A review by dtrumps
Don't Even Think About It by Sarah Mlynowski
4.0
Originally posted in Gone Pecan
So 22 kids in homeroom 10b go in for flu shots and can suddenly hear everyone’s thoughts. Shy Olivia gets it during her dreaded speech class, mid speech. Tess gets it and immediately wants to find Teddy, her best friend and crush, to find out how he really feels about her. Mackenzie gets it and is immediately concerned that everyone will now know that she cheated on her boyfriend, the charismatic and adorable Cooper. Cooper’s in her homeroom, too, but he’s not developing any symptoms, which means that everyone with symptoms knows and Mackenzie is torn about telling him the truth or riding it out, in hopes that he will not get telekinesis.
One by one, they all develop this odd power and have to go about their lives as though they cannot read minds. It’s what these powers do to each of the kids that is the real draw of the book. How will they handle knowing what everyone thinks of them, or not think of them, as the case may be. Finding out what people are hiding or lying about may not be as great as you may think it would be.
I totally loved this book. I read it in just a few hours, couldn’t put it down. It was funny, heart-warming, and adorable. It was a weird first person plural point of view, but I liked it, though I did see reviews where people couldn’t get into the book because of it. It didn’t bother me at all and it made sense for the story. I really felt for some of these kids and some I wanted to slap, but I couldn’t help but think that this could be a very interesting social experiment, though I wouldn’t want to be a guinea pig. At times, I felt it read a little young for me, but I think it’s a great, lighthearted book, improbable though it may be.
4/5
So 22 kids in homeroom 10b go in for flu shots and can suddenly hear everyone’s thoughts. Shy Olivia gets it during her dreaded speech class, mid speech. Tess gets it and immediately wants to find Teddy, her best friend and crush, to find out how he really feels about her. Mackenzie gets it and is immediately concerned that everyone will now know that she cheated on her boyfriend, the charismatic and adorable Cooper. Cooper’s in her homeroom, too, but he’s not developing any symptoms, which means that everyone with symptoms knows and Mackenzie is torn about telling him the truth or riding it out, in hopes that he will not get telekinesis.
One by one, they all develop this odd power and have to go about their lives as though they cannot read minds. It’s what these powers do to each of the kids that is the real draw of the book. How will they handle knowing what everyone thinks of them, or not think of them, as the case may be. Finding out what people are hiding or lying about may not be as great as you may think it would be.
I totally loved this book. I read it in just a few hours, couldn’t put it down. It was funny, heart-warming, and adorable. It was a weird first person plural point of view, but I liked it, though I did see reviews where people couldn’t get into the book because of it. It didn’t bother me at all and it made sense for the story. I really felt for some of these kids and some I wanted to slap, but I couldn’t help but think that this could be a very interesting social experiment, though I wouldn’t want to be a guinea pig. At times, I felt it read a little young for me, but I think it’s a great, lighthearted book, improbable though it may be.
4/5