ARC Review: Minder

Minder (Ganzfield, 1) by Kate Kaynak, May 21, 2012 (originally published May 6, 2010). 224 pages. Published by Spencer Hill Press. Source: Publisher.

Sixteen-year-old Maddie Dunn is special, but she needs to figure out how to use her new abilities before somebody else gets hurt. Ganzfield is a secret training facility full of people like her, but it's not exactly a nurturing place. Every social interaction carries the threat of mind-control. A stray thought can burn a building to the ground. And people's nightmares don't always stay in their own heads. But it's still better than New Jersey--especially once she meets the man of her dreams...

First Sentence:

My reflection in the one-way glass of the police interrogation room stared back at me, pale and hollowed-eye. 

Minder is one book that I have been wanting to read since it first released, but never had the opportunity till recently.

Was Minder worth reading for me? Yes, because it was just such an incredibly written book with an interesting plot line and a character that I really enjoyed reading about.

Kate Kaynak's writing was definitely one of the things I enjoyed most. I really liked her writing because she knew how to push the reader's buttons making them feel all the feels, especially in the beginning of the book when Maddie is in a tight spot and unleashes her power. When Maddie was taken and I realized what those scumbags had in mind I was shocked, but had an inkling that this was going to be the catalyst that would set the characters life spinning in a new direction.

One of things I liked most about Minder would have to be the names of the different power groups-charms, minders, sparks and maybe one other. Even though I liked all the different powers and how the characters could use them, I loved the sparks the most. I liked the sparks best because they were like one giant family and were such fun to read about. *demands more sparks*

Maddie, I thought was a good character because she felt remorse for what she did, even though those guys deserved what happened to them. The reason I liked Maddie was because she had a spark that other characters who had been in her place lack, I liked that she tried to move on and then to try and make things better for the other residents of Ganzfield.

Goodness, the end of Minder was brilliant. From the time that one of the characters was kidnapped, to the stunning conclusion was just so good and definitely the highlight of this book for me. I loved the way that Ms Kaynak was able to just pull me into the situation at hand and make it practically impossible to put aside until I knew whether or not Maddie and company would be successful in their mission to save one of their own. While all that was thrilling, I immensely enjoyed that while the situation was kind of out there-super powered teens and an evil order-that she managed to make it believable in the fact that they did not escape unscathed.

Even though I enjoyed Minder quite a bit, I felt that the plot focused a little too much on the blossoming relationship between Maddie and Trevor. While their relationship was interesting in the unique way that they bonded with the other, I felt that it took too much precedence over the bigger picture on the book. So, while I wished that there had been a little less focus on their relationship, I thought the rest of the book was absolutely incredible. I don't really go into a book hoping to read about the characters romance...so y'all will probably like what I did not.

Content (will contain spoilers; highlight to see):
Minder starts off with Maddie being kidnapped and nearly raped by some boys she goes to school with. What happens to her is her shirt is ripped and she's knocked around a bit before her power awakens and she...kills them.

There's also the mention of how the charms would use their abilities on the other students, making them do things that they never would-stripping and even worse things. While most of it is mentioned in the past tense, there is one scene where Maddie finds two of the girls in the basement charmed and being forced to strip.


My question to you, have you read Minder and if so what where your thoughts? If not, is it one you want to read?

Final Verdict: Minder is one intense read!

Minder earns 4 out of 5 pineapples.