Minder (Ganzfield #1) by Kate Kaynak

Product Details 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...

Paperback, 249 pages
Published June 20th 2010 by Spencer Hill Press (first published May 6th 2010) ISBN 0984531106 (ISBN13: 9780984531103) http://www.site.ganzfield.com/


There was surprisingly more romance than I expected but it overall very intriguing and I enjoyed it very much.

Characters Maddie is a great main character, she is a fighter, very determined and strong willed person. Trevor is more shy but more out of his nervousness of what he feels for Maddie. The connection that they have is a little intimidating to both of them, but Maddie really shows the stronger side of the relationship.

Story The world that they live in is kind of a scary one. Maddie has the ability to kill people with her mind. She panics and does not know who to turn to, eventually ending up at Ganzfield where there are others there that can also mind-read as well as other powers. She meets and falls in love with Trevor. In a place where you cannot keep secrets from anybody, they end up falling deeply in love with each other. In a world full of danger their bond maybe the only thing that can save them.

Originality: The idea of teens going to a special school to develop their powers and learn to use them is not a new idea. The “school” however in this book is a lot more relaxed and unlike any school that I have seen so far. It's more like a group home or camp for kids with special talents. The teachers are more laid back, the school is more like a mansion-house and they are very lenient on the rules.

Writing: The story is written more like a romance than a paranormal. Although the characters communicate mostly through their thoughts and dialogue is internal, it was written in a way that was so easy to follow and had a great flow to it. There is always an overlaying sense of danger beginning with the main character panicking in the first chapter because she has killed some boys with her mind, in self defense. The danger comes back into play later in the story and leads up to a great action packed finale.

After reading the first couple of chapters in which I was pulled in by the very dangerous aspect of her uncontrollable murdering mind powers, the story quickly turned into a romance, and the romance aspect overtook the rest of the novel. They fall in love rather quickly, but as they could not keep any secrets from each other, it's put together well and I have to say it's one of the romantic books that I would actually recommend to friends. As a person that is not a big romance reader, I liked Maddie's determination and devotion to Trevor.


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