“Cause, frankly, the way I see it, you and me? Inevitable.”
– Alexandra Bracken, The Darkest Minds
Title: The Darkest Minds
Author: Alexandra Bracken
Length: 529 pages
Genre: dystopian, romance, YA, fiction, Science fiction
My Rating: 6/5 stars!!!
My Age Rating: 13+
Content Notes: Attempted sexual assault and harassment, a few crude comments, some mild language and a few f-bombs, emotional themes, grief, abandonment, death, physical and emotional abuse (on children), forced institutionalization, violence and gore, forced suicide, and manipulation and gaslighting
“When a girl cries, few things are more worthless than a boy.”
– Alexandra Bracken, The Darkest Minds
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.
My Review:
This book changed my life! I actually haven’t gone a single minute of a single day not thinking of this book since I picked it up. And believe it or not, it may be one of my new favourites! And that says a lot because it had high standards to beat.
I was looking forward to reading this book before I even picked it up. I found it after watching the movie adaptation and falling in love with the storyline, characters, and most of all… the romance! I couldn’t wait to read the book because I knew that it would be so much better, not to mention that I’ve been looking for a book like this for a long time! And this book did not let me down!
I couldn’t get over the writing style. It was so easy to read, and I enjoyed it so much! The author did something that I haven’t seen very much, she used simpler words to describe stuff, but she used them in such a perfect way that it made it a breeze to fly through this book! Not to mention, the plot of the book was so amazing. It dealt with heavier topics, but it never felt slow, and even though it was full of action, it was also full of the best romance I’ve ever read. That’s probably why I read it in just two days.
Speaking of romance, let’s talk about it for a minute. I have high, and I mean EXTREMELY HIGH, standards for romance. In my opinion it is something that makes or breaks the book. And it made this book spectacular. The only complaint I have is that it didn’t show up sooner! (Even though, in my heart I know that it showed up right on time!)
I have never read a romance with a sweeter, more protective love interest who has all the green flags, none of the red ones, and I absolutely fell in love with him. Not to mention that I find a lot of relationships in books (both romantic and platonic) is a bit toxic or unhealthy, but the ones in the book gave me such good vibes! It was my favourite part of the book for sure, and I can’t wait to read more about these characters! Especially after the ending, ahhhhhhh, but we can get to that later!
I was really, really happy to find that this book was free of explicit sexual content. There are only the most amazing, sweetest kisses. The only thing that I think is important to know going into this is that there are a few situations that include attempted sexual assault and harassment, but it never is graphic and it doesn’t go farther than touching, plus one instance of kissing without consent, and personally I didn’t feel uncomfortable reading it, just disgusted with the characters (you know who you are). In terms of language, there is a fair amount of mild profanity, and two or three uses of the f-word, but it never felt like too much. Along with that, the majority of the plot revolves around violence, death and abuse (all involving children), fear, emotional themes, and manipulation. Overall I would say this book would be best for ages 13+, because even though it is a book that deals with more mature themes it is handled in an appropriate and thoughtful way and it never felt too intense.
Since we are nearing the end of our review, I think it is only fitting to talk about the ending. In short, the end of this book was AMAZING!!! I was a different person after finishing this book, emotionally destroyed and in a bit of a book hangover I couldn’t shake. I will never think the same again, and I just have to read the next book in this series and find out what is going to happen. The final scenes of this book have been running through my mind ever since I read it, and I don’t think I will ever go through a full day without thinking about it!
I suggest that everyone reads this book at least once! It was one of the best books I think I’ve ever read. And I know that if you’ve been looking for a good dystopian novel, with an unforgettable romance and adventures filled with action and funny moments, you will love this book!
Happy Reading,
Ava
If you want your own copy of this 6 star book click on This Link
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