Susan Kaye Quinn is a rocket scientist turned speculative fiction author who now uses her PhD to invent cool stuff in books. Currently writing hopepunk, but her works include SciFi, YA, gritty Future-Noir, steampunk romance, and that one middle grade fantasy. Her bestselling novels and short stories have been optioned for Virtual Reality, translated into German and French, and featured in several anthologies.
Eight months ago, Kira Moore revealed to the mindreading world that mindjackers like herself were hidden in their midst. Now she wonders if telling the truth was the right choice after all. As wild rumors spread, a powerful anti-jacker politician capitalizes on mindreaders' fears and strips jackers of their rights. While some jackers flee to Jackertown--a slum rife with jackworkers who trade mind control favors for cash--Kira and her family hide from the readers who fear her and jackers who hate her. But when a jacker Clan member makes Kira's boyfriend Raf collapse in her arms, Kira is forced to save the people she loves by facing the thing she fears most: FBI agent Kestrel and his experimental torture chamber for jackers.
TOP 5 FINALIST for 2012 Best Indie Book, Young Adult Fiction - The Kindle Book Review (Part 1)
"A revolution is beginning. As much as Kira would like to forget the last year of her life and begin anew she can't, because everywhere she turns people recognize her. Kira, the one who began the revolution. Even with a new name and a new place to call home she can't escape what she's done by sharing the news of jackers in society. What's worse than not being able escape her past though is how it may affect those she loves, her mindreader boyfriend Raf most of all."
"Reading a sequel in a series is often difficult for me, because no matter how good the writing or the characters the second book never seems to live up to the connection with the first book. In fact that's why I tend to avoid book series as much as possible. Of course, after reading Open Minds by Susan Kaye Quinn I couldn't resist reading Closed Hearts, the second book in the Mindjack Trilogy. And now...there is absolutely no way I can resist reading the third book, Free Souls, when it is released. Closed Hearts completely tore through my expectations of sequels and is now my favorite book in the series to date."
"From the start a big concern I have with sequels is the lack of information from the previous book or the never ending rehashing of all the events you've already read about. That was simply not the case with Closed Hearts by Susan Kaye Quinn. Again, in Closed Hearts Quinn has proven that she knows how to write and that she's an author worth reading. If I hadn't read Open Minds I have no doubt I would have enjoyed Closed Hearts just as much as I did reading it through this time. Quinn's characters are so beautifully crafted with a range of emotions and characteristics that each individual character stands out, making them memorable beyond the pages of the story. Beyond the characters it was the blending of past information with what was to come including some fantastic action and adventure that made the pacing perfect and had me flipping page after page."
"In Closed Hearts Kira is back but with a variety of names and working new jobs with her Dad who is also a jacker. At first I was surprised that the story started in such a different place than where the previous one had, but as the story progressed I found I thoroughly enjoyed the combination of the new setting with the past creeping back in around the characters. One of the other aspects that I loved that also surprised me in a very good way was the introduction of such a large number of new characters. The vast majority of the new characters were mindjackers like Kira, but there was also the introduction of a big new bad guy, Vellus, who I'm certain isn't done with Kira just yet. I was also thrilled to see Raf back in the story, Kira's boyfriend from the previous book, but I'm also intrigued by new guy, Julian. All of these pieces fit together so nicely, from the new setting to the new characters, making this a story I couldn't put down."
"In a stunning turn of events, Closed Hearts by Susan Kaye Quinn has proven to me that a sequel can be every bit as good as the first book in a series and potentially even better than it's predecessor. With Open Minds I was completely shocked by how it exceeded my expectations of what I've come to expect from self-published novels. Now with Closed Hearts I've been entirely blown out of the water with it's rich cast of characters and action packed situations. The Mindjacker trilogy is one to put on your to-read lists, now; a series to wait for with bated breathe as Quinn crafts next and final book, and is certainly one sci-fi dystopian fans should have already read. Closed Hearts by Susan Kaye Quinn begins with the rumblings of a mindjacker revolution, takes you through an action packed invasion and breaks your heart. Do not miss this series that is now on my "Top Reads" list for the indefinite future."
–There's A Book"I love this series. The whole concept is intriguing, and Susan Kaye Quinn's writing is compelling. Closed Hearts drew me right in, and it was hard to put it down to go to bed and get my work done. I love her style, her voice, and especially the main character, Kira. I read Open Minds twice and also Raf's short story while waiting for Closed Hearts to come out. It's got new and interesting characters, and I enjoyed learning about each one's unique traits. Awesome writing, an engaging story, and I'm so looking forward to reading the third book. Like The Hunger Games, this is a series that I'll read over again every so often, and that's something I rarely do."
–Amazon Reader ReviewA zero like me shouldn’t take public transportation.
The hunched driver wrinkled a frown before I even got on the bus. Her attempt to read my mind would get her nothing but the quiet of the street corner where I stood. I kept my face neutral. Nobody trusted a zero to begin with, but scowling back would only make the driver more suspicious. I gripped my backpack and gym bag tighter and climbed the grime-coated steps. The driver’s mental command whooshed the door closed behind me.
Yeah, junior year was off to a fantastic start already.
Students crammed the bus, which stank of too many bodies baking in the early morning heat. I shuffled past the dead-silent rows, avoiding backpacks and black instrument cases. Two years of being the Invisible Girl had taught me a few things. As long as I didn’t touch an exposed arm or speak out loud, the blank spot of my mind would go unnoticed in the swirling sea of their thoughts. Which was great, until I needed a seat on a crowded bus. With a soft hiss of water exhaust, the bus lurched forward. I grabbed a sticky seatback to keep from falling on three girls deep in mental conversation.
Two senior boys leered from the back row. The whole bus was within range, so they knew there were no thought waves beaming from my head. Yet, instead of ignoring me, they stared like hungry sharks. Last year, looks like those would have gotten them pummeled by my six-foot-two brother, Seamus. But Seamus had graduated, and the protective shadow he cast over me was gone.
Whatever sims the boys were thinking, students four rows ahead of them turned to watch. Shark Boy tipped his head to his friend, obviously discussing me as they stared. His friend’s lips parted to show a sliver of teeth, and he gestured to the only open seat on the bus.
Right in front of them.
I could complain to the driver, but she wouldn’t believe anything a zero told her. Shark Boy’s thoughts wouldn’t carry over the mental chaos of the bus, and speaking out loud would only get me thrown off.
I turned away from the wide grins on the boys’ faces and slowly sank into the seat. My cheeks burned with the expectant stares from the back half of the bus, but I kept my gaze on the suburban houses ambling past the window. The heat of Shark Boy’s hand reached me just before he brushed my bare skin, right below my t-shirt sleeve. I jerked away and clutched my gym bag like it was a shield.
Shark Boy and his friend rocked back with noiseless laughter, as if touching a zero was the height of funny. I shivered in spite of the heat and decided to take my chances with the unfriendly driver. By the time my shaking hands found handholds to the front, we had rounded the corner to the school parking lot. I ignored the driver’s insistent stare. As soon as the bus stopped, I pounded the button on her dash to manually activate the door and scurried out.
Once inside the main entrance of school, a scuffle of feet warned me to step back as a group of girls sailed past, looking all mesh with their band shirts and synced steps. One—Trina—cut too close and knocked shoulders with me. At first it seemed intentional, but then she acted as though I was something she would never touch on purpose. Heat rose in my face.
Harassment from readers shouldn’t get a rise out of me anymore, but I’d fallen out of practice, sticking close to home over the summer. Trina’s snub wouldn’t have hurt at all if her sweater wasn’t still hanging in my closet, a casualty from a time when we traded clothes and secrets. I guess she didn’t miss it.
I dug my schedule out of my backpack. At least the administration hadn’t put me in Changelings 101 again. As if a class on mindreading etiquette and self-control would help a zero like me. An anger management class would be more useful.
My first-period Latin class beckoned from a dozen yards down the hall, its blue plasma lights gleaming like a lighthouse in a hurricane. I narrowly avoided a pair of students air-kissing and skittered to the classroom door.
The new Latin teacher tried to be mesh with his shiny nove-fiber shirt. A circle of admiring students laughed silently at some mental joke. Seamus had warned me that I would need a hearing aid this year so the teachers could whisper their lectures to me while instructing everyone else via mindtalk. I had put it off, waiting for my brain to finally flip a switch and become normal, and hoping to get by in my classes until then. Meanwhile, to the teacher and his fans, I might as well be a dusty trashcan in the corner. I found a spot in the back, and a knot of certainty tied tight inside me.
I will never be like them.
My chair gained gravity and sank me deep into my seat.
