The Book:
Book Title: The Darkest Minds
Book Author: Alexandra Bracken
Genre: YA Sci-Fi/ Dystopian
Publishing Date: December 18th, 2012
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Synopsis: 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.
Content warning for violence and attempted/assumed rape.
The Review:
The Darkest Minds was dark and intense. Though mildly predictable, it captivated me from the start and kept me turning pages until the very end. Then, it ripped my heart out and left me dying for book 2!
I could not have guessed how much I would love this book! It was so good! The writing was amazing. The story setting was very detailed, and the characters really brought the book to life! Throughout the entire book I had this sense of hope, dread, and awe, all rolled in to one ball of emotion. It was terrifying waiting to find out if Ruby and the gang were going to get caught. I was in love with the friendship that blossomed between the group, and I never lost hope that they would find a safe place to just be. But, we were thrown for so many loops on this thrill ride. A lot of them were predictable, but a lot of them were so surprising, and exciting, and terrifying. And, it was these twists that defined who our beloved characters were and shaped them in to who they turned out to be at the end of the book. I loved watching Ruby grow and change from the scared little girl she was when she was thrown in to Thurmond. I loved getting the interaction and feeling the love blossom between Zu and the group as she showed them what unconditional friendship meant. I admired Chubs and how he found his courage through his loyalty to his friends, and my heart was absolutely taken with Liam and how protective and brave he was. This story was so powerful and deep. Underneath the sci-fi awesomeness and dystopian chaos was a message about the power of friendship and the importance of not letting racism and prejudice feed hate. It was vivid and dynamic and full of danger, excitement, a little bit of comedy, and love. 4.5 stars! |
Darque Dreamer
Blogger/ Punk Rocker / Quirky
Housewife
Oh my gosh, I totally agree with you!! This book was so much better than I thought it would be. Great review!💜
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Thanks! And it totally was!
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Great review, Darque Dreamer. An intricately layered dystopian thriller – definitely adding to my TBR. 🙂
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I am so happy that you joined our fan bandwagon Adrienne!
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I liked the book but I’m one of the ones who thought it just seemed like so many other dystopians out there, unfortunately. I liked Zu and Chubs and the whole group dynamic, but overall it wasn’t enough for me to want to pick up the second book. I do still want to check out the movie though. I’ve owned it for over a year now and still haven’t watched it.
Great review!
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See, I still haven’t read many dystopians at all, s I wonder if I would have felt the same if I had. Makes you wonder if you would have loved it more if you had read it before all the others
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I don’t know, honestly. When it first came out it didn’t sound all that interesting to me, so I never picked it up. But then for years I just kept hearing all this hype about it being such a great series. Then the movie was coming out, and they revamped the covers, and I though okay, maybe I’ll give it a try.
I don’t know. Maybe if I give the book another chance in a few years, perhaps I’ll feel differently about it.
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I think I picked the book up first and then it sat on my shelf until the movie came out, lol. I really wonder how we would all feel about certain books and genres if we just didn’t read as much as we do, ya know? I think many of us at some point say that we didn’t like a book as much because it was like another in the same genre, but I also figure that we read WAY more than what the book world intends a normal person to read, lmao!
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I think that can and does sometimes play a role in our thoughts and feelings towards certain books.
I think that’s why I try to vary my reading a bit. I bounce around between MG, YA, and adult, and try to read a different genre or sub-genre from the book I just finished…at least most of the time anyway. Sometimes I just can’t fight my reading mood.
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Haha, same. I am mostly in the mood for YA contemporary and fantasy. Lately I’ve had more variety in my mood though, which is good.
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My mood is 90% fantasy, but thankfully there are so many sub-genres of fantasy that I feel like I’m reading wildly different stories.
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