Being of Two Minds

by Pamela F. Service

Connie Hendricks was a typical American teen except for her dizzy spells, when she would pass out. When this happened, she entered the mind and soul of Prince Rudolph, the fourteen-year-old heir apparent of Thulgaria, a small European country. Prince Rudolph had spells too, when he entered Connie's mind and life. Everything was just fine, and their "trick" was their special secret -- until Rudolph was kidnapped while Connie was inside his mind . . .


From the Paperback edition.

Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Young Adult, Childrens, Fiction, Paranormal, Teen

160 pages, Paperback

First published October 31, 1991

About the author

Born in Berkeley, California, Pamela F. Service grew up loving to hear, read, and tell stories - particularly about weird stuff. Pamela earned a BA in Political Science from UC Berkeley followed by an MA in history and archaeology from the University of London.

She spent many years living in Bloomington, Indiana, writing, serving on the city council, and being curator of a history museum. She has a grown daughter, Alex, who is also a museum curator. Pamela is now living in Eureka, California, where she writes, works as a museum curator, and acts in community theater.

Reviews

[Azar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another Service favorite and one of the few of hers I managed to get my hands on when it first came out. It has since fallen out of print like many others. :-\

The premise *sounds* like standard science fiction fare: Connie is an American teenager, Rudy is the heir apparent to a tiny European kingdom, and they've been psychically linked ever since they can remember. That link comes in handy when Rudy's position puts him in danger. But one of my favorite things about this book is that the psychic bond between Connie and Rudy is not your traditional telepathy. It's...more like some sort of astral projection version of a foreign exchange program. *g*

What this means is that the challenges the two characters face are also very unusual, particularly once Rudy gets kidnapped and Connie's last "visit" to him is the only information they have on where he's being held. Overall, it's an intriguing premise, (IMO) well-executed. Definitely recommend.

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although this is a kid's book I've loved it for years and have read it many times. The only thing I have a complaint about is, is that it's way too short. I love the premise, two minds having a bond that can't be defined by science and how it is used to help two people.

[Jessica Coyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok, this is a book for children, but hear me out. I read this as a kiddo and for some reason (probably just some kid checked it out and never returned it) it disappeared from the library and I could never find it again. The problem was that I didn’t remember the title or author’s name. Years later I tried and failed to find it again (on a live journal community, of all places.) Recently, I did some googling and holy hell, there it was.

As the quote on the cover from “School Library Journal” says, “An unusual idea sets the scene, and the plot moves quickly to a satisfying end.” LOL at that quote by the way. Talk about damning with faint praise.

Aaaaanyway, this book captured my attention as a kid, and is part of what made me go on to love sci-do and fantasy so much. Thank you Pamela F. Service, author of “Stinker from Space.”

[Kim Coleman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Connie is a fourteen year old girl who experiences "episodes". she will pass out for a couple hours and her mind will connect with a fourteen year old prince living halfway around the world. for their whole life, they've been experiencing this, going back and forth between each others minds. but when Prince Rudy is kidnapped, its up to Connie to save him. little by little she puts the pieces together from what she sees from his mind.
i really enjoyed this book. it was very fun and excited but also very innocent. there is nothing to warn others about and i would recommend this book to anyone and everyone.

[Cinco · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very simple, uncomplicated YA story about telepathy (sort of). I read this for the first time when I was about thirteen. I found the total lack of romance refreshing, and I enjoyed the American main character's travels in Europe.

[Stacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A favourite of my young adult years.

[Uziah Mcdonlald · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is so cool i love this read in 2 days i might read again :)

[Aelvana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Connie and Rudy are two teenagers on opposite ends of the globe, but they've been connected since birth. Each one is prone to strange spells which leaves their mind inside the other's. It's a condition both of their families would like to cure, but Connie and Rudy themselves don't want it to end. But Rudy is a prince of a tiny country, and when politics intervene, their connection might be the only thing that can save him.

One thing I really appreciate about older children's books like this is that the story doesn't waste any time. Connie's predicament is clear from page one, and the relationship between her and Rudy is both a blessing and a curse to the both of them. They desperately want to share more than they are---taste and smell don't translate, nor can they communicate while in each other's consciousness---but at the same time, randomly passing out causes those around them to consider them seriously unhealthy.

The only real complaint I have is that I'd like to see more of these two and where they go in the future. This being a stand alone book, any future adventures will have to stay as hints.

Overall, though, it's a very quick (less than 150 pages) read that tells a solid story. I rate this book Recommended.

See my reviews and more at https://offtheshelfreviews.wordpress....

[Lydia Brown]

Decided to revisit a book I was obsessed with as a child when I went to counsel at summer camp. Just look at that cover art, this book is sooooo trans coded (a boy and girl experience fainting spells where they enter each others' minds), so you know I had to go back to analyze my young queer mind. Sure enough, here's a gem from Chapter 2:

"Mechanically he undressed.... He scarcely though about the fact that there was a girl inside his mind while he did this. He'd been inside her mind as often at such times, and as far as he was concerned, they were almost two forms of the same person."

GGGGGAAAAYYYYYY! Also in 5th grade, for Halloween I dressed as half boy/half girl. Because that's a normal thing for 9-yr-olds to do.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Childhood favorite that I re-read with my nine year old. The idea of two people, a world apart, who occasionally drop into each other's lives and see through their eyes, because of a shared birth moment and other commonalities, where one is a crown prince of a tiny European country and the other a normal American girl in suburban Chicago, has always appealed to me. Add in a kidnapping and desperate rescue attempt, and it's unputdownable.

[Alison Beechner · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my fave books as a kid, I used to check it out from the library over and over.

[Sophia Renner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing, question-bringing, and satisfying to the reader! By far one of my favorite reads!

[Stephanie Prysock]

I read this book as a kid and the premise is one that always stuck with me. It was fun to read this to my kids. I don’t think they loved it as much as I did, but they did enjoy it!

[Kathryn Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rare to find a story whose plot interests me enough that I don't even care who the characters are, or that they're barely more than names. This story's plot riveted me.

[Julie Decker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Connie and Prince Rudolph have a curious connection: Though they've never met in person, they spend time in each other's heads. Having been born at the exact same time, they've had a lifelong experience of regularly scheduled blackouts in which they seem passed out in their everyday life but are actually conscious in the other person's head, looking out through their eyes (though there is no exchange of thoughts). These two kids grow up with this being part of life, and they learn about each other's lives and speak each other's languages. Neither of them have any aspirations of using this unique experience for anything special, but Rudolph is a prince, and when he is kidnapped, Connie is the only one who knows what happened to him because she was "visiting" when the crime occurred. Now she must find a way to track him down and save him when nobody in their right mind will believe that she knows what she knows.

The premise of this is one of the more unique ones I've seen. Limited consciousness transference on a predictable timetable, with no real explanation. (I don't know what being born at the same time has to do with this phenomenon, but I'm okay with unexplained things happening in books without part of the plot being dedicated to uncovering its cause.) And I like that these two wanted to get to know each other after living apart and living together for their whole lives, and how it was realistically troubling for their family members that they regularly pass out to have these episodes. It was a nice touch that they took them to doctors to try to diagnose them. And I like that a guy and a girl are featured in a book where they have an important relationship but they're not trying to get busy with each other. The reason I didn't like it more was that despite the unusual and intriguing premise, I wasn't sold on the execution. I didn't feel very pulled in by the narration or attached to the characters. There was a distance between the reader and the character that kept me from appreciating it as much as I wanted to.

[Swankivy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book's premise is a little bizarre, and I didn't really mind that it was never explained "how" or "why." (Main character Connie has fairly predictable blackouts in which her consciousness enters Prince Rudolph's mind across the ocean, where she's an observer for a short time before waking up again. Rudolph has the same deal where he travels to her mind. They've lived with it since they can remember and have determined they were born at the same exact time.) Part of the story is just about how their unique existence has shaped them; they speak each other's languages without accent, learn to communicate with each other through specially positioned messages (because their arrival in each other's heads doesn't actually involve thought transference), and deal with having a mysterious "illness" that concerns other people when they lose consciousness regularly without explanation. The plot develops when Rudolph--who is, after all, a prince--gets kidnapped, and Connie is the only person on the planet who knows what happened to him because she was "there" when it happened. (Imagine trying to explain why you have evidence of a kidnapping in such a way!) And of course it's nice to have a relationship between a guy and a girl that's powerful and important without having it be about them trying to date each other. I think I liked the idea more than I liked the writing, but both were pretty good.

[Juniper Shore · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of my favorite books as a teenager, and I'm sorry that it's so hard to find nowadays. As another reviewer has noted, the lack of romance is a major relief. For once, two teenagers can cooperate without the faintest hint of lovemaking in the air.

The plot is implausible, but that's okay because the real story is in the characters--their longstanding secret relationship, their attempts to meet in person, and finally their close teamwork to foil the villains. It's a sweet book, with pleasant family dynamics and reliable adult friends. Not all the adults in this story are idiots, and Princess Charlotte is adorable.

Being of Two Minds was published in 1991 and it's disorienting to realize no one in the book has a cell phone--when our heroes leave the house, they are completely unreachable, with profound significance for the plot. The scene in which Connie places a long-distance phone call is hilarious in retrospect.

Good pacing, believable dialog, two enjoyable main characters and several secondaries who are worth cheering for. I've read this book aloud with family on long car trips, and it's good for that, too.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Y'all I was lying awake 2 nights ago and this book popped into my head because I remembered that the kidnapping in this book took place when Connie was chilling in Rudolph's mind while he was asleep. And I made it my quest to find out the name of it, and Google helped me out. I probably read this book in like 1997. Holllla for weird late-night thoughts.

[Magda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read December 2011.

Read November 1, 2007:
I remember reading and re-reading this book so many times. It is similar in tone to Andre Norton's The Prince Commands, and they are both similar to Prisoner of Zenda.

I just wish it were longer or had a sequel.

[Timothy · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a book that's aimed at children, "Being of Two Minds" by Pamela F. Service, does a fine job acting as a gateway to speculative fiction for young readers. Even for those who've long been a reader of the genre, would find this to be a easy and fun read.

[Mindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just thought of this book today for some reason. I loved it as an early teenager but haven't read it for many years so I can't really comment too much on how good it really is. Interesting plot idea for sure.

[Drucilla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual rating: 3.5 stars. A very interesting concept not written as well as it could have been. The writing feels like a middle grade novel and yet the protagonists are teens. They also act younger than their ages and their dialogue isn't really realistic at all.

[April · Rating 3 out of 5]

Saved it from the weeding pile, ended up weeding it anyway. No great shakes.

[Nikita · Rating 4 out of 5]

its not very realistic but the story is gud

[Allison]

IT WAS A GREAT BOOK, ONE OF MY FAVORITES!

[Billie Seeley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book, but short. I really enjoyed the way she made the characters fit so well together...
--JoeyStephano