Summary:
A class of sophomores receive their annual flu shot and all of a sudden develop the ability to hear each others thoughts. Each student can now communicate telepathically and find out about all of the thoughts going on around them. For some, this causes a lot of hurt as secrets are revealed, but mostly, they all learn a lot.
My thoughts:
I was really impressed with this novel. I was expecting a fun, light read, and this fits that bill. I wasn't expecting the creativity and humor involved. The narration is told through a "we" character. Since all of the characters are able to share thoughts, then the narrator is really all of the teens. They all have unique characteristics, so they are easily distinguishable, but they also all know everything about one another and share that knowledge together with the audience. There is a fairly large cast to keep up with, but I never felt like I missed something or didn't know who had an individual thought that was incorporated into the "we". I almost want to teach the book to investigate the omniscient. What better way to understand what the "all knowing" narrator is like that with this type of character set? Also, I figured that I would get some chuckles as secrets were revealed, but I didn't expect the snarky one liners that caused quite a few snickers. I was impressed by the quick set-ups that the author uses to deliver these jokes. It reminds me of my classroom. There are always students that are very quick on the uptake and clever with their responses. This classroom apparently has a student or two that also do that.
Overall, this is a very fun book that I would recommend to most of my girls, especially the ones that read Gossip Girl or the IT girl series.
A class of sophomores receive their annual flu shot and all of a sudden develop the ability to hear each others thoughts. Each student can now communicate telepathically and find out about all of the thoughts going on around them. For some, this causes a lot of hurt as secrets are revealed, but mostly, they all learn a lot.
My thoughts:
I was really impressed with this novel. I was expecting a fun, light read, and this fits that bill. I wasn't expecting the creativity and humor involved. The narration is told through a "we" character. Since all of the characters are able to share thoughts, then the narrator is really all of the teens. They all have unique characteristics, so they are easily distinguishable, but they also all know everything about one another and share that knowledge together with the audience. There is a fairly large cast to keep up with, but I never felt like I missed something or didn't know who had an individual thought that was incorporated into the "we". I almost want to teach the book to investigate the omniscient. What better way to understand what the "all knowing" narrator is like that with this type of character set? Also, I figured that I would get some chuckles as secrets were revealed, but I didn't expect the snarky one liners that caused quite a few snickers. I was impressed by the quick set-ups that the author uses to deliver these jokes. It reminds me of my classroom. There are always students that are very quick on the uptake and clever with their responses. This classroom apparently has a student or two that also do that.
Overall, this is a very fun book that I would recommend to most of my girls, especially the ones that read Gossip Girl or the IT girl series.
Smart and funny story about what happens when a group of high-schoolers get ESP unexpectedly. No government conspiracies, nothing cruel or nasty here, just a lot of fun as the teens try to deal with what might happen when you can hear everyone's thoughts...and they can hear you too.
