Title: The Mind's Eye
Series: SYNSK #1
Genre: YA Paranormal
Pages: 352 pages
Publisher: Clean Teen Publishing
Publication Date: March 30, 2014
Synopsis:
A girl with a telepathic gift finds a boy clinging to his last hope during the war-torn climate of Europe, 1940.
At fifteen, Kit Cavendish is one the oldest evacuees to escape London at the start of the Second World War due to a long term illness that sees her stuck in a wheelchair most of the time. But Kit has an extraordinary psychic power: she can put herself into the minds of others, see through their eyes, feel their emotions, even talk to them – though she dares not speak out for fear of her secret ability being exposed.
As Kit settles into her new life in the North Wales village of Bryn Eira Bach, solitude and curiosity encourage her to gain better control of her gift. Until one day her search for information on the developing war leads her to the mind of Henri, a seventeen-year-old Norwegian boy witnessing the German occupation of his beloved city, Oslo. As Henri discovers more about the English girl occupying his mind, the psychic and emotional bonds between them strengthen and Kit guides him through an oppressive and dangerous time.
There are secrets to be uncovered, both at home and abroad, and it’s up to Kit and Henri to come together and fight their own battles in the depths of the world’s greatest war.
Review
My gawd, I was not expecting this book. I mean, I had some idea of what was going on... but I was not prepared for the feels. There was one part where I was actually terrified to continue reading, but also unable to stop reading. You know those parts of a story where you know either something fantastic or something horrible is about to happen? That. I shan't say which, because spoilers. But my heart was pounding in my chest during it. Also, tears happened.
One thing I absolutely loved about this story was the main character has Juvenile Arthritis. Yet the way the people around her treat her normally. Her life isn't over because she can't walk. Nor do they try everything to force a miracle for her so she's "normal". I think it was fantastic, and if this was just a story of Kit's every day average life then I would have still been interested.
Except, it was so much more than that. She's psychic. And even more than that, it's World War 2 and she wants to help with the war efforts - even if she doesn't want to tell people about her powers.
There's a whole lot going on in this story, but even so it read quickly and easily. I had no idea this was over 300 pages when I read it, because I devoured it.
Another bit I can talk about without spoilers is Henri. I liked him. I would love to have a glimpse of what went through his mind the first time Kit contacted him. I think that would be an interesting companion story.
Anyway, I really loved this book. It's pretty fantastic. I highly recommend it. Better still, it's FREE on amazon - so you've really got no excuse to not read it immediately so I can fangirl over it with you.
I'm going to need to pick up the second book of the series so I can read more.