Mind Games

Two narrators, a kaleidoscope of time snippets, the distortions of lies, memories, and precognition—White’s paranormal thriller is a tour de force of perspective and unreliability. Fia, 17, and her blind older sister, Annie, barely remember a time when they were not pawns of Keane, a shadowy man running an equally shadowy organization/boarding school (of sorts) for empaths, psychics, mind readers, and the like. The sisters’ talents will be nurtured and Annie kept alive, so long as Fia does as she is told, using her preternaturally perfect instincts. An assignment to kill Adam, a teenage research prodigy, throws Fia’s already tumultuous existence into further flux, testing her loyalty to her sister and those around her. The combination of supernatural abilities, clandestine organizations, sharply witty dialogue, and a supremely skilled heroine will be familiar to readers of White’s Paranormalcy books, but this story is very much its own, due in large part to Fia’s unpredictability, both as character and protégé (to the endless frustration of the higher-ups at Keane). A sequel is likely and would be welcome. Ages 12–up. Agent: Michelle Wolfson, Wolfson Literary Agency. (Feb.)