Minder by Kate Kaynak

For Review: Kate Kaynak.  Published 18 June 2010
Sixteen-year-old Maddie Dunn is special, but she needs to figure out how to use her new abilities before somebody else gets hurt. Ganzfield is a secret training facility full of people like her, but it's not exactly a nurturing place. Every social interaction carries the threat of mind-control. A stray thought can burn a building to the ground. And people's nightmares don't always stay in their own heads. But it's still better than New Jersey--especially once she meets the man of her dreams...

The premise for this one really appealed to me – I love anything to do with psychic abilities so this fits the bill perfectly.

After a traumatic incident Maddie begins realises that she may be different to other people. When she meets Dr Williamson and is asked to attend Granzfield she begins to realise just how different she is. But she’s not the only one...

All of the characters in this are wonderful. Maddie really grew on me – she has great inner strength as well as a strong moral compass. I absolutely adored Trevor – he is really sweet and caring and I really enjoyed the romance that develops between the two of them. It does get a bit mushy in places – but it's the kind that left a big goofy smile on my face so I’m not complaining! I also really liked the relationship between Maddie and Dr Williamson – there is obvious affection there and I really enjoyed their interactions. I also liked Seth – he comes off as a bit annoying at times but I’m really interested to see how he features in the future. The rest of the ‘gang’ are fun – and you get to know them all pretty well and there is definitely room for some interesting stories for them all.

I thought the storyline was really good and completely held my interest. It does get quite dark in places and there are some scenes that are uneasy to read – but they ground the story and give it a sense of authenticity. There is also some humour to even it out which works really well and makes the book fun to read. Minder does feel a bit of a world builder for the series, but it also has a great plot in itself. The scenes at the end had me tense and holding my breath - they were superbly written and it really sets up the story and the ‘gang’ for future

I’m really looking forward to reading the next book in the series. Not only am wanting more Maddie and Trevor but I have my suspicions on where Maddie gets her gifts so I am really excited to read more to see if I am correct! A great start to what I believe will be a really addictive series!