The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

Title: The Darkest Minds
Author: Alexandra Bracken
Type: Young-Adult Novel
Genre: Dystopian fantasy
Series: Yes book 1
Pages: 488
Copyright: 2012
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Rating: 3.5 out of 5


Summary: From Good Reads
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.

Feelings: 
The Darkest Minds, Alexandra Bracken's second book and the first in a series, is one of a long list of current books that are set in a dystopian world. What would it take to turn America into, well, North Korea. I really enjoyed this book much as I did her first novel a standalone book, brightly woven. They were big differences between this book and brightly woven, one being the world's. I'm not sure if I always like the familiar world when I read fantasy. That being said they were very different books and I liked them both.

The darkest mines fall is Ruby as she discovers yourself and what it means to be a child of her generation, familiar with Beth and feared by adults. Ruby grows a lot throughout the story as she leaves Thurman, camp/prison for children that survived IHNI. The change in her demeanor comes from the characters around her and her learning from them. Chubs and Liam are very different characters but they are able to work together. With Zu as part of their group the addition of Ruby makes them stronger. They all grow together through their struggles. 

I recommend this book to those that like a strong character driven by story I will be picking up the next in the series as soon as my library gets it.