The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

The Darkest Minds
The Darkest Minds #1

author : alexandra bracken

pages : [hardcover]

memorable quote : The Darkest Minds tend to hide behind the most unlikely faces.

favorite characters : ruby and liam

summary :

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.

review :

I finished this book a few days ago and I literally can’t get it out of my head. I love it when a book does that to me, digs so deep into my mind that the characters and plot and setting all get caught there and I obsess over them. Until the next book comes out, and the next, but I have until October until the sequel comes out, I think, and I just can’t wait until then. That’s how quickly Alexandra Bracken has made me fall in love with her characters and this story that she has created. It’s a tragic one, not exactly the most pleasant one, and at times it’s hard to read because you just feel so badly for all of the characters. It’s hard to remember that all of this is happening to the children and teenagers of the country, all growing up without the chance to have real childhoods. It’s heart-wrenching and beautifully written.

It’s also incredibly action-packed. One thing after another happens in this book and that really helps to emphasis the sweet moments that happen between the characters when they’re all given a chance to stop, catch their breath, and maybe even act their age for a little while. Ruby was in the camp for six years so she’s had it harder than most, but I loved watching her evolve throughout the novel. She begins jumpy and scared, just like anyone else would have been, but she really comes into her own to help herself and, more importantly, her new friends.

And what a lovely group of characters they are. So diverse and wonderful. Zu, Chubs, and Liam are the best group of people I could have hoped that Ruby would run into. I’m so glad that the summary doesn’t give too much away about what happens after she meets up with them because they’re just so wonderful together . . even if they have so many people chasing after them.

And there are so many enemies to watch out for in this novel! It’s hard to put down who I hate the most out of all of them because really there are just too many that are downright detestable. I can’t even see where the sequel will go because this book had so many twists and turns it ended entirely differently from how I tried to imagine all of it.

THAT ENDING. Alexandra Bracken really has a thing for breaking hearts and giving people too many feels, because I’m still not over that ending. Ah! I could fangirl over this book FOREVER! You need to read it, immediately. It’s fantastic in every way.

5/5 stars