Review of Mind Games/Sister Assassin by Kiersten White

Title/Author: Mind Games/Sister Assassin (Mind Games #1) by Kiersten White
Publisher/Date published: HarperTeen, February 19th 2013
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley and bought a shiny finished copy :)
Buy this book at: The Book Depository

Goodreads summary: Fia was born with flawless instincts. Her first impulse, her gut feeling, is always exactly right. Her sister, Annie, is blind to the world around her — except when her mind is gripped by strange visions of the future.

Trapped in a school that uses girls with extraordinary powers as tools for corporate espionage, Annie and Fia are forced to choose over and over between using their abilities in twisted, unthinkable ways... or risking each other’s lives by refusing to obey.

So I'd heard some mixed things about Mind Games before starting it, some people seem to love it, others REALLY didn't like it. I'm glad to say I fall into the first category!

Confession: this is actually my first Kiersten White book, though I do own the whole Paranormalcy series... I suck.

I'd expected Mind Games to be about the world where girls can have mental abilities outside of the normal awesome things girls can do with their brains, and while it's about that, I felt that it was mostly about the bond between Fia and Annie. And I LOVED that! I loved these two girls who were true sisters and were truly looking out for each other and had the unconditional love going that SHOULD be there. This is what family should be like, sticking together no matter what.

Both Annie and Fia are strong in their own way and incredibly vulnerable and I loved that we switched between their POV and get a full picture of what is going on and what this means exactly for each of the girls. They definitely had a distinct voice and I never once forgot who I was reading about, though the switching back and forth in time meant I had to pay attention at the start of the chapter as to where exactly in the storyline we were. But seeing these flashes of their past years really added something extra to the story, so I was good with it.

What's happened to Annie and Fia is heartbreaking and they've been through so much, but they haven't given up, which I completely respected. Annie can't see, but she's dealing with it. Fia has had to do some horrible things, and while this has left her a little broken, she's hanging on and holding herself together. And they are so protective of each other! I'll say it again: I loved the bond between these two! LOVED!

I did prefer Fia's chapters, her bit of brokenness lent for some really interesting stream of thoughts and it actually reminded me a bit of Shatter Me in writing style. And I totally loved Shatter Me, so this worked very well for me :)

And OMG, THAT ENDING!! EEEE! I did not see that coming and I'm so happy that I already have the e-arc of Pretty Lies loaded onto my ereader, because I can seriously not wait until February 2014 to know what happens next!

My rating: 4,5 stars

Made me crave: fresh mint tea with honey