*plot spoilersThe book starts out with Karen at a baby-sitting job, and this is definitely a recurring theme in Duncan’s books, like the only job teenage girls can or want to get is babysitting. Another storyline would be greatly appreciated. And the writing is, as per usual, mundane, boring, and very average.“It’s unnatural,” Karen’s mother had observed accusingly. “When I was your age, I was out at parties every weekend.”“People don’t have ‘parties’ these days,” Karen had told her. “They have ‘get-togethers.’”Shouldn’t that be the other way around? Her mom should say get-togethers, and Karen should be saying parties. How is the adult saying she had parties in her day, which was a long time ago, and the current teenager is saying get-togethers? That’s messed up.This is the 5th book of Duncan’s that I’ve read, and I’ve really been wondering what’s up with her writing. I loved I Knew What you Did Last Summer, but I read that over 5 years ago. Idk if it’s because I’m older now, and too old for this, or what, but lately her writing is just really bad. And then I learned that she wrote this in the 1930s and I knew why. Old writings always have a certain quality, a dry, boring tone that makes for miserable reading.The book is just not compatible with society today. There are words, phrases, and expressions that I have no idea what they mean, or I’ve heard of them but know that nobody today uses them. For example, she uses the word catsup for ketchup. &this: “She could not have been branded a “grind,” anymore than she could have been labeled “stupid.” What in the world is a grind?When I grow up, I will have my husband build our house here. I will take our children wading--These are the thoughts of the 8 year old girl Karen is trying to find. Yeah, cuz all 8 yr old girls think about having a husband and children. Get with it.Karen was a complete idiot. She learned that the Mexican girl was dead, and while that is traumatizing and would make her think being a psychic is a curse, she was just being a baby. People called and wrote to her asking for her help, and she turned them all away without a flicker of guilt. She said the newspaper wasn’t true, which was a complete lie, because she’s a psychic and could’ve really helped those people. Then Tim, her jerky boyfriend is just in there to get on my nerves. At first he’s weirded out by it, but then he sees the good in it, and wants Karen to try to see the answers on the test. And she barely even has an argument. Hello, he’s using you! She does get mad though, because all they can do is fight, gets out of his car and slams the door. But when she makes it to her door, she contemplates going back and telling him she’ll try to get him the questions to the test. Idiot! Just break up with him already. It’s clear that’s where they’re heading.Karen stupidly gets in the car with a stranger, only to learn that they’ve kidnapped her, locked her up, and stolen the babies. She feels responsible and guilty, rightfully so, but when her mom tries to talk about it, Karen says she doesn’t wanna talk about it. She says that for every single thing. Everything that’s happened, she says she doesn’t wanna talk about it.I was glad when, camping by the road, Karen and Ron finally made some progress. I’d been waiting for it to happen the whole time, and wondered when Duncan would finally make it happen. Her books definitely need love in them. Granted, Ron only kissed her on the cheek, and they held hands, but it was a start. It was when Karen said that she had begun falling in love that it took away from it. There had been no sign of that at all. Love is taking it a little too far.Things did pick up a little, around about the time Ron took her to see Anne the psychic in the hospital, and they went to Colorado. I actually wanted to read it, and it didn’t feel like a chore like the rest of the book did.Karen, keeping with her track record of idiocy, screams when she hears the gunshot, alerting the kidnappers to her whereabouts, and then tells the guy that her and Ron are alone. Duncan should’ve really made her characters more likable and less annoying. She proceeds to cry, babble, and dump the whole story out to the kidnappers, how she saw everything they were doing. Idiot.The ending was a little disappointing, not that I was expecting anything spectacular. Karen finally comes to the realization that her mom is psychic, something I knew early on. It would’ve been nice for some surprises in the book. Karen sees her future child, which was weird to be happening to a teenager, but I forgot, all teenage girls want babies. Anyway, it was nice that she saw her blue eyes that the girl would inherit from Ron. That was a nice touch since the author decided not to put him in the ending. I was hoping for that, but this author is not a crowd pleaser.This book would be better suited to a younger audience, because the mentality level is definitely for younger teens. Also, the barely-there love is something that a younger audience might be satisfied with, while older people generally want more.
Plot:Karen Connors has always been different from her classmates. She has a special ability - her "third eye," which lets her see things that nobody else can. She's always disliked her gift and has always tried to suppress it, until one day when a police officer named Rob Wilson asks for help in an investigation.Characters:Karen Connors: Our main character is eighteen-year-old Karen, a senior in high school who graduates at some point in the book. She has a psychic ability where she's able to just "know" things or have random visions. She's a quiet, intelligent kid who's always been somewhat of a loner. Because of her subdued personality and her perceived "weirdness" due to her abilities, her peers have always avoided her, although they're not deliberately cruel to her.I really like Karen. She's not exactly an interesting protagonist, but she's realistic. She dislikes her gift, but given her background, you can't really blame her. An interesting thing about her is that she really liked babies and children, and dreams of having a lot of them - and she takes it seriously, even though she's eighteen. You can actually see her interest in children, as she takes on babysitting and daycare jobs, and you can see that she genuinely enjoys working with young children. I thought it was a nice touch.She goes through character development, becoming a more thoughtful, serious young woman accepting of her gifts.Ron Wilson:The obligatory Duncan love interest of this story. I didn't find him very interesting. He's a cop, but he's only a few years older than Karen. He feels overshadowed by his older brother. I don't think he's a bad character, but he's just boring. He's nice enough, though.Mrs. Connors:Karen's mother. I'll be honest, I didn't like her at first. She constantly pressures her daughter to do "popular" things and socialize with other kids and talks disparagingly of the titular third eye. I'm sure those of us who've had overbearing mothers sympathize with Karen.In any other book, Mrs. Connors would've been nothing more than the nagging parent, the obstacle that keeps her daughter from having fun adventures. However, I'm pleased to say that isn't the case. Mrs. Connors has (to her) valid reasons in preventing Karen from talking about her gift - she's not just some annoying mom figure meddling for the heck of it. She has a deep love for her daughter, which is quite apparent at the end. It's also revealed that(view spoiler)[ she also has the third eye, but has been trying to suppress it her whole life. This adds so much dimension to her character. (hide spoiler)]
What do You think about The Third Eye (1984)?
Words can not describe the utter brilliance of this book. This book made me feel like I myself had a "Third Eye". Have you ever read those books where you either know exactly whats going on to the point where it's dull or your so lost that even a pirate with an x-marks-the-spot map could not help you? This was NOT that book. It foreshadowed to the point where you think you know whats going on but then it would turn against you like a hurricane. Almost like a plot-twist but totally more awesome. Also, the confusion. Let me ware you that there will be one small little character that you will honestly think nothing about and the BAM they are more important that the protagonist.This book was great and I definitely recommend it to anyone that wants a simple read that will keep them on their toes in a psychological way!
—Sam Martin
Goodreads Book Review on The Third Eye by Lois Duncan One of the books I read during the summer was The Third Eye by Lois Duncan. It’s about a girl named Karen and she’s in high school. She's finally part of the popular crowd in school because she’s dating this guy, until a kid in her neighborhood that she is babysitting goes missing. And somehow she can “see” the missing child. They end up finding the missing child. Then she ends up going on this weird adventure to find missing babies and finding out her magical powers and how they work. On this Adventure she falls in love with her partner. This book was really interesting it had horror, mystery , and a little bit of romance. It was one of my favorite books because it has all of my interest , but I do wish that it had more romance though. Other than that I was a great book that keeps your attention throughout the book. I would recommend this to anyone who likes horror, adventures, or romance books.
—Liseli Marisin
I have always enjoyed Lois Duncan's books including this one because it combined both the mystery and supernatural genres. The books was fast-paced with much of the action occurring in the second half of the book. I do wish that this book could have been a bit longer. There were many places and characters that could have used more descriptions. One aspect of the story that I did find to be lacking is the relationship between Karen and Ron. They did not have enough scenes or dialogue together that make me believe that there could have been a real relationship there. The ending was also a little abrupt, but it tied up all of the loose ends and answered any remaining questions that I had. All in all this was a quick and easy read that I enjoyed. I would recommend this to both teenagers and adults because it seems to be appropriate for both age groups.
—Penny
