Review of Don't Even Think About It by Sarah Mlynowski

Title/Author: Don't Even Think About It (Don't Even Think About It #1) by Sarah Mlynowski
Publisher/Date published: Orchard Books, May 1st 2014
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley
Buy this book at: The Book Depository

Goodreads summary: This is the story of how we became freaks. It's how a group of I's became a we.

When Class 10B got their flu shots, they expected some side effects. Maybe a sore arm. Maybe a headache. They definitely didn't expect to get telepathy. But suddenly they could hear what everyone was thinking. Their friends. Their teachers. Their parents. Now they all know that Tess has a crush on her best friend, Teddy. That Mackenzie cheated on Cooper. That Nurse Carmichael used to be a stripper. Some of them will thrive. Some of them will break. None of them will ever be the same.

I thought the premise would make for a really interesting story and it did! It was also at times pretty funny :)

I kinda loved the omniscient first person POV, WE knew and WE understood, but at the same time a lot of it being told from the third person POV. It totally fit with the everyone knowing everyone's business because of the whole telepathy thing. It was sort of a running commentary on things that were happening and it just worked for me.

The whole idea of getting telepathic abilities as a side effect of the flu shot is awesome. I mean, seriously? Isn't this sort of what people are afraid of? Like parents being scared their kids will develop autism because of vaccinations? Though telepathy is the better option in that case. I really liked the 'rules' for telepathy in Don't Even Think About It and how it was linked to the eyes.

With all the kids in Class 10B Sarah Mlynowski created a full set of colorful characters! Not all of them were as fleshed out, but you got a sense of the group and of most of the individuals she focused on. It's not realistic to have 22 different recognizable characters in a 304 page book, so I was good with the amount we got. I felt that they were pretty distinctive and could easily tell them apart. I especially loved seeing Olivia come into her own.

I laughed at some of the things that were discovered through their telepathy, it's pretty shocking to learn all the secrets people are keeping. And their true thoughts! Even among friends that can make for some surprises and not always nice ones. I thought it was nicely done, and appreciated that these kids pretty much weren't able to censure their thoughts.
There's also the whole discussion about whether or not they should tell others and risk people trying to test them or give them something to make it go away. If it were me personally, I probably would try to find a way to keep it and make it work for me, can imagine what an incredible doctor I could be if I always knew what my patients were thinking? I could stop trying to actually make them say it, but would instead just pick their brain. That would be awesome. Maybe I should actually get my flu shot next year ;)

All in all, a nice read, enjoyable but it didn't blow my mind. I will however be picking up the next one when it comes out, just because it's fun.

My rating: 3,5 stars