YA Urban Fantasy Review: Sister Assassin by Kiersten White

Sister Assassin by Kiersten White (Mind Games #1)


Egalley thanks to Harper Collins UK

Synopsis from Goodreads
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?

  
 Amazon  US/UK | Amazon kindle US/UK(£3.99) | The Book Depository US/UK | Fishpond

8/10

* * *
I admit I started this book with great trepidation. Too many book bloggers I know disliked it. To my utter delight I really loved Sister Assassin. It was my type of book.

I would describe Sister Assassin as a mix between Hanna and Minority Report.


Two sisters are promised to have everything they want in a special school. One of them, Annie, is blind and is a Seer. Another, Sofia, have perfect instincts and always chooses the right thing to do whatever she does.

Initially school is after Annie, but Fia talents make her an unexpectedly perfect weapon. The school and its mysterious powerful benefactor, Mr. Keane start to blackmail her threatening the life of her sister, so she would do whatever is asked of her.

I think for people who love urban fantasy and psychological thrillers this will be a great read. I think the main problem so many bloggers had with it is its free flow writing style.

Fia's thoughts are jerky, sketchy and very mad, but there is a very good reason for it. She acts on impulse without allowing herself the time for premeditation to avoid the attention of Seers. As soon as you understand it everything becomes pretty clear and logical. 

The narration jumps between two sisters and between past and present, but the book is short and is really easy to follow. I can honestly say I admired the way Fia acted and the choices she made because like her I believed that these were the only decisions she could have made for the best result. I also could understand her mounting desperation, anger and madness and her constant attempts to trick the system.

I've tried to give you the gist of this book without any spoilers and I am certainly recommending it to anyone who enjoyed Every Other Day by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, another interesting YA urban fantasy.


* * *
Сестра Ассассин - это ещё одно очень интересное подростковое городское фэнтези, вышедшее в этом году.

Честно говоря, за книгу я садиться боялась, так как многие блоги, что я читаю, её очень ругали за слог, за героиню, за сюжет. Так что для меня моё удовольствие от книги оказалось большим сюрпризом. Это была МОЯ книга.

Я бы сказала, что Кирстен Уайт написала что-то между Ханной и Особым Мнением. Ещё мне героиня напомнила о Каждом Втором Дне от Дженнифер Линн Барнз, который мне тоже очень понравился.

Две сестры сироты попадают в специальную школу, которая пытается использовать способности ясновидения одной из них - слепой Анни. Однако как только они узнают, что младшая сестра, София, обладает идеальными инстинктами, которые побуждают её всегда принимать верное решение во что бы то ни стало, то они начинают шантажировать Фию жизнью Анни, чтобы она дала им экспериментировать над ней и превратить ей в идеального ассассина.

Стиль повествования Фии очень неровный, скачущий, немного безумный и напоминает свободный поток мыслей, однако мыслит она так совершенно не случайно. Фия приучила себя действовать исключительно на импульсах без приготовления, иначе её действия засекут ясновидящие и она лишится даже той толики свободы, что ей предоставлена.

Повествование разделено между Фией и Анни, между прошлым и настоящим отрывками, однако книга читается очень быстро и следить за сюжетом можно без особого труда.

Фией я могла только восхищаться, так как всё что она делала действительно оказывалось оптимальными решениями, чтобы освободить её и её сестру. Я ни в чём не могла её упрекнуть несмотря на постоянное отчаяние, гнев и неуравновешенность Софии. Я могла понять её и её обстоятельства.

По сюжету я постаралась не заспойлерить и книгу эту по хорошему рекомендую. Мне было очень интересно.

Comments

  1. Yours might be the first positive I have seen so I am unsure now. You got some good points there

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  2. I've seen mixed reviews too, but I still want to give it a shot. I think most aspects of this book sound great and I love the sound from Fia :) Great review and I'm happy you enjoyed it!

    Mel@thedailyprophecy.

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  3. I never saw Hanna, but I do remember Minority Report and really enjoyed it. :) Thanks as this is new to me. :)

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  4. I loved Hanna!! Great review- I agree, when I read this I wasn't bothered by the disjointed narration style, the biggest complaint I have is the timelines being so jumpy, which led to me being confused.

    xo leanna

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  5. I really don't know if you like it or not, Blodeuedd. It's a peculiar read.

    Mel, I do hope you enjoy it!

    Melissa, I only saw a trailer for Hanna, but it's one of those movies I always fancying watching :))

    Leanna, I know what you mean. However I kind of took it all in stride. Maybe because I love chaos myself? :D

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  6. This is why, if you think you will like something..you should grab it anyway. Once I grab a book for review, I avoid others opinions like I could catch the plague. I like boarding schools and such in books and this sounds really good!

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  7. It really is the writing style that puts people off, Kimba. I was glad I liked it! :)

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