Mind games

Kliatt, July, 2003 by Paula Rohrlick

GRUNWELL, Jeanne Marie. Mind games. Houghton Mifflin. 174p. illus. c2003. 0-618-17672-1. $15.00.

The six students in Mr. Ennis's 7th-grade Mad Science Club decide to do an experiment on ESP, and they reveal the results through their individual science reports as well as through newspaper articles. Ben is a brilliant science geek; Marina is a recent Russian immigrant, with shaky English; Claire and Kathleen are identical twins, though Claire is a honor roll student and Kathleen, who suffered brain damage at birth and is prone to erratic behavior, is in special education; Ji is a popular Korean girl; while Brandon, still trying to cope with the recent death of his mother. would rather be playing basketball. When Ben suggests that they test their ESP skills by choosing lottery numbers (his father purchases the tickets, to make it legal). they all scoff at first, but eventually give it a try--and win $500, as well as first place at the school and the county science fairs for their experiment. As each student gives his or her report, we learn about their personalities, their families, and their interrelations hips. The novel's format, complete with their experiments, is lively, and the students' write-ups are humorous and revealing. At the end, they know much more about themselves and each other--they've learned something about perception, not just ESP, and the reader will enjoy getting to know them, too. A fun read, and a great choice for middle school students.