Book Review: Sister Assassin/Mind Games by Kiersten White

She never chose her deadly gift but now she’s forced to use it. How far would you go to protect the only family you have left?

Annie is beset by fleeting strange visions and a guilty conscience. Blind and orphaned, she struggles to care for her feisty younger sister Fia, but things look up when both sisters are offered a place at Kessler School for Exceptional Girls.

Born with flawless intuition, Fia immediately knows that something’s wrong, but bites her tongue… until it’s too late. For Fia is the perfect weapon to carry out criminal plans and there are those at Kessler who will do anything to ensure her co-operation.

With Annie trapped in Kessler’s sinister clutches, instincts keep Fia from killing an innocent guy and everything unravels. Is manipulative James the key to the sisters’ freedom or an even darker prison? And how can Fia atone for the blood on her hands?

This has to be one of the most talked about and highly anticipated YA book of the year.  Normally the hype and excitement leads to disappointment, well, not this time.  This book packs an almighty punch and is the best book of 2013 I have read so far. It is not for everyone and there are some that will hate it but for me it was great. I do not know where to start this review; I honestly don’t know how I can convey to you just how awesome I thought this book was.  I just loved everything about it.  

This storyline is awesome, it was different, it was creative, it was epic and amazingly exciting.  It is jam packed full of action but also has a lot of heart.  It is smart and managed to keep me guessing right up to the last amazing page. 

The story revolves around two sisters and asks how far would you be willing to go to protect

someone you love.  Would you lie? Would you steal? Would you kill? 

Annie and Fia could not be any more different from one another, the love they have for each other and the lengths they are prepared to go for one another is consuming but personality wise they are nothing alike.  Annie is calm and gentle.  She is the elder but her blindness has meant that her younger sister has always had to look out for her.  I liked Annie she provided the slower and more tranquil moments and a lot of the emotional ones too.

Fia was not calm or gentle at all.  She was an incredible character and was by far my favourite.  Her POV is disjointed, her voice frantic and manic.  At first I thought this was going to be the writing style throughout the whole book but it soon became clear that Fia’s voice was not like anyone else’s.  She is broken and scarred by the things she has had to do in order to keep her sister from harm.  She is a loose cannon, not someone you should trust but I found myself loving her.  She is smart, full of courage and personality.  

Fia has a tempestuous relationship with a guy called James, he is also a bit of a mess but in a different way.  You never really know his motives but he is hard to dislike regardless.  The chemistry between Fia and James sizzles and I adored them together. 

The writing is also well executed.  The chapters swap between sisters and between the past and present, both of these worked really well and I never once found it confusing or disorientating.  

I have to take my hat off to Kiersten White for writing a book that I cannot say anything negative about.  This is, without a doubt, one of the best books I have read and will read this year.  Believe the hype, this book is amazing and I urge you to run to your local books store and buy this when it is released. 

5 stars

Published February 19th 2013 by HarperCollins Children's Books in the UK & Harper Teen in the US.  A free copy was provided for review. Image courtesy of Goodreads

Review by Kate Phillips