Book Review: Don't Even Think About It by Sarah Mlynowski

Don't Even Think About It by Sarah Mlynowski

Publication Date: March 11, 2014
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary/Paranormal
Source: NetGalley

Summary

We weren't always like this. We used to be average New York City high school sophomores. Until our homeroom went for flu shots. We were prepared for some side effects. Maybe a headache. Maybe a sore arm. We definitely didn't expect to get telepathic powers. But suddenly we could hear what everyone was thinking. Our friends. Our parents. Our crushes. Now we all know that Tess is in love with her best friend, Teddy. That Mackenzie cheated on Cooper. That, um, Nurse Carmichael used to be a stripper.

Since we've kept our freakish skill a secret, we can sit next to the class brainiac and ace our tests. We can dump our boyfriends right before they dump us. We know what our friends really think of our jeans, our breath, our new bangs. We always know what's coming. Some of us will thrive. Some of us will crack. None of us will ever be the same.
So stop obsessing about your ex. We're always listening.

(Courtesy of Goodreads)

My Review

I have to say I was unexpectedly surprised at how good Don't Even Think About It by Sarah Mlynowski is when I finished reading it. I was expecting a fluffy YA read with a little bit of paranormal mixed in but it turned out to be a lot more. I really enjoyed all of the characters points of view and they all had their own unique flavor.

From the synopsis, we know that we're getting into some pretty strange paranormal stuff, no matter how much it feels like a normal contemporary YA. You would think a story where everyone, both the reader and the characters in the story, know what everyone is thinking, would get boring, but somehow it doesn't. There are always surprises up until the very end. And while I found some parts, including the ending, to be a little predictable, I also felt satisfied by the end.

You would think that dealing with the 22 characters that got affected would get confusing by Mlynowski nails it. It's not hard to tell their voices apart, even when their thoughts get all jumbled together. And while their were 22 characters affected, there were only about 6 that seemed to be the focal point of the story. It was great to see how they developed throughout the course of the story and how the relationships between them changed as a result of their ESP.

I think what really sealed the deal for me is the unconventional narrator. Without revealing too many spoilers you will see from page one why it's different and you might be confused, like I was. Rest assured, as you keep reading, it will start to make more sense and by the time you reach the end, you won't doubt that it was the best choice for the story.

Overall, I really enjoyed Don't Even Think About It. While the book did have it's flaws, mostly because of predictability, it was a fun, light read. I would recommend it to anyone who likes contemporary but wants to dip into something more sci-fi/paranormal. Mlynowski does an excellent job of combining the two.


My Rating: 3 out of 5 stars