What do you think?
Rate this book
Mindstorms: Stories to Blow Your Mind
A fanciful collection of stories ranges from the tale of a teenager on a cruise who is visited by a time traveler from 350 million years ago to that of a boy who picks up the wrong luggage at the airport and finds that the clothes are a perfect fit, except for the third arm. Original.
115 pages, Paperback
First published November 15, 1996
256 people want to read
About the author
Neal Shusterman
90 books29.9k followersAward-winning author Neal Shusterman grew up in Brooklyn, New York, where he began writing at an early age. After spending his junior and senior years of high school at the American School of Mexico City, Neal went on to UC Irvine, where he made his mark on the UCI swim team, and wrote a successful humor column. Within a year of graduating, he had his first book deal, and was hired to write a movie script.
In the years since, Neal has made his mark as a successful novelist, screenwriter, and television writer. As a full-time writer, he claims to be his own hardest task-master, always at work creating new stories to tell. His books have received many awards from organizations such as the International Reading Association, and the American Library Association, as well as garnering a myriad of state and local awards across the country. Neal's talents range from film directing (two short films he directed won him the coveted CINE Golden Eagle Awards) to writing music and stage plays – including book and lyrical contributions to “American Twistory,” which is currently playing in Boston. He has even tried his hand at creating Games, having developed three successful "How to Host a Mystery" game for teens, as well as seven "How to Host a Murder" games.
As a screen and TV writer, Neal has written for the "Goosebumps" and “Animorphs” TV series, and wrote the Disney Channel Original Movie “Pixel Perfect”. Currently Neal is adapting his novel Everlost as a feature film for Universal Studios.
Wherever Neal goes, he quickly earns a reputation as a storyteller and dynamic speaker. Much of his fiction is traceable back to stories he tells to large audiences of children and teenagers -- such as his novel The Eyes of Kid Midas. As a speaker, Neal is in constant demand at schools and conferences. Degrees in both psychology and drama give Neal a unique approach to writing. Neal's novels always deal with topics that appeal to adults as well as teens, weaving true-to-life characters into sensitive and riveting issues, and binding it all together with a unique and entertaining sense of humor.
Of Everlost, School Library Journal wrote: “Shusterman has reimagined what happens after death and questions power and the meaning of charity. While all this is going on, he has also managed to write a rip-roaring adventure…”
Of What Daddy Did, Voice of Youth Advocates wrote; "This is a compelling, spell-binding story... A stunning novel, impossible to put down once begun.
Of The Schwa Was Here, School Library Journal wrote: “Shusterman's characters–reminiscent of those crafted by E. L. Konigsburg and Jerry Spinelli–are infused with the kind of controlled, precocious improbability that magically vivifies the finest children's classics.
Of Scorpion Shards, Publisher's Weekly wrote: "Shusterman takes an outlandish comic-book concept, and, through the sheer audacity and breadth of his imagination makes it stunningly believable. A spellbinder."
And of The Eyes of Kid Midas, The Midwest Book Review wrote "This wins our vote as one of the best young-adult titles of the year" and was called "Inspired and hypnotically readable" by School Library Journal.
Neal Shusterman lives in Southern California with his children Brendan, Jarrod, Joelle, and Erin, who are a constant source of inspiration!
In the years since, Neal has made his mark as a successful novelist, screenwriter, and television writer. As a full-time writer, he claims to be his own hardest task-master, always at work creating new stories to tell. His books have received many awards from organizations such as the International Reading Association, and the American Library Association, as well as garnering a myriad of state and local awards across the country. Neal's talents range from film directing (two short films he directed won him the coveted CINE Golden Eagle Awards) to writing music and stage plays – including book and lyrical contributions to “American Twistory,” which is currently playing in Boston. He has even tried his hand at creating Games, having developed three successful "How to Host a Mystery" game for teens, as well as seven "How to Host a Murder" games.
As a screen and TV writer, Neal has written for the "Goosebumps" and “Animorphs” TV series, and wrote the Disney Channel Original Movie “Pixel Perfect”. Currently Neal is adapting his novel Everlost as a feature film for Universal Studios.
Wherever Neal goes, he quickly earns a reputation as a storyteller and dynamic speaker. Much of his fiction is traceable back to stories he tells to large audiences of children and teenagers -- such as his novel The Eyes of Kid Midas. As a speaker, Neal is in constant demand at schools and conferences. Degrees in both psychology and drama give Neal a unique approach to writing. Neal's novels always deal with topics that appeal to adults as well as teens, weaving true-to-life characters into sensitive and riveting issues, and binding it all together with a unique and entertaining sense of humor.
Of Everlost, School Library Journal wrote: “Shusterman has reimagined what happens after death and questions power and the meaning of charity. While all this is going on, he has also managed to write a rip-roaring adventure…”
Of What Daddy Did, Voice of Youth Advocates wrote; "This is a compelling, spell-binding story... A stunning novel, impossible to put down once begun.
Of The Schwa Was Here, School Library Journal wrote: “Shusterman's characters–reminiscent of those crafted by E. L. Konigsburg and Jerry Spinelli–are infused with the kind of controlled, precocious improbability that magically vivifies the finest children's classics.
Of Scorpion Shards, Publisher's Weekly wrote: "Shusterman takes an outlandish comic-book concept, and, through the sheer audacity and breadth of his imagination makes it stunningly believable. A spellbinder."
And of The Eyes of Kid Midas, The Midwest Book Review wrote "This wins our vote as one of the best young-adult titles of the year" and was called "Inspired and hypnotically readable" by School Library Journal.
Neal Shusterman lives in Southern California with his children Brendan, Jarrod, Joelle, and Erin, who are a constant source of inspiration!
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 4, 2022
There are two versions of this book. The first edition published in 1996 contains 8 stories, and the edition published in 2002 which contains 17 stories, the first original 8 plus the ones found in
Mindbenders: Stories to Warp Your Brain. You might want to keep that in mind if you plan on buying this hard-to-find book. Better check your local library first though! Rating break down [out of 5 stars]:
Pacific Rim 5
I of the Storm 1
Opabinia 3
Dawn Terminator 3
Midnight Michelangelo 2
Ralphy Sherman's Inside Story 2
He Opens a Window 2
Clothes Make the Man 1
As always the anthology includes the "Where they came from." section as all the books in this anthology series do, and it's always fun to know where the author got the inspiration for each story, it's a nice bonus.
Mindbenders: Stories to Warp Your Brain. You might want to keep that in mind if you plan on buying this hard-to-find book. Better check your local library first though! Rating break down [out of 5 stars]:
Pacific Rim 5
I of the Storm 1
Opabinia 3
Dawn Terminator 3
Midnight Michelangelo 2
Ralphy Sherman's Inside Story 2
He Opens a Window 2
Clothes Make the Man 1
As always the anthology includes the "Where they came from." section as all the books in this anthology series do, and it's always fun to know where the author got the inspiration for each story, it's a nice bonus.
August 10, 2018
Great short book of short stories!
October 16, 2022
I know I’m no longer the target audience, just as I know 10-year-old me would have loved this book. Me now: meh. Great ideas, just didn’t do it for me.
August 25, 2013
Over all I was a little disappointed with this anthology, because I've come to expect great things from Neal Shusterman. There were a few stories that were mindblowingly awesome, but as a whole I'd say Mindstorms was just okay. My favorite stories included Opabinia, both Ralphy Sherman stories, CLothes Make The Man, Mail Merge, and Bad Fortune At Wong Lee's.
November 8, 2012
Read this while in middle school.. Im grown and the short stories of this book still bring back fond memories and the whimsical fantasies that came with them.. good read for kids who like the old goosebumps tales..
March 10, 2009
This is THE WORST book EVER!!
September 30, 2015
Read this book many times as a kid. Still remember a lot of the stories in detail.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews