Broken Wide (Mindjack Book Six)

4.5 stars--BROKEN WIDE is the sixth full-length instalment in Susan Kaye Quinn’s young adult (YA) MINDJACK urban fantasy, sci-fi, dystopian series, and the third and final instalment focusing on Zephyr ‘Zeph’ MacCay-a young man with the ability to lock down, lock out, unlock and scramble the human mind. SOME BACKGROUND: In a world where mindreading is the norm (due to decades of contaminated or purposely poisoned water) there are those with more powerful abilities than most. These are their stories of discrimination, betrayal, retribution and control. Throughout the years the human population has developed various forms of mind-reading, mind altering and mind controlling abilities due to environmental toxins. And to complicate matters those without the ability to mindjack are purposely setting out to bring war between the have and the have-nots fearing for their own peace of mind. Told from first person point of view (Zeph) BROKEN WIDE continues to focus on Zeph, and his underground group of mind ‘readers’, and mind ‘jackers’ as they struggle to prevent anti-jacker technology destroying them all. Zephyr MacCay, blessed with powerful abilities beyond anyone’s comprehension finds himself imprisoned by warring government factions whose primary goal is to eradicate the mind jackers, and everyone they love. From the proverbial frying pan into the fire Zephyr must ‘sell’ himself to the man in charge but not before placing a plan into motion to reveal the truth about what happened and what is about to go down. BROKEN WIDE is an infinitely detailed, well-written, extensive look at discrimination at the highest levels. From ‘fake news’ to autocratic and authoritarian government leaders BROKEN WIDE reveals the fight for power and the destruction of the mind as greed, authority and the right to control are at the center of a decades old scientific disaster that has led to the bigotry, hatred and injustice for all. Susan Kaye Quinn pulls the reader into a potential future marred by secrets, lies and inexcusable experiments resulting in a world determined to destroy itself one mind at a time.

This is the sixth book in the MindJack series where humans have evolved the ability to broadcast their thoughts–but the new wrinkle is mindreaders who can hijack your brain. These “mindjackers” are a super powerful minority, being hunted for experimentation and extermination. And Zeph, a “locksmith” mindjacker who can lock and unlock the toughest minds, will do whatever it takes to keep himself and his family safe. As we all know, hope is a force that wins hearts, minds and battles. Hope is the foundation of BROKEN WIDE. Fundamentally, the MindJack series is about discrimination, and surviving intact after the powerful have sought to crush you. It’s a timely allegory to the current political climate where discrimination by the government (of any marginalized community) is lauded by people who have fear or prejudice ruling their emotions. For readers, it’s a chilling journey into discovering what the experience might be for a marginalized population. The government has ideologically decided that jackers are Public Enemy Number One, and need to be studied and eradicated. And yet, throughout, it’s a humanizing story. One of hope and desperation, and succeeding against all odds against your most feared, armed, bully. BROKEN WIDE is the final book in Zeph’s trilogy, and it’s a terrifying ride. He’s desperate to save the people he loves, but soon realizes the plan to eradicate all jackers will lead to more broken families and dead teens–murdered by the purity-minded Readers First Front and sanctioned by the government. Terrified families are listing their jacker members in chat rooms based on the paranoia the government keeps propagating. Despite the danger, Zeph heads back into the chilling Tiller mansion, masquerading as a reader while helping Juliette Tiller find as much evidence as she can on her father–while also gaining intel on the planned attack on JackerTown and the technology Tiller’s company has built to find weaknesses that Jacker’s can exploit. Dr. Wright, an unwilling associate of Tiller’s agrees to keep his jacking ability secret, if Zeph agrees to do what she wants in the near future, namely make mind-blasted super jackers Wright calls “Obedient” for an army that she alone can control with her mind. It’s a sick bargain, but it’s the only way to stay alive in the Tiller home. Not that they can stay for lone. Tiller’s plans for Zeph and Juliette are straight out of a nightmare and their need to remain intact soon overcomes the need for intel. And, the leave not a moment too soon. Jackertown, a safe zone for jackers buried within the metro area of what was once Chicago, is under siege. If they are lucky, Zeph might save a few of them with his mindlocking gift. This isn’t the end of the road, however. No. Zeph’s determined to turn the anti-jacker hysteria with a hefty dose of truth. His surreal experiences take him to the highest levels of power, and he looks true evil in the face. Even as he promised to build more Obedient for the government, he knows he’s going to honor his vow to restore jackers to equal standing–fellow humans with what can be new and helpful gifts. Connecting with the Jacker Freedom Alliance and the mindreading Free Thinkers helps Zeph get the truth out at exactly the right time. Not that anything goes to plan. Still, Zeph’s never thought of himself as a hero–he only acts like one every day, and all the time. Even as hes’ making the difficult decisions, it’s all in the hope that he’ll get just far enough to make good on his vow, and protect whichever vulnerable people he can, in whatever way possible. That he finally gets a happy ending is only the sweetest part of the whole series so far.

Zeph’s story concludes in the final installment of the Mindjack series. As with all stories that have preceded it, this novel gives us even more insight into the Mindjacking world, how it came to be and what are the implications of all of that has happened thus far. In many ways mirroring many major themes at play in the world today, this story is gritty and shows you just how far the underbelly of the Mindjack world goes. As we’ve seen in his previous stories, Zeph finds himself at the center of many moving parts, a position that he’s now become accustomed to. Zeph accepts the daunting position in which he finds himself and somehow manages to navigate through the chaos that surrounds him, as the reader following him along the path, we experience one curveball after another with Zeph, reeling as each layer that is peeled back uncovers something new, each discovery more explosive than the next. Through it all, Zeph proves himself to be the hero we’ve always known that he could be, and with that we see his story come to a satisfying conclusion. If you love the Mindjack world, then you’ll love this novel, and I recommend reading all the books in this series in order to ensure the best possible reader experience. Hold on and enjoy the ride!