My biggest problem with Stranger Things is that there's too much pre-teen drama and not enough spooky stuff/weird government conspiracy stuff. I find myself far more interested in what's going on in Hawkins Lab than I am in what Dustin, Mike, Will, and Luke are up to. So, getting through the show is always a bit of an ordeal for me as I just want the weird, spooky stuff. So, when Suspicious Minds was announced as the first official Stranger Things tie-in novel, I was pretty excited. It sounded like I'd finally be getting my wish. I'm happy to report that this novel is full of weird, creepy government stuff and I adored every page of it.

First off, this novel is dark. I mean Stranger Things has always been a bit dark, but it always had that same kind of lightness that a lot of Speilberg films had, which lightened that darkness some. Suspicious Minds does not have that lightness. First off, it's focused on young adults - not children - so, it's immediately a bit more grown-up than much of the TV series is. Add to that the new information about just what went on during Project MKUltra - Acid trips, electro-shock tests, and the full story about what happened to Eleven's mother in this program - and you've got a story that might actually be a bit too dark for a family-friendly TV show to tackle. That being said, I love how dark this book is. Like I said earlier, I've always wanted Stranger Things to focus a bit more on the government conspiracy storyline and that's exactly what this novel does.

Suspicious Minds is also surprisingly scary. Most of the scares in Stranger Things comes from the visual horror of the various monsters - and the Upside Down itself - so I wasn't sure how that horror would translate in a novel. Gwenda Bond was smart, however, in not trying to replicate that horror. There are some monsters and supernatural stuff in Suspicious Minds, sure, but most of the scares come from the horrific things people in power - like Dr. Brenner - are doing to other people. The real scares come from seeing just how far Brenner is willing to go with this project; how many lives he's willing to ruin, how many people he's willing to hurt. The experiences that Terry - and her friends - go through in this novel are where the true horror lies, and Gwenda Bond does an amazing job at exploring that horror.

I don't wanna spoil much of what happens in the book, so I'm not going to go into much detail about the actual plot of the book. I will, however, talk some more about the characters and the writing. There are four main characters in this book: Terry Ives (mother of Eleven), Alice, Gloria, and Ken. All four of them are part of the MKUltra research and all four of them are subjected to some pretty awful stuff by Dr. Brenner. As hinted at in the show, Dr. Brenner is trying to research the powers of the human mind and what it can do while also researching superpowered people - like Kali (Eight) and, eventually, Eleven. The book is told, primarily, from Terry's point of view, though the point of view does occasionally shift to the other characters as needed. This works really well as it lets us get into Terry's head and really see her as a fully three-dimensional character. In fact, Gwenda Bond does a great job at making every character in this novel feel fully developed, even side characters such as Andrew - Terry's boyfriend - and her sister and her roommate. Like the show, the characters in this novel are some of the best parts.

The pacing in Suspicious Minds is also really strong. Things get moving pretty quickly and once they've started, they don't stop. Each chapter is fairly lengthy - it's a 320-page book with only 12 chapters - so each chapter feels almost like a mini-episode in a season of a TV show. This format works really well as every time you finish a chapter, you really feel like you've moved ahead in the overall narrative of the story. Every chapter has a point and a natural ending but each chapter also works with the rest to tell a complete, satisfying story. Bond perfectly balances a good amount of description with the narrative drive of the story. There is never a moment where you feel like the energy has been killed because too much time has been spent describing something but there is also never a moment where you find yourself longing for more description; it's a really good balance. In general, Bond's writing in this novel is just superb. Each character sounds distinct, the pacing is superb, the prose is engaging as hell. It's just all around enjoyable.

All in all, I think I like Stranger Things: Suspicious Minds more than I like the actual TV series. It is everything that I wish the TV series was. It's filled with lots of spooky government shenanigans, some truly horrific moments, and a bunch of characters that are fully formed and immediately relatable. Gwenda Bond's writing is superb, immediately drawing the reader into the world of the novel and keeping their attention as the story unfolds and more and more mysteries begin to unravel. The pacing is superb; once the story gets started, it never stops and you find yourself never wanting to set the book down. Overall, I just really adored this book. It's an absolute must-read for anyone who's a fan of Stranger Things and I'd honestly even recommend it to people who didn't love the show. If you like weird government conspiracies tied in with pseudo-history, you'll like this book. It's absolutely fabulous. ( )

A prequel to Stranger Things...

As a stand-alone story it really works better than as a prequel to a pre established world. It does work ok to develop Dr Brennan, but it does not do too well in other areas:

1.) Khali is better introduced but there’s not much to really expand on... a more interesting approach would had been to bring more numbered subjects (eg 009 and 010?) in addition to the already known 008.

2.) The book does not offer anything new that really expands what we new of Terry (Eleven’s mother). All of her story was nicely summed up during Season 2 of the show.

The highlight was the new characters, Andrew, Gloria, Ken and Alice and the insights on the Russian research which was a good setup for Season 3. Hopeful we might see some of these characters make an appearance on Season 4.

In summary: As it is you lose nothing by skipping the book if you’re watching the series. You don’t gain much by reading it either. Hardcore fans will like it but the general audience will miss the kid cast and the monsters.
( )

This was interesting for fans of the show, but I wouldn't recommend it to people who aren't looking for an ST fix in between seasons. The characters are pretty bland and the action such as it is wouldn't mean a whole lot without the references to things we see in the show. ( )

Whether through laziness or ineptness, Gwenda Bond doesn't exactly set the ball rolling for the launch of the Stranger Things tie-in novels. Even allowing for the fact that the Netflix show is a tough act to follow and that tie-in novels, particularly prequels, find it notoriously difficult to breathe, this should have been much, much better.

Suspicious Minds is nothing more than low-rent, generic YA fiction – a band of misfits come together to banter tediously and support each other emotionally, complete with lots of hugs and pep-talks and a gay friend. The narration repeats itself, and explains every nuance in thought or conversation, so that even the slowest reader will not be left behind. Googling the author after reading the book, I was not surprised to find a blue-haired woman posing with a cat, for in Suspicious Minds every man is obnoxious or creepy or incompetent – except for Eleven's father and the gay guy, of course – and every woman is helpful and compassionate, even the female doctor who aids Brenner in his experiments.

But the main flaw with the book is that it doesn't feel like Stranger Things. The Netflix show is eerily effective at making you want to binge-watch it in one sitting, drawing you in with its storytelling and characterisation, but Suspicious Minds is incredibly stodgy. There are no thrills or suspense or even conspiracy, despite the fact that the book is meant to be about Eleven's mother uncovering the secrets of Brenner's lab. The prose and dialogue are both poor, the characters are weak and the ending is perfunctory. There is no page-turning quality to it whatsoever, which is damning even before you put it up against the addictive quality of its source.

Furthermore, it commits the cardinal tie-in sin of disrupting the canon. I don't think the timelines cohere with the show, whilst Terry Ives is different – her characterisation bent to the whims of a clunky plot – and El's father is underwhelming. I really doubt that the show will consider itself tied to Bond's pedestrian 'vision'; if anything, tie-ins of this low level of commitment and quality will likely be swept under the rug once sales dry up, and deservedly so. ( )

Four young adults have volunteered to be part of an experiment. Little did they know that the man running these experiments in a secret lab in Hawkins Indiana would soon control their lives. Ken an apparent psychic, Gloria a black woman from a well to do family, Gloria the youngest who is a brilliant mechanic and Terry an unassuming college student. They are all given hallucinating drugs and Gloria even receives shock therapy. They quickly realize that nothing is what it seems. While they leave the lab for home after every session they are still in the grip of the lab. After becoming pregnant Terry comes up with a plan to get them away from the lab and protect what the lab wants most, her unborn child.

My Thoughts:

I love all things Stranger Things, and was excited when I heard there would be novels coming out. When I read the premise of the first book by Gwenda Bond I was a little weary. I didn’t think it would feel like Stranger Things with out Micheal and his gang or being set in the 80’s. But I really wanted to know more about 11’s mom Terry. I wanted to find out how this all started. I pretty much wanted to get my hands on anything that had to do with the Netflix series that I loved so much. So I went into this book with an open mind and was not disappointed. In this book we get a new group of friends and a new time period set in the late 60’s. The Vietnam war is going on and many people do not trust the goverment. We are introduced to Terry Ives during what I believe is her first year in college. Gwenda Bond gives Terry a great back story. My first impression about Terry while watching the show was that she was a stoner hippie that got in over her head and probably didn’t even know who Eleven’s father was. Turns out Terry was a smart student who got involved in these “experiments” hoping to shed some light on wrong doings. She had a boyfriend named Andrew and friends but also became very close to the group that was in the lab with her. Dr. Brenner is here and it shows just how evil and controlling he is. Just how the show has a true 80’s vibe to it, this book felt like the 60’s I could imagine the characters wearing bell bottoms and platform shoes. The guys with long hair and mustaches and could hear The Mamas and The Papas playing in the background. It stayed so true to that era with the way woman were treated and the fear young men had of being drafted into the war. 8 is also featured heavily and the story fits in seamlessly with the Stranger Things universe that we know and love. If you are a fan of the show you can’t go wrong with this book. ( )