Review: Don't Even Think About It by Sarah Mlynowski

Don't Even Think About It by Sarah Mlynowski
336 Pages
Release Date: March 11th, 2014
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Genre: Sci-fi/Contemporary
Source: Publisher via Netgalley
Rating: 3.5 STARS

Goodreads Summary:
Contemporary teen fiction with romance, secrets, scandals, and ESP from the author of Ten Things We Did (And Probably Shouldn't Have).

We weren't always like this. We used to be average New York City high school sophomores. Until our homeroom went for flu shots. We were prepared for some side effects. Maybe a headache. Maybe a sore arm. We definitely didn't expect to get telepathic powers. But suddenly we could hear what everyone was thinking. Our friends. Our parents. Our crushes. Now we all know that Tess is in love with her best friend, Teddy. That Mackenzie cheated on Cooper. That, um, Nurse Carmichael used to be a stripper.

Since we've kept our freakish skill a secret, we can sit next to the class brainiac and ace our tests. We can dump our boyfriends right before they dump us. We know what our friends really think of our jeans, our breath, our new bangs. We always know what's coming. Some of us will thrive. Some of us will crack. None of us will ever be the same.
So stop obsessing about your ex. We're always listening.

Cute, hilarious, and filled with, of course, teenage drama, Don't Even Think About It was a lot more contemporary than sci-fi. Dealing more with how ESP effected teens' life and how revealing their secrets could ruin or even help achieve what they've always wanted. I wasn't exactly sure if I would like the writing structure with the use of "we" and 3rd person since it seemed to limit sentence structure and the way the story was written making the story a bit choppy in the beginning. And I'm not exactly sure if there was a progression of change or if I just got used to it but as I read on it started to flow better and the use of "we" started to make sense and develop into the story itself.

Don't Even Think About It emphasized the characters' friendships, relationships, and family. I loved seeing how secrets, while they may have hurt, was able to change some characters and help with self-realization. Seeing all the different personalities and how even though they were able to read one another's thoughts, not all characters were able to bond together to create a huge tight knit family, there were characters like Olivia, Tess, Cooper, BJ, and even Mackenzie that did become close friends (if they weren't already). The different thoughts definitely led to different perspectives on ESP and different stuff that happens in this story.

One of my favorite aspects of this book was how ESP was able to change a person to be who they want to be/already are. Olivia eventually overcomes and is able to work through her worrisome personality. Mackenzie was finally able to realize what she wanted and Cooper may finally get who he deserves. Tess was a cool character that deals with her "weight" issues and BJ (one of my favorite characters) who actually didn't really have huge problems in this book was a a chill and funny person who I totally ship with Tess.

While it may have ESP with hints of sci-fi, Don't Even Think About It was mainly portrayed as a contemporary novel focusing on a group of 22 students who learn to deal with having no secrets and the benefits and disadvantages of reading someone's mind. It may not have been my favorite book, but it was a short quick read I enjoyed. Happy Readings!