Common Sense Media Review
By Mary Eisenhart
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Telepathic 12-year-olds return in exciting sequel.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 10+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
Twelve-year-old Chris Lane can't wait to get back to Myers-Holt Academy, where he and his classmates, in the last months of their stay, are perfecting their various mind-reading and mind-over-matter skills as part of a secret government project. After the events of Book 1, they're mostly putting their talents to work solving relatively mundane problems, such as art heists. But Ernest Genever, whose twin brother was killed by Chris in The Ability, has vowed revenge, and Chris sees him everywhere. The trouble is, all his friends and teachers think he's hallucinating.
Is It Any Good?
MINDSCAPE offers engaging characters and heartwarming moments along with scary scenes and quite a few surprises. Although it takes a bit longer than The Ability to get going and probably spends a bit too much time dwelling on Chris' internal confusion (maybe he really IS imagining it all? Wouldn't his friends believe him if they were really his friends?), it includes a cliffhanger ending that potentially changes everything.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about why stories about mind reading and mind control are so popular. What's the appeal?
If you could read people's minds without their knowing about it, would you? What about their email?
Would you like to go to a school like Myers-Holt? What would you want to study if you went there?
Book Details
- Author :
- Illustrator : Iacopo Bruno
- Genre : Fantasy
- Topics : Fantasy ( Magic ) , Adventures , Friendship
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Margaret K. McElderry
- Publication date : March 11, 2014
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 8 - 12
- Number of pages : 320
- Available on : Nook, Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : October 1, 2025
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