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cowgirlnessy's review
3.0
Something unique and amusing which opened my eyes to the endless possibilities for technology in the future and the mark that specific people leave on one another whether intentionally or not with the help of love, understanding and reassurance.
nikipez's review
4.0
Wow I had my heart beating throughout this book. And the ending was amazing but I would still ADORE a sequel of what comes next! ;)
good1kenz's review
5.0
This book took me on a journey and made me feel things I didn't think I could emotionally handle. nothing is more terrifying than being in the mind of a teenage boy, but Sadie made it happen and to fall in love with him? that's rough.
I don't want to say too much and give something away, but I do want to let you know that Sadie and Ford ' relationship is like a grenade. it is deadly and bound to explode so you need to duck to avoid the shrapnel.
All that matter is that there is enough big pieces left over to pick up off the ground.
So good, I'd read it again.
Well done Michele. A beautiful novel
I don't want to say too much and give something away, but I do want to let you know that Sadie and Ford ' relationship is like a grenade. it is deadly and bound to explode so you need to duck to avoid the shrapnel.
All that matter is that there is enough big pieces left over to pick up off the ground.
So good, I'd read it again.
Well done Michele. A beautiful novel
mischief_in_the_library's review
2.0
Well, it started strong. I really liked the concept. But once we got inside heads, it went a lot downhill. Firstly, a lot of details about the program weren't discussed before things got started. The biggest noticeable gap was that not much was talked about the actual study. What did they intend to do with the data? What was the specific purpose? And most glaringly, nobody asked about whether these participants had ever given consent. (So I knew the answer was probably no.) But I didn't understand why this whole group of apparently very smart people never bothered to find that out. And also we never really found out, at the end, why they were using the chips to kill their participants. I couldn't figure out whether they wanted to kill Ford and were just using the chip to help, or whether they were killing all "chippies". And if so, why?
Given the paragraph at the start, I was also surprised that Ford didn't notice anything in his head until very near the end. The plot wasn't particularly engaging, and that may have been because it was being interjected with not particularly helpful commentary by our main character, whose name I have forgotten.
But my biggest gripe was: "but Ford, I love you!" Eh? Since when? There was absolutely no warning this was going to happen (apart from, well, kind of just assuming from the start that it would), but there was no build up, she went from cooly observing him and judging a lot of his actions, to being in love with him. No intermediate sense of responsibility or caring beforehand.
Overall, cool concept, but could've been done better.
Given the paragraph at the start, I was also surprised that Ford didn't notice anything in his head until very near the end. The plot wasn't particularly engaging, and that may have been because it was being interjected with not particularly helpful commentary by our main character, whose name I have forgotten.
But my biggest gripe was: "but Ford, I love you!" Eh? Since when? There was absolutely no warning this was going to happen (apart from, well, kind of just assuming from the start that it would), but there was no build up, she went from cooly observing him and judging a lot of his actions, to being in love with him. No intermediate sense of responsibility or caring beforehand.
Overall, cool concept, but could've been done better.
dakili's review
4.0
Minders by Michele Jaffe
short version:
What I liked:
- original idea
- world-building
- characters
- Sadie
- Ford
- character development of main characters
What I didn't like:
- Mind Corps
- insufficient world-building
- insufficient character development and change in other characters
- unresolved situations, etc.
tl;dr version:
Sadie Ames is a junior who has just been accepted into the Mind Corps program, more specifically into Syncopy. Through Syncopy, Minders (Guests) enter the minds of Subjects (Hosts) for 6 weeks in order to observe and evaluate them, see how they think, how they live, etc. Kind of like a mixture of science in general, science experiments and travelling and meeting new cultures.
Being accepted into the program, Sadie’s host becomes Subject 9 aka Ford Winter. Subject 9 is completely unaware of the fact that someone is invading his privacy in a very unlikely manner due to the fact that a chip had been inserted into his system when he was still a baby. He is troubled and angry, but far from being a bad boy.
At first, Sadie is uptight and shows no emotions. However, after weeks of seeing life through someone else’s eyes, she starts to change for the better. She realizes that she is not leading a content life, but is instead deprived of a normal parent – child relationship as well as in a no love relationship that nowhere.
While Sadie spends several weeks living Ford’s life, she finds a way to enter his daydreams and she becomes able to communicate with him. He becomes frustrated when he learns that she is inside of his mind and that he can hear her which leads to some outbreaks.
I loved the way Sadie changed gradually, how she started to feel trapped in her real life, the way her beliefs started to crumble and how she built new beliefs – betters ones.
The entire idea behind the story is amazing by itself, however, even now, when I’ve finished the book, I don’t particularly understand what it is that they are trying to improve and learn this way.
As for world-building, the author could’ve given us a more in-depth explanation. We are thrown onto the streets of the City Center where streets have ridiculous names and yet it is never stated what happened, why the city is basically falling apart, why streets have weird names, etc.
I would’ve also preferred if the ending wasn’t so rushed, because from the moment Sadie’s out of stasis it feels like the author wanted it to be done as soon as possible. Nothing is explained thoroughly.
There are a lot of things that stay unresolved which I believe could’ve been explained nicely in additional fifty or so pages. It is nice that the author kept this a standalone novel, but a sequel wouldn’t have been a surplus in this case.
__________________________________________
cover: 4/5
world-building: 3.5/5
character development: 3.5/5
overall: 4/5
short version:
What I liked:
- original idea
- world-building
- characters
- Sadie
- Ford
- character development of main characters
What I didn't like:
- Mind Corps
- insufficient world-building
- insufficient character development and change in other characters
- unresolved situations, etc.
tl;dr version:
Sadie Ames is a junior who has just been accepted into the Mind Corps program, more specifically into Syncopy. Through Syncopy, Minders (Guests) enter the minds of Subjects (Hosts) for 6 weeks in order to observe and evaluate them, see how they think, how they live, etc. Kind of like a mixture of science in general, science experiments and travelling and meeting new cultures.
Being accepted into the program, Sadie’s host becomes Subject 9 aka Ford Winter. Subject 9 is completely unaware of the fact that someone is invading his privacy in a very unlikely manner due to the fact that a chip had been inserted into his system when he was still a baby. He is troubled and angry, but far from being a bad boy.
At first, Sadie is uptight and shows no emotions. However, after weeks of seeing life through someone else’s eyes, she starts to change for the better. She realizes that she is not leading a content life, but is instead deprived of a normal parent – child relationship as well as in a no love relationship that nowhere.
While Sadie spends several weeks living Ford’s life, she finds a way to enter his daydreams and she becomes able to communicate with him. He becomes frustrated when he learns that she is inside of his mind and that he can hear her which leads to some outbreaks.
I loved the way Sadie changed gradually, how she started to feel trapped in her real life, the way her beliefs started to crumble and how she built new beliefs – betters ones.
The entire idea behind the story is amazing by itself, however, even now, when I’ve finished the book, I don’t particularly understand what it is that they are trying to improve and learn this way.
As for world-building, the author could’ve given us a more in-depth explanation. We are thrown onto the streets of the City Center where streets have ridiculous names and yet it is never stated what happened, why the city is basically falling apart, why streets have weird names, etc.
I would’ve also preferred if the ending wasn’t so rushed, because from the moment Sadie’s out of stasis it feels like the author wanted it to be done as soon as possible. Nothing is explained thoroughly.
Spoiler
Sadie breaks up with Pete and the issues she has with her family stay unresolved. Also we don’t know what happens to Curtis, Catrina and Miranda after Curtis murders Willy. In addition to this, we are also never given an explanation whether Ford has finally accepted his brother's death and whether his relationship with his mother has improved.There are a lot of things that stay unresolved which I believe could’ve been explained nicely in additional fifty or so pages. It is nice that the author kept this a standalone novel, but a sequel wouldn’t have been a surplus in this case.
__________________________________________
cover: 4/5
world-building: 3.5/5
character development: 3.5/5
overall: 4/5
rdyourbookcase's review
4.0
Whoa, way to think outside the box, Michele Jaffe! I was so excited when I saw that one of my favorite writers had a new release. I was expecting a mystery (classic Michele Jaffe) but this went above and beyond! I loved the ending. Fantastic. And there’s a great twist at the end. Read it!
sarahfischer's review
4.0
Pretty good! A little sci-fi, a little romance, it surprised me with the writing and how much I enjoyed it.
kt_mc's review
1.0
Okay. I am a little pissed off. It's just...WHY DOES THIS BOOK EXIST? Some background may be necessary for you to understand where I'm coming from.
I want you to imagine me as an adorable ten year old girl perusing the teen section at the library (mostly because that's where The Deathly Hallows was at the time), when suddenly, a book catches my eye. And apparition swathed in black polka dots, a haughty pink cat perched above the title: Bad Kitty by Michele Jaffe. And, cats being my favorite animal, I checked it out. Now I want you to imagine finding your soulmate. If you've already done that, congrats, you don't even have to imagine it. As for the rest of you poor souls, think Pride and Prejudice or The Fault in Our Stars or whatever is the pinnacle of romance to ya'll. Boom. There you go. That was what reading Bad Kitty felt like. It was like every cheesy metaphor for joy you can possibly think of. Hell, I was ten. I didn't understand any of the references that the characters made or catch any of the subtle clues toward the identity of the murderer so stunningly revealed in the end, but I knew that it was funny and it was energetic and it was even sad in some places and it was exactly what I wanted to write when I became an author (goal since age six).
I read that book over and over again. I would renew it from the library and turn it in only to check it out again. It was my bible. Every time I read it, I'd pick up something new about it that I hadn't noticed before. Eventually, I learned that there was a second book, Kitty Kitty, which I found just as excellent as the first. I discovered Michele's other books, like Rose Bush and Ghost Flower. I loved all of them. Michele Jaffe saw all of those ridiculous YA tropes and scoffed at them. Michele Jaffe's books maybe weren't as popular as some, but that was because teens don't appreciate good writing as much as they appreciate dystopian romances. I didn't care. Michele Jaffe was my idol.
Now imagine me as a happy-go-lucky 14-year-old, on the very cusp of womanhood, perusing the teens' section once again. Every week, I sidle past the J section, just to check. Maybe Michele wrote a third Bad Kitty. Maybe she wrote a totally new, kickass novel. Because Michele Jaffe always writes kickass books. I spot it from a distance. Could it be? Does that spine really say Jaffe? I pulled the book slowly from its place on the shelf while O Fortūna played and Michael Bay-worthy pyrotechnics went off in the background. It is! A new Michele Jaffe book, at last! The answer to all of my prayers! Or so I thought.
This book was terrible. I am sorry for being so blunt. Perhaps it was worse because everything that I had ever loved Michele Jaffe for, Minders squashed like a bug under the boot of dystopian romance. It was so full of cliche, I knew what was going to happen at every turn. Girl falls in love with boy for virtually no reason. Girl thinks boy did something bad. Turns out boy didn't do bad thing. Yay, all is good. The only unique part of the book was the memory loss part at the end, which was sort of nice, but only because it was kind of a "Fuck you" to the main character, who I hated. I just want to ask Michele WHAT HAPPENED. What happened to the lovable characters that I could relate to and that I cared about with almost a fanatical passion? What happened to the intricate mysteries woven with comedy and plot-driven romance? This book is nothing but romance-driven plot. I detest the characters. They have the personalities of wet cardboard and it doesn't help that they live in the Petri dish of same-y teenage romances: a dystopia. Or, at least, that's what it seems like. We're never really told what time zone it is or what is going on in the world in general, just that the city is crumbling and there's this weird corrupt Mind Corps thingy that exists.
Also, Ford is an asshole. He's just such a douchebag. I can't say it any other way. He sucks and I don't know why anyone would fall in love with him by spending time in his brain.
I guess that's all I have to say about this book. All I can say is please, Michele Jaffe, please please please write something like Bad Kitty. Write something that would make my ten-year-old self fall in love all over again.
I want you to imagine me as an adorable ten year old girl perusing the teen section at the library (mostly because that's where The Deathly Hallows was at the time), when suddenly, a book catches my eye. And apparition swathed in black polka dots, a haughty pink cat perched above the title: Bad Kitty by Michele Jaffe. And, cats being my favorite animal, I checked it out. Now I want you to imagine finding your soulmate. If you've already done that, congrats, you don't even have to imagine it. As for the rest of you poor souls, think Pride and Prejudice or The Fault in Our Stars or whatever is the pinnacle of romance to ya'll. Boom. There you go. That was what reading Bad Kitty felt like. It was like every cheesy metaphor for joy you can possibly think of. Hell, I was ten. I didn't understand any of the references that the characters made or catch any of the subtle clues toward the identity of the murderer so stunningly revealed in the end, but I knew that it was funny and it was energetic and it was even sad in some places and it was exactly what I wanted to write when I became an author (goal since age six).
I read that book over and over again. I would renew it from the library and turn it in only to check it out again. It was my bible. Every time I read it, I'd pick up something new about it that I hadn't noticed before. Eventually, I learned that there was a second book, Kitty Kitty, which I found just as excellent as the first. I discovered Michele's other books, like Rose Bush and Ghost Flower. I loved all of them. Michele Jaffe saw all of those ridiculous YA tropes and scoffed at them. Michele Jaffe's books maybe weren't as popular as some, but that was because teens don't appreciate good writing as much as they appreciate dystopian romances. I didn't care. Michele Jaffe was my idol.
Now imagine me as a happy-go-lucky 14-year-old, on the very cusp of womanhood, perusing the teens' section once again. Every week, I sidle past the J section, just to check. Maybe Michele wrote a third Bad Kitty. Maybe she wrote a totally new, kickass novel. Because Michele Jaffe always writes kickass books. I spot it from a distance. Could it be? Does that spine really say Jaffe? I pulled the book slowly from its place on the shelf while O Fortūna played and Michael Bay-worthy pyrotechnics went off in the background. It is! A new Michele Jaffe book, at last! The answer to all of my prayers! Or so I thought.
This book was terrible. I am sorry for being so blunt. Perhaps it was worse because everything that I had ever loved Michele Jaffe for, Minders squashed like a bug under the boot of dystopian romance. It was so full of cliche, I knew what was going to happen at every turn. Girl falls in love with boy for virtually no reason. Girl thinks boy did something bad. Turns out boy didn't do bad thing. Yay, all is good. The only unique part of the book was the memory loss part at the end, which was sort of nice, but only because it was kind of a "Fuck you" to the main character, who I hated. I just want to ask Michele WHAT HAPPENED. What happened to the lovable characters that I could relate to and that I cared about with almost a fanatical passion? What happened to the intricate mysteries woven with comedy and plot-driven romance? This book is nothing but romance-driven plot. I detest the characters. They have the personalities of wet cardboard and it doesn't help that they live in the Petri dish of same-y teenage romances: a dystopia. Or, at least, that's what it seems like. We're never really told what time zone it is or what is going on in the world in general, just that the city is crumbling and there's this weird corrupt Mind Corps thingy that exists.
Also, Ford is an asshole. He's just such a douchebag. I can't say it any other way. He sucks and I don't know why anyone would fall in love with him by spending time in his brain.
I guess that's all I have to say about this book. All I can say is please, Michele Jaffe, please please please write something like Bad Kitty. Write something that would make my ten-year-old self fall in love all over again.
trisha_thomas's review
4.0
"When you're lost, every direction looks the same."
ooooooh. This one completely surprised me with how much I enjoyed it.
At first, I wasn't so sure about Sadie. And the general synopsis made me nervous. This could be silly fluff about a girl pining over a boy.
but before I realized it, I'd hit half way. And I was sure I was enjoying it but I wasn't sure I was loving it until...the crux of the plot hit and I realized how much I knew the characters. How I was rooting them on and hoping they won! This one is sneaky and has you falling for the story and the people so easily you don't notice. Definitely one I'd read again.
ooooooh. This one completely surprised me with how much I enjoyed it.
At first, I wasn't so sure about Sadie. And the general synopsis made me nervous. This could be silly fluff about a girl pining over a boy.
but before I realized it, I'd hit half way. And I was sure I was enjoying it but I wasn't sure I was loving it until...the crux of the plot hit and I realized how much I knew the characters. How I was rooting them on and hoping they won! This one is sneaky and has you falling for the story and the people so easily you don't notice. Definitely one I'd read again.