Don't Even Think About It

Gr 8 Up—Imagine if you had the ability to read other people's minds. What if you could finally know whether your best friend wants to be more than friends, too? What if you could ace every test simply by sitting next to the smartest kid in class? Would you want to know all of your parents' secrets and your teachers' as well? For a group of Bloomberg High School sophomores in Tribeca, every one of these things is possible. After being exposed to a contaminated batch of flu shots, the students of homeroom 10B realize that they can hear the thoughts of everyone else around them. In some ways, their newfound telepathy is a gift. They no longer have to constantly question what people think about them. Studying is a burden of the past. But the downside to hearing everything is that they hear things they never wanted to know. Told in the words of an omniscient narrator who is known only as one of the "espies" (kids with ESP), the story follows several weeks in the life of the 10B sophomores. Readers may struggle to keep up with a large cast of characters, but each sophomore has a helpful distinguishing characteristic. The beginning feels like an info dump. However, the pacing sorts itself out quickly. Mlynowski writes teen protagonists with heart and depth—authentically illustrating the trials and tribulations of the high school experience, rather than making a mockery out of adolescent egocentrism. This is a fun read, recommended for fans of contemporary fiction.—Liz Overberg, Darlington School, Rome, GA