The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken Series: The Darkest Minds #1
Published by Disney-Hyperion
Published: October 22nd 2013
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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.
Wow, wow, wow! That book was amazing in almost every meaning of the word. When I first started it I thought it was going to get boring and annoying real fast, and I have never been so happy to be wrong. The Darkest Mind was a well thought out story and I loved every minute of it.
The Darkest Minds is a story about Ruby, a girl that has been forced into what is essentially a concentration camp at a very young age because of a power she possesses; she can read minds and even remove memories. In camp, she has to hide who she is and what she can do for fear of her own safety and the safety of the people around her. This has been the way of things for 6 years and then one day it isn’t. One day she is out of Thurmond and a whole new set of problems arise. Meeting Liam, Chubs, and Zu, Ruby’s life and Ruby herself change completely. As the four of them make it to East River they learn a lot about life, but they aren’t expecting what they get when they finally reach the end of their journey. East River isn’t all it’s cracked up to be and now Ruby will have to make some of the hardest choices of her life and decide whether to embrace the power she has feared since she was 10.
The story is told entirely from Ruby’s POV and that may have been the best choice Bracken made because Ruby was awesome! She was stronger then she thought and was constantly putting others before herself making her all the more endearing. She was still a child in so many ways but what she had been through made her more adult like. It was a tough balance and it was done perfectly in my opinion. And the addition of Chubs who was one of the most loyal people you will ever meet, Zu the sweetest little girl in maybe the whole world, and Liam the crush-worthy swoon worthy alpha male, I was totally enamored. Liam and Ruby’s friendship alone was enough to make my heart flutter, not to mention other things in their relationship. Did I mention my massive Liam crush?!
Really what made the whole book was the way these characters fed off each other and now connected they were. It made everything else in the book, no matter how crazy it sounded, seem normal and that is what made this such a strong story. Through the ups and downs, the action and the quiet times, you could see how these 4 people became a family and it made you root for them even more. The end will shatter your heart even if you see it coming, which I did. But it will also make you want more because you’ll want people to pay that haven’t. Mark my words on that! A definite must read!!
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I just started The Darkest Minds. I am on Chapter 6. So far I am really enjoying what I am reading. Can’t wait to get into the really exciting parts once she finally starts to meet other people on the outside. I was going to read this last year and other book’s got into the way. So I started from the beginning. Last time I got to where she meet’s the group so I kind of remember parts of how they meet but not all. So that’s why I started over.