The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

Title: The Darkest Minds
Author: Alexandra Bracken
Publisher: Dysney Hyperion
Release Date: December 18 2012
Pages: 496
Genre: Dystopian


When Ruby woke up on her tenth birthday, something about her had changed. Something alarming enough to make her parents lock her in the garage and call the police. Something that gets her sent to Thurmond, a brutal government “rehabilitation camp.” She might have survived the mysterious disease that’s killed most of America’s children, but she and the others have emerged with something far worse: frightening abilities they cannot control.

Now sixteen, Ruby is one of the dangerous ones.

When the truth comes out, Ruby barely escapes Thurmond with her life. Now she’s on the run, desperate to find the one safe haven left for kids like her—East River. She joins a group of kids who escaped their own camp. Liam, their brave leader, is falling hard for Ruby. But no matter how much she aches for him, Ruby can’t risk getting close. Not after what happened to her parents.

When they arrive at East River, nothing is as it seems, least of all its mysterious leader. But there are other forces at work, people who will stop at nothing to use Ruby in their fight against the government. Ruby will be faced with a terrible choice, one that may mean giving up her only chance at a life worth living.


When I first attained this book, I was a little emotionless about it. I thought it sounded interesting but I wasn't sure I was going to like it. I was kind of cautious about reading yet another dystopia. I found out within 50 pages of the story that I had the wrong attitude about it. By that time I was enraptured and I wished more than once that the story could've been longer. And it's already a good 500 pages.

To start out, the writing was superb. Especially compared with books that have not-so-superb writing. That's incorrect actually. It can hold its own against some of the best writing I've ever read. I think the best factor of the writing was the way it got me to care about the main character Ruby. Besides that I noticed something else, which is something I rarely see any more in a story. There was almost no explaining! I was never bored with the story because it was being built by events happening and not by explaining. The world was built that way along with the plot and the characters.

The plot of the story is, honestly, the reason I stayed up until midnight. I just couldn't put this book down. It was such a page-turner and always had something going on. After most of the children of the world die of a mysterious disease, adults are left with a shocking revelation: they have no time to grieve over their lost children. Because the children let behind are dangerous. And they need to be contained. Which is why Ruby ends up at Thurmond, a rehabilitation center for other children. When shocking things are revealed Ruby knows she has to escape or die. She's been through a lot, though, and ends up carrying baggage with her along with a secret that could quite literally kill.

Ruby has spent the past six years of her life surviving. She's not brave and she always puts herself first. But the time comes when Ruby has to choose between herself and her friend and she makes a decision that will haunt her forever. Which might be why she starts strengthening herself and, in the end, becomes someone every reader wants to read about: a heroine. I related to Ruby at first because not everyone is a heroine and I understood that. But I admired her later on in the story and she may just be my new favorite character. She was put into some tough spots and she came out on top.

On the run, Ruby discovered three people that became like family: Liam, Zu, and Chubs. Liam was a great guy and a natural leader but he could be a little too nice. Sometimes I feared he would slip up and befriend the wrong person and adding to that was how trusting he was. I found it annoying at first but near the end of the story something huge happened and his instincts kicked in. He became all bad boy on me and I realized that not only could he kick ass but he was also the perfect person for Ruby. Zu was an adorable little girl who I couldn’t help but like and Chubs was… Chubs. It was impossible for him not to grow on me. He had strong opinions about things and always stood up for what he believed in but was made more relatable because he could be sweet and shy. He was basically the perfect sidekick. He added a lot to the story.

But I did think some areas of the story could've been better done. Ruby's power confused me. I didn’t really understand it at all until about the end. Another thing I disliked was that I wasn’t' certain what the other types of powers were. There were five types of powers and I don't know much about any of them. Finally, the rehabilitation center bugged me. I wasn't entirely sure of its purpose. I get what it was supposed to do but it wasn't doing any of that.

It was the end of the story that actually ensured I was a new fan of this series. The end was so good- it pulled everything together and set the premise for the next story. I was going to give this book 4 stars but after the ending I had to up that to five. The ending made the entire story worth it. It was like the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. Which is why I'm going to be recommending this book to my family and friends and you guys too even if, like me, the plot doesn't sound all that special to you.

                                                                   

   My expression before starting                                                          After reading the book:

It was as if my birthday came early.

The Darkest Minds. I thought                                                           It was such an epically exiting (is
 I might like it but the plot sounded                                                 epically a word?) ending and I can't
 a bit used.                                                                                         wait for more!

 

 

5/5 Mugs of Piping Hot Chocolate