s a zero thinks he’s not interested in her other than friendship. When she meets Simon she falls hook, line and sinker but, even that gets complicated.
Something that really got me is how the author adds tastes and scents to people’s minds, very creative. I enjoyed Kelli Shane’s performance as much as I loved the story. I thought she was a perfect match. Great story all around!

Lackluster Performance

What did you like best about Open Minds? What did you like least?

I purchased this audible book to sync with the Kindle version. I typically do this because as I get deeper into a story I enjoy I find it hard to put down and having the audible version means I can usually continue the story while I do chores around the house. In this case however, I found myself so annoyed with the narrator that I actually only listened to about 25% of it via audio book.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

As for the story itself....there was not enough character development of Kira (the protagonist) for me to ever really come to like or care about her. Or any of the characters really. Simon seems abusive while Raf seems altogether too ineffectual. To say more would involve spoilers.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The only word to describe the narrator's voice is "irritating". Perhaps she was chosen because she has a "young" sounding voice and the protagonist of the story is a teenager. Which would be fine if she injected a little enthusiasm for the story and inflection into her reading. Additionally, she manages to mis-pronounce several words and she just sounds plain BORED with the story.

Do you think Open Minds needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

The author does wrap everything up well enough at the conclusion that I could put the story aside and be well with that...It certainly did not leave me wanting more.

Spectacularly entertaining page-turner

What did you like best about this story?

Spunky, sympathetic heroine and original, well-crafted story. Especially liked wholly verisimilitudinous depiction of the government's behavior. Though not in precisely this context (remote viewing experiments notwithstanding, there probably don't exist "jackers"), our government does behave in exactly this monstrous way, and victimizes unknowable numbers of innocent citizens. So kudos to the author for conveying that under the guise of fiction (whether or not she knew she was doing it).

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Kelli Shane?

Shane has precisely the right voice for the narrator, but is staggeringly innocent of knowledge of English pronunciation. "Expairmint" and "ant-EYE-septic" are stunningly bizarre mispronunciations. Her diction is crisp, and her voice is pleasant to listen to (and appropriately young), but she desperately needs to study orthoepy. I mention this strictly for her benefit. Her mangling of some words definitely did not cancel out the overall positive nature of her performance.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, though I wasn't able to.

The narrator was horrible

Excellent storyline and premise- but goodness the storyteller read this story like she hated it. I turned it down to .8 speed to make it bearable as she hurriedly rushed thru it. I want to know what happens in the next book but I’m terrified they used the same storyteller.