Book Review: Mind Made by Amy Lignor

Read and reviewed for Front Street Reviews

Annie, is a writer and a single mother trying to raise her daughter in a world that is becoming increasingly full of heartbreak and despair of bad news from a war that has found its way into the homes of America via the nightly news. She is living in a small Hamlet in Connecticut , and spends her evenings writing after her daughter Shelby is asleep. One cold winter night, while working, she drifts off to sleep and wakes in a totally unknown place.

Annie finds herself brought together with three others, who are also as confused at being there as she is. Matthew, Dean, and Annie’s good friend Julie. They are confronted by a horrific apparition made of mist which tells the four that they have been brought into it’s world for a purpose. The four of them had been torn from their world to play a game and prove that humanity has a right to live. To win, they must help each other through four tests. The tests will all stem from the deepest fears of each of the four being tested.

As time passes, the four strangers find the bonds of friendship and love forming between each other. As they face the harrowing trials set for each of them by their captor, these bonds give each person the strength to face their fears, and to help the others face their own trials. The combined strengths that each person brings to the group, along with their individual differences Annie, Dean, Max, and Julie are able to push themselves beyond physical and mental limits to travel the harrowing road set before them.

With love, the four can find the secret to saving mankind from the evil imprisoning them, and change their lives in the process. Will they be able to face their personal demons and accept the prize offered, or will evil triumph and bring about the doom of mankind?

Mind made is a thought provoking look into a realm where nothing is what it seems. Author Amy Lignor brings her readers a fast paced thrilling story of self development, and survival. I personally enjoyed seeing the development of the group from strangers to friends, and the tentative love that flowers between the two couples. The book made me want to know what happens next, and left me with a feeling of “what’s next?” as it came to its conclusion. This is the second book I’ve read by the author that I’ve enjoyed reading. I look forwards to seeing more from her in the future.