Review Detail

When I won this one at Cari Blogs, I didn't exactly know how Minder was going to fare with me. Fortunately for me, this one was pretty good. :)

Kaynak
illustrates in her novel a world (within our world), Ganzfield, full of
superheroes. The superpowered groups mentioned include:  

- minders (can read others' minds) 

- charms (can manipulate others through their charming words) 

- lighters (can make fires) 

- "techo" (can move objects with their minds)

(I don't remember the official names of the last 2).

The
main character, Maddie, believed she was an ordinary person -- until
she blasts out the brains of 3 (?) guys from school who were up to no
good. Thus, her normal life is over and she is shipped off to Ganzfield,
where she is introduced to a whole other environment. She quickly
builds a close relationship with Trevor, the only "mover" in Ganzfield,
as her minder powers grow ever-stronger. But trouble is afoot, and
outsider forces (threatened by the powers of those at Ganzfield) get in
the way...

The descriptions used to paint each scene
was so well done and elaborate, but, to me, necessary and not
excessively used. I mean, the story is a TAD slow going at the
beginning, but as most novels are for me, I tore through the second-half
of the novel.

The plot and premise are unlike anything I've ever seen before. After reading Minder, I was left wondering Damn, wish there were a real Ganzfield around here...I came to like the many relationships that Maddie forms with many other characters, such as with her and her mentor (another minder)--
the mentor becomes something of a father figure to which filled that
void of her absentee father. I liked her relationship with Grace, a
newcomer, a charm, there's that innocent glow of a fragile
budding friendship . . . you know the type. Grace appears to be, in
Maddie's POV, the only good charm that is worth mentioning individually. The charms are kind of like Ganzfield's version of "the jocks" in high school, though these "students" don't really get to choose their powers.

However, one problem I did have with Minder
was that the relationship between Trevor and Maddie was, well, where do
I start? It was a bit repetitive in that Maddie's mind continually
fills with thoughts of What is Trevor thinking/doing? or Where's Trevor? or I can't hear Trevor's thoughts
. . . Also, the justification behind their relationship, the reasoning,
it didn't ring through for me. It seemed a bit silly or fabricated. I
needed a bit more of an oomph on that part, but that may just be me.