Review: The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

 When Ruby wakes up on her tenth birthday, something about her has 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.

I’ve heard great things about Alexandra Bracken’s Brightly Woven so I was ecstatic to read her new book The Darkest Minds. The writing was splendid, full of descriptions and feelings. I felt a connection to most of the characters and was heartbroken when terrible things happened to them.

Ruby was a likeable, relatable character who at first was scared to fight back and once she broke free, her character developed and she became more courageous. Her relationships with the secondary characters felt real and my favorite secondary character would have to be Zu-an eleven year old yellow (person who controls electricity).

I liked how the kids were sorted into groups based on their powers. There were the blues, greens, yellows, oranges, and reds. It was interesting to read about how the adults would risk killing off an entire generation just because they were afraid of their powers. This dystopian featured the US becoming dirt poor, other countries building walls to stop people from crossing the borders, and children either dying from a contagious disease or getting dangerous powers from it.

Most people will like the romance in this novel because it was very subtle. The two characters get to know each other by actually talking and going through the same hurdles in life. The good thing about this book was that the romance didn’t take over and it wasn’t insta-love. The guy in this book was cute and reliable and I think that most readers will enjoy finding out more about him.

The only thing I didn’t like about this book was the action. Since all the kids/teens had powers and were angry at the government for trying to keep them in camps, shooting them, or using them for their own gain I thought that there would be more fighting and kicking butt. There were the occasional scenes where they would use their powers or someone would get shot, but I was expecting a huge battle to ensue…*here’s hoping for book two to have more of that*.

The Darkest Minds is awesome and people of all ages and genders will enjoy reading this fast paced novel. I really enjoyed Bracken’s writing and I can’t wait to read book two! 4.5 Stars!