cover image Mind-Hold

Mind-Hold

Wilanne Schneider Belden. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt P, $14.95 (242pp) ISBN 978-0-15-254280-1

In this extraordinary opener to a series of books centered on the House of Logran, a psychic research foundation, two exceptional children must survive the aftermath of an earthquake that has destroyed much of California. Carson, 13, feels free at firstfree from his younger sister, Caryl, whose uncontrolled telekinetic abilities have driven their mother to alcoholism. But Caryl survives too, so Carson plans to lead her into the desert and lose her, so her power over their family will end. But their journey is as much an internal one as an external onewherein Caryl matures and realizes the value of her family. Although both Carson and Caryl are thoroughly disagreeable in the beginning, and their powers phenomenal, Belden's belief in the world she has created draws the reader in from the very first page. Ages 12-up. (March)