Author info: Website | Twitter
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 232
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher provided for review
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Annie and Fia are ready to fight back.While I'm not sure I could say I think Perfect Lies is quite as good as Mind Games, I can assuredly say that it's a sequel that builds on what's so fun and intriguing about the first book. It's fast-paced and will keep you guessing. It's action-packed and just a little bit romantic. What's so fun, though, is seeing Annie come into her own as a character. We spent Mind Games seeing Fia kick butt and take names, and now Annie is given her chance to shine, albeit in a less flashy, less aggressive manner.
The sisters have been manipulated and controlled by the Keane Foundation for years, trapped in a never ending battle for survival. Now they have found allies who can help them truly escape. After faking her own death, Annie has joined a group that is plotting to destroy the Foundation. And Fia is working with James Keane to bring his father down from the inside.
But Annie's visions of the future can't show her who to trust in the present. And though James is Fia's first love, Fia knows he's hiding something. The sisters can rely only on each other - but that may not be enough to save them.
Continuing with the stream-of-consciousness narrative--though seemingly less frazzled for most of the novel this time around--Annie and Fia are separated, stuck on opposing sides. Even so, each girl is fighting to get back to her sister in her own way. Generally, the narrative makes sense. The only problem is the flashes backwards and forwards in time get a little confusing at times. I found myself having to check the beginnings of chapters to figure out where I was. Even so, the style of narration is really interesting, since one sister is working backwards in time while the other is working forwards, slowly bringing them to the same point in time and revealing information bit by bit.
But, like I said, what I loved here was seeing Annie finally have a voice. Fia left her with Lerner, so she's with people who seemingly care more about her. She's given freedom and tries to hone her abilities, feeling the need to be useful. Even as she's frustrated, that frustration motivates her. This makes for an Annie quite unlike the Annie of Mind Games. She's no longer willing to let Fia be the only one fighting to be together. (And let me tell you, Annie in the final scene? AMAZING. I wanted to high five her so badly!)
The only reason I say Perfect Lies may not be quite as good as Mind Games is that I didn't find the plot to be quite as intriguing. It felt like a lot of Fia and Annie sitting around thinking about the other and wondering, or mulling over past actions--not action. Even so, there's still quite a bit of action involved, no worries. I also didn't glean anything new from the world. There's one thing about the abilities that's sort of revealed, but it's kind of anticlimactic, since it's already something you'd suspect. But I didn't feel like there was anything added to what White had built for the first book, making the world kind of stagnant and a little flat.
Even so, I found Perfect Lies to be a solid sequel that fans of Mind Games will enjoy. It's still all about the sisters (which is awesome) and it's clear Kiersten White isn't afraid to kill some people (which is always fun!) It's a quick read that'll leave you sad that this duology isn't a trilogy!
About the author:
Kiersten White is the New York Times bestselling author of the Paranormalcy trilogy and the Mind Games series, as well as The Chaos of Stars. She has one tall husband and three small children and lives near the ocean, where her life is perfectly normal. Visit her at www.kierstenwhite.com.
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