Trick of the Mind [Hardcover]

Judy Waite (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2005

Erin falls for Matt from the first minute she sees him - she tries to impress him with her magic tricks and he seems quite keen. But what Erin doesn't know is that Matt is mad about Kirsty - he only wants to learn to impress her. Matt's life is a mess and when he makes a startling discovery he decides to head off to London and try and make a life for himself on the streets of Covent Garden. BLAn accessible, yet thoughtful, teenage read, with endearing characters that the reader will come to know and sympathize with BLEmotionally-charged story about not fitting in with the crowd and being a bit of an outsider BLJudy Waite is a promising OUP author whose previous book, Shopaholic, sold to the USA and Germany

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6 Up–A contemporary mystery that misses its mark. Erin becomes smitten with Matt when she first meets him at the castle, the popular teenage hangout, but the feeling is not mutual. She decides she will impress him and hopefully win his affection by teaching him the secrets to some of her magic tricks. Matt, who has an unusual talent of his own, is astonished with Erin's skill and comes to enjoy her friendship. When family and emotional problems convince him that he is better off on his own, he flees to London, where he turns to performing the tricks he knows to survive on the streets. At the same time, the girl on whom he has a crush turns up dead and he is a suspect. It is at this time that Erin finally learns that Matt's feelings toward her were of friendship, not of love. Her perspective and self-centered motives to grab Matt's affection eventually lead to feelings of betrayal and she turns against him. The story, written from the alternating perspectives of Erin and Matt, uses different text fonts throughout to differentiate between the two speakers. Due to this format, dialogue is repeated, which readers may find a bit tedious. Weak characterizations and inconsistent writing further complicate the story. Teens are likely to be confused by the unexplained voices inside Matt's head and his bizarre talent. This forgettable story is lacking in the magical qualities found in a well-written book.–Christine McGinty, Newark Public Library, NY
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 8-11. Waite follows Shopaholic (2003) with another cautionary tale about English teens. Erin likes Matt, but Matt likes Kirsty, and Kirsty already has a boyfriend, the bullying Billy. But wallflower Erin has a talent--she is a magician. One afternoon, she demonstrates her magic tricks for a group of teens at the abandoned castle where students go to kiss, take drugs, or just hang out. Billy teases her, but Matt is intrigued, and so begins a friendship driven by Matt's pity and fueled by Erin's infatuation. Told in alternating voices (and fonts) by Matt and Erin, the story shows Erin's fantasies growing disproportionately in response to Matt's kindness. Miscommunication, innocent mistakes, and Billy's abusive nature propel things to a violent climax. Although there's nothing subtle here, Waite creates distinctive voices, fully realized and intriguingly flawed characters, and an ending that will spur discussion. Debbie Carton
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Atheneum (February 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689870140
• ISBN-13: 978-0689870149
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 4.7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,193,373 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A Trick of the Mind, May 10, 2006

By 

Wavedancer (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Trick of the Mind (Hardcover)

Erin, a shy, reserved girl without an easy home life, has one talent working for her: she is an amazing magician. When demonstrating her talents to a group of students, one boy, Matt, is intrigued, and asks to see more. What started for him as an innocent interest in card tricks quickly turns into, on Erin's part, an infatuation with him. Of of pity, Matt treats her with kindness, but Erin can not see the obvious: that he already likes someone else. When a girl turns up dead and the blame is pinned on Matt, who coincidentally ran away at the same time, Erin, finally realizing that it was never anything but friendship he had in mind, betrays him utterly. Events spiral out of control until the final, very climatic, ending.

This book, in my opinion, was neither enjoyable nor well written. Characters invoked little but stale pity, and Erin's infatuation with Matt at times reached almost sickening proportions. Matt has several issues going on in his own life that are never clearly explained, and the plot does not get very interesting until the end. Character development and realism is minimal, and the book just isn't enjoyable.

3.0 out of 5 stars Its ok, but..., October 6, 2005

By 

book_fanatic101 (Pahoa, HI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Trick of the Mind (Hardcover)

...I didn't really care for it.
Here are my reasons:
a)the ending is unsatisfying(I know, spelled wrong)
b)a little too fast paced, everything is rushed.
c)Waite didn't really show me the way of a wallpapers mind, there are a couple of points where she could go further