Minders

November 4, 2013
Sadie Ames is a Minder. Privileged and high achieving, she has won a prestigious fellowship from the Roque Mind Corps to study a fellow human being in the most intimate way—by entering that person’s mind. Ford is a Subject: impoverished, enraged, and ignorant. He doesn’t know that Roque Industries, via its community health outreach program, has planted a chip in his brain that allows Sadie to ride along, looking out of his eyes and experiencing his every thought and emotion. The premise is enticing, though Jaffe’s exploration of it is laden with exposition and slow to unfold. As a character, Sadie is little more than her over-packed college application, and her observations (and judgments) of Ford take too long to coalesce into a plot. While Jaffe (Ghost Flower) plausibly sets up the mind-reading conceit, such effort is not invested upfront in her characters. It takes a couple hundred pages to get past the stereotypical prim nerd and angry thug, and readers may struggle to invest in Sadie and Ford, despite the mounting danger around then. Ages 12–up. Agent: Susan Ginsburg, Writers House.

November 1, 2013
This highly original science-fiction thriller sends a privileged, overachieving girl directly into the mind of an angry, poor boy who seems to be her polar opposite. Sadie comes from a wealthy family in the suburbs of Detroit in a nebulous near future. She wins a coveted spot as a Minder in an experimental program that connects her mind with that of an unsuspecting subject. As she rests in stasis for six weeks, she literally lives inside the mind of Ford, a boy from inner-city Detroit, seeing through his eyes and watching his thoughts and emotions. Ford has a job tearing down Detroit's old buildings, but he tries to save what he can of beautiful architectural elements. However, he's also trying to learn who killed his brother--a dangerous proposition. As Sadie watches from within, she begins to fall for Ford. She becomes so involved that she begins to make connections with him that have never before been achieved by Minders and in fact cannot tear herself away. Jaffe creates an absorbing experience not only for Sadie, but also for readers, as they immerse themselves in her thoughts. Her worldbuilding includes timely, topical dystopic elements: In place of police, Detroit has the Serenity Services, and the streets have been named after corporations and their products. The thriller plot combines with contemporary class concerns for a thought-provoking and suspenseful read. (Science fiction. 12 & up)

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January 1, 2014

Gr 9 Up-In this genre-bending story, Jaffe offers a world in which the thoughts and decisions of individuals are observed and monitored by an organization known as the Dynamic Corporeal Suspension System. Sadie Ames, a rich girl from the suburbs, has been accepted into the Mind Corps Fellowship program, where she trains as an Observer. Her job is to enter the mind of Ford Winters, urban bad boy, and monitor his life from the inside out. Sadie unexpectedly finds herself deeply drawn to Ford, and when he makes a terrible decision, Sadie must choose between her duty as an Observer and her growing attachment to a boy she's never met in the flesh. The enticing characters and high-tech suspense will appeal to readers who enjoy science fiction, mystery, and romance.-Katie Wilkinson, Gar-Field High School, Woodbridge, VA

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2014
Grades 7-12 Technology has created a way for wealthy teens to ride along in the minds of unsuspecting destitute teens in a futuristic Detroit. After winning a highly coveted spot in the prestigious Mind Corps Fellowship program, Sadie is assigned to the mind of Ford Winters, where she will be able to see through his eyes and experience his thoughts and emotions. As the plot slowly unfurls, Sadie finds herself becoming less of a dispassionate observer and more intertwined with Ford, which throws her rigid control and training into confusion as she starts to experience a connection with him never experienced by Minders. But Ford has committed a crime, and Sadie faces the unenviable position of deciding whether or not to turn in the boy she has never metyet has fallen in love with. Although the story line lacks immediacy, it should attract readers of clever futuristic fiction for its sheer originality alone.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2014
Through the Mind Corps program, Sadie eavesdrops on the mind of (unwitting) teen Ford, living in his head every day for six weeks. Sadie moves from judgment to sympathy to infatuation and advocacy as she tries to help him rebuild his life and take down a criminal kingpin. Readers will find much to discuss in the book's take on inequality, surveillance, and morality.

(Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

May 1, 2014
Sadie, a privileged high-achieving student from the outskirts of Detroit, is thrilled to be accepted to the elite Mind Corps program. There she will use cutting-edge technology to collect data on residents of Detroit's rundown City Center by eavesdropping on the mind of another teen and living in his head every day for six weeks. Her unwitting subject, Ford, has problems of his own, including an investigation into his brother's recent death during which he uncovers secrets that put his life in danger. As she observes Ford, Sadie moves from judgment to sympathy to infatuation and advocacy as she tries from afar to help him rebuild his life and take down the Pharmacist, a criminal kingpin using the Mind Corps neural links to control City Center residents. Sadie's growing feelings for Ford, the book's foreshadowing of oncoming disasters, and the increasing suspense about when and how Ford will become aware of Sadie's existence also propel the plot. Tackling issues of privilege, privacy, and corruption, this ambitious story is somewhat hobbled by the differential between Sadie's largely internal journey and Ford's much more dynamic story. Nevertheless, the Pharmacist plot is satisfyingly twisty and disturbing, and readers will find much to discuss in the book's take on inequality, surveillance, and the black-and-white morality espoused by Mind Corps. claire e. gross

(Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)