*I got a free copy of this from Netgalley*
The story was interesting - imagine suddenly being able to read other people's minds after receiving a tainted flu shot... That's exactly what happens to 22 students in the same homeroom. What would you do with that kind of ability? How would it affect you and your friends? Would it take a toll on your mind and/or body? What might you discover? What might you wish you hadn't discovered? Like I said - it's an interesting premise. The problem for me was that there were too many characters all with a leading role. None of them really seemed very developed and it took almost the entire first half of the book for all 22 of them to even realize that they had the ability. The narrator (which was the collective "we" - all 22 "ESPies" as they call themselves) alludes to future events that never take place during the course of the story. It was an interesting idea, though. Different - which was nice. ( )

A homeroom of high schoolers get the flu vaccine and then a few days later can suddenly hear everyone's thoughts. What a side effect! A large cast of characters are included and suddenly become involved intimately in each other's lives. There was a narrative device where a "we" would comment on the story. I wasn't quite sure if that was the core group of girls or the whole collective. Enjoyable, fun read that grappled with the ethics of living through time as a teenager when your thoughts weren't necessarily your own - and the ways that made life easier, more difficult, and way more complicated. ( )

"Don't Even Think About It" by Sarah Mlynowski is a well written story that will delight the Y/A genre reader.

**No Spoilers**

The majority of the story takes place in the homeroom of some 20 odd students who find themselves with powers that can give these students an edge, but there are a slew of problems that come with their new-found gifts.

In my opinion Sarah Mlynowski did an amazing job of including the interactions and dialog of an entire homeroom class. In a short story it is difficult to keep up with a handful of characters, and she painted this crowd with a very descriptive brush.

Two thumbs up, and I have recommended this (already ordered) for our YA collection.

This is a clean and fun read.


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3.5 Stars

A homeroom in a NYC high school goes to gets their flu shots at the nurses office. Everyone knows there are potential side effects with flu shots (fever, aches, etc.), but telepathy isn't supposed to be one of them. The next day everyone in the class who got the shot show up to school with ESP. "The Espies" as they come to call themselves, know everything you are thinking. They know everything that each other is thinking. This is not good if you have secrets that you want to stay hidden. And it's also not good if you don't want TMI about your school nurse or your mom and dad. But the upside is you don't have to keep guessing if that boy likes you... and you forgot to study for that big test?? No problem, just sit beside the class brain!

The group decides to keep their ESP a secret. But how long will this go on? And what if people find out?

My Thoughts:
I'm a big fan of Sarah Mlynowski's YA books. I hard-core loved [b:Ten Things We Did|9266810|Ten Things We Did (and Probably Shouldn't Have)|Sarah Mlynowski|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1293821561s/9266810.jpg|14147661]. I also thought [b:Gimme a Call|6693333|Gimme a Call|Sarah Mlynowski|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1384374692s/6693333.jpg|6888829] was adorable. This one was equally as cute and had that little extra humor that this author writes with that always gets me smiling... but I felt like it was missing something.

The homeroom that is affected by the flu shot is full of interesting characters. The main story seemed to focus on Mackenzie and her boyfriend Cooper. Before the ESP kicks in, Mackenzie had been hiding something from him... afterwards, well it's pretty hard to hide ANYTHING when 20 other people can read your mind. Cooper finds out the secret, plus a whole bunch of other things he really didn't want to know. And it really turns him from a happy-go-lucky type of guy to someone who questions the truth about everything.

I wasn't sure if I was going to get into the narration of this book or not. It's narrated in a first person plural narrative, that I did end up liking. Everything in this book is told collectively by an all-seeing "we". And it worked because these kids were all basically all-seeing. They knew everything that went on with each other, whether they liked it or not. I found the narration unique and wouldn't mind more books like that if it goes with the story.

Like I said earlier, there were some hilarious moments in this book. Being able to read other people's minds will definitely bring out some interesting information, and there were plenty of TMI moments. It was also cool to see how having ESP changed some of the "Espies" for the better. I really enjoyed seeing how some characters were able to come out of their shells and have more confidence. Of course for others, almost everything about it became a nightmare, but it was entertaining to read about that too.

The thing that holds me back from loving this book is that not a lot happens. A few relationships start, a few end, people fight, they make up... that's about it. I think this book needed just one more MAJOR story line for it to be completely engaging. The way it is now, it's a nice, fluffy, fun read.... nothing that I'm going to be remembering in a few months. But no matter what, I was happy to be reading another Sarah Mlynowski book, and I hope she writes a lot more YA in the future! Her signature way of writing always makes me happy.

OVERALL: I really enjoyed reading about teens who can read everybody's minds! I just wish that there was more going on in the story. It was cute, enjoyable, entertaining, readable, and fun, but it wasn't as great as I wanted it to be. There was still that Sarah Mlynowski writing-magic in it though... and some definite LOL moments.

My Blog:
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Amazing!!!!! I can't wait for the sequel! ( )