Mindwalker by A.J. Stieger

Warning: Spoilers! (duh.)

At seventeen, Lain Fisher has already aced the Institute's elite training program for Mindwalkers, therapists who use a direct neural link to erase a patient's traumatic memories. A prodigy and the daughter of a renowned scientist-whose unexplained death left her alone in the world-Lain is driven by the need to save others.

When Steven, a troubled classmate, asks her to wipe a horrific childhood experience from his mind, Lain's superiors warn her to stay away. Steven's scars are too deep, they say; the risk too great. Yet the more time Lain spends with him, the more she begins to question everything about her society. As she defies the warnings and explores Steven's memories, it becomes clear that he's connected to something much bigger…something the Institute doesn't want the world to discover.

Lain never expected to be a rule breaker. She certainly didn't plan on falling in love with a boy she's been forbidden to help. But then, she never expected to stumble into a conspiracy that could ignite a revolution.  

A.J. Steiger

Published June 4th 2015 Oneworld Publications

Paperback, 400 pages

A graduate of Columbia University in Chicago, A. J. Steiger majored in Fiction Writing, and from the impeccable writing skill within this debut YA novel it was well worth the money. Now, I feel forced to mention that YES! This is a series, but of only two books. BOO! The first book Mindwalker is not simply another dystopian novel trying to make a quick book. This book is a true testament to the genre. YA can so often be passed off as frivolous, less crafted form of novel writing. I have always full-heartedly disagreed, and books like this one are the reason why.

With the upsurgence of positive representation of mental illness currently circling the media, Mindwalker is the perfect book, published at the perfect time. Mindwalker may seem like a typical "teenage girl out to save the world from evil corporation" type book, but in fact, this is novel about depression. This book is about psychology and the world's reaction to it, when the psychological state of someone is not "normal". The protagonist Lain herself has suffered depression after the death of her father, this leads her to require 'conditioning' purging her off "abnormal" thoughts. In a society that treats mental illness as a plague, they label each person according to the strength of their mental psyche. After conditioning Lain gets her number back up to her number, she begins her apprenticeship as a *wait for it* mindwalker! (It's the name of the book, geddit? It's a job)

This career entails in her, removing the memories that scar like daggers. PTSD, sexual abuse and anything else you can think of. She lives the memories and then removes them, what amazing technology! But what happens when she meets a boy who has no memory of his past? Well, I'll tell you what happens. SHIT GOES DOWN! She secretly helps Steven, going through his memories in order to delete them, then she notices something odd. His memories aren't real, he was conditioned to believe false truths...and so the journey begins.

I'll admit, not the most original idea, but then again, are there any original ideas. I think the more important thing about this novel is Steiger's fresh voice. Her voice, her thoughts are what make this narrative so compelling. I am with Lain, on every page through every twist and turn and I am very upset that there are only two books. It is funny and moving, and Lain has this endearing heroine quality in which she isn't violent or coincidentally equipped with amazing talents. Lain is a normal girl trying to do the right thing, and it is so refreshing. You're often taught on writing courses that if your character is good enough, you don't need to worry about a narrative and I think if there was no plot to this story, it would still be compelling because Lain is compelling. Lain and Steven are partners in crime that are here to cause trouble, and you are gonna want to read this book before Mindstormer comes out in 2016.


FAN OF SLATED? THIS IS THE BOOK FOR YOU.

Happy Reading