Review: Think Twice

Think Twice (Don't Even Think About It #2) by Sarah Mlynowski - ✮✮✮.5

It's funny; 3.5 stars doesn't seem like a great score, but it's actually 70%, which in Uni terms is a First. So don't be fooled by my rating of Think Twice; I really enjoyed it.

Spoilers below the cut.

Cover/Blurb

Okay, so the covers for Think Twice and its predecessor, Don't Even Think About It are really pretty. Think Twice is in my favourite colour, and they also look awesome together on the shelf. Plus, they go really well with Sarah Mlynowski's other book, Ten Things We Shouldn't Have Done! But I can't help but think that whoever was in charge of designing this cover missed a trick: though it's clearly advertised as a YA girls' book, Think Twice is much more universal. Sure, the most prominent characters are girls, but the story could appeal to such a large audience that the cover seems almost deceptive. So many people who might have enjoyed this story were probably put off by the 'teen girl'-esque cover. It's a shame, but it's true.

Characters

I found it kind of hard to remember all the characters at the beginning of the book. Part of this is due to the fact that I read the first book a long while ago; part of it is the fact that there are so. many. Espies, not to mention all the side characters! However, it was really easy for me to get back into the Espies' world despite this, and Mlynowski juggles the characters' viewpoints extremely well, so though some characters have very little screentime, it doesn't feel as though we're missing much.

One thing I really liked about this book was the huge range in personalities. By nature of the plural POV, the audience gets a natural narrative from different characters: Pi, who is smart and ruthlessly ambitious; sweet and strung-out Olivia; and well-meaning Mackenzie who knows the pains of being underestimated. Mlynowski shows us, extremely effectively in my opinion, how different people react in drastically different ways to a universal situation. Though the concept of ESP is pretty out-there, the way each Espie has adapted to their skills feels really realistic: from Reality TV to stage shows, cheating at poker to being a spy, each character's actions feel like something you might see in reality. 

Ending

I'm torn on the ending. On the one hand, I really enjoyed the plural first person (?) point of view used in Don't Even Think About It and for the majority if Think Twice, and was sad to see it end. On the other hand, having all the ESP 'magically' come back just so the readers (and the Espies) could keep that experience would have been a cop-out. The last chapter was very satisfying; intriguing yet final, so that while there might be more stories to come, this book can stand as the end of the series. However, I'd love for there to be a third book: perhaps about Brinn's life at Diamond, or maybe about other people with ESP (if that's possible in the world of Think Twice).

Other Thoughts

One of my favourite thing about this book, which I think give it a unique appeal, is the narration style. The idea that all of the Espies know the inner workings of each other's lives thanks to their abilities is perfectly illustrated through the 'we' and 'us' pronouns. Even though all the characters have unique perspectives, which shine through during their respective storylines, the unity that they all have - had? - is really well written. I also like how, though most of the Espies relied on and enjoyed their ESP, they're all capable of being happy and successful without it. Near the end of the book, Mlynowski shows us that they didn't have to rely on their ESP as much as some of them thought they did.