The Darkest Minds [Hardcover]

Alexandra Bracken (Author)

Book Description

Release date: December 18, 2012 | Series: Darkest Minds (Book 1)

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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A gripping and terrifying dystopian world. Ruby is a reluctant heroine, strong yet vulnerable in equal measure, who will endear herself to readers." - Kirkus Reviews

"...a gritty, economically devastated near-future America where children are hunted and feared, and danger lurks even in the aisles of an abandoned Wal-Mart... the story's quick-paced action leads to a heartbreaking cliffhanger that will have readers eager for the next book in this planned trilogy." - Publishers Weekly

"A new twist on dystopia, this is one not to miss."- Romantic Times

"A riveting, emotional read that kept me on the edge!" - New York Times best-selling author Melissa Marr

About the Author

Alexandra Bracken was born and raised in Arizona, but moved east to study at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. She recently relocated to New York City, where she works in publishing and lives in a charming apartment overflowing with books. You can visit her online at alexandrabracken.com, thedarkestminds.com, or on Twitter @alexbracken.

Product Details

• Age Range: 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 496 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion Book CH (December 18, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1423157370
• ISBN-13: 978-1423157373
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 1.5 x 8.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (144 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #16,505 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars I Was Completely Hooked! December 18, 2012

By Melissa's Eclectic Bookshelf

Format:Hardcover

You know how you start reading a book and somehow based upon the cover, blurb and other reactions you can sense whether you will like it or love it, hate it or be ambivalent to it? I'm going to admit up front that I went into The Darkest Minds with the expectation that it would be "just alright." Boy am I glad that this one surprised me!

Bracken paints a world that is almost too horrible to imagine. Children dying by the hundreds of thousands and those that survive being changed...and viewed as a threat to the adults resulting in their containment in what amounts to forced labor camps. And then if that is not bad enough...half of those survivors...exterminated...due to the adults' fear of what they may be able to do since their changes.

I don't want to talk to much about the plot of the book as I don't want to give too much away but this is a very bleak and depressing world. As we slowly get to know our main character Ruby and her group of friends we hope that there is some avenue for escape...some path to change.

This one drew me in slowly and surely...the writing style and pacing work perfectly alongside the plot. About one fourth of the way through, I was completely hooked. The characters all develop to the point that I ended up far more attached to them than I realized. Each character is so different, yet each adds a much needed component to the group so that as a whole they are made that much stronger. (I even became attached to Black Betty!)

I give Bracken much credit for managing to sneak them all under my defenses to the point that when the novel concluded I was bawling my eyes out and couldn't understand why. When had I become so attached? I'm very curious to see where this one goes and can't wait for the second book in the series.

NOTE: Complimentary copy received at BEA in exchange for an honest review.

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars a great read from an author to watch December 18, 2012

By Miss Print VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

When Ruby woke up on her tenth birthday, she didn't know her world was about to change. She knew about the disease sweeping through the country's children-it was impossible to miss when kids kept dying. She didn't know that surviving the disease was the worse outcome.

Surviving, it turns out, was another word for changing-waking up one day with abilities that used to be the impossible stuff of movies; waking up with strange powers that most of the kids, especially Ruby, can't begin to understand. Or control.

Now sixteen, Ruby knows just how dangerous she is. She knows she'll never be allowed to leave Thurmond, the government camp set up to "rehabilitate" other kids like her.

She also knows that she has to escape to survive.

On the run, desperate to get away, Ruby soon falls in with other kids looking for a sanctuary called East River. Ruby knows she can't let anyone get close-not after what happened on her tenth birthday-but maybe they can all use each other to get to East River in one piece.

Life outside Thurmond isn't what Ruby expected. Turns out, staying under the radar is hard when you're dangerous. Ruby lost control of her life when she was ten years old. If she can learn more about her own abilities, she might be able to reclaim that control. But everything in life comes with a price. Especially freedom in The Darkest Minds (2012) by Alexandra Bracken.

The Darkest Minds is Bracken's second novel. It is also the first in a trilogy.

This book was one of my most anticipated 2012 reads. I fell in love with Bracken's debut novel Brightly Woven and ever since I could not wait to see what she released next.

Part road trip, part sci-fi adventure, part dystopian The Darkest Minds does not disappoint. With a plot that turns on a dime it is a guaranteed page-turner with an ending that will leave readers anxious for the next installment.

At the same time, The Darkest Minds is so much more than an action-packed read. Ruby's story is heart-wrenching and horrifying but her resilience and her persistence are fierce to behold. The other characters in the story are vibrant and beautifully written-even at their most villainous.

Bracken has created a disturbing world with elements that are both fantastical and uncomfortably possible in our own world. Ruby's voice throughout the novel is as smooth as honey filled with descriptions that bring the eerie Virginia landscape of the story vividly to life. The Darkest Minds is a stunning, sometimes harrowing, start to a series; confirming that Bracken is an author to watch.

Possible Pairings: White Cat by Holly Black, The Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan, Graceling by Kristin Cashore, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers, Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi, All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin

*This book was acquired for review from the publisher at BEA 2012

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Dark, Depressing & Simply Perfect December 27, 2012

By Step Into Fiction

Format:Hardcover

I do believe this is one of the most depressing endings to a book I have ever read. Actually, a lot of this book was depressing. Not in a bad way. I know, you're wondering how depressing can be a good thing. It's not. But it's not like so depressing it sucks, you know? It's so depressing it's great. I actually don't think I've ever read a book with so much death in, especially the deaths of so many children. It's absolutely heartbreaking and scary.

Once you reach the age of ten and are still alive there's a good chance you'll be labeled as a freak and shipped off to a camp. One where the parents and adults think are helping their children and finding a "cure". Naive parents... Each child is categorized depending on the abilities they posses. There's Green, Blue, Yellow, Red and Orange. The latter three being the most dangerous. Actually, I ordered it for what I believe to be from least dangerous to most. The camp where our heroine, Ruby Daly, had a few thousand children there. All the Yellow, Red and Orange's were taken from camp and 'disposed' of. Use your imagination on what that might mean...

America is beyond broke and fan past the point of desperation. The President has surpassed his two term quota and yet is still President because there really isn't much of a government to begin with. Ruby has been in 'camp' for six years and figures the rest of her life will be spent wasting away there, as the adults in America are afraid of these kids and the abilities they possess. When a test is ran to find if there are any dangerous kids hiding out amongst the Green's and the Blue's - this is where things get very interesting.

Ruby is broken out of Thurmond by a group called Children's League that is against the government but not exactly innocent themselves. With her abilities she finds herself to be in an even more dangerous situation than she originally planned. She does what she needs to survive because really, that's most important. She's out of Thurmond and has a chance at a life...at freedom, but at what cost? She finds herself to be thrown in with a group of other kids who escaped a camp in Ohio. Here is when the fun really begins...

I absolutely and utterly love Chubs. Not as a love interest for Ruby but as a character. He is so real. His personality is charming and infuriating at the same time. It amazes me that a character can get such varying reactions out of the reader but he is definitely one of those where you laugh at him (or with him), want to slug him, kick him in the shin and sometimes, even agree with him. He's a great friend and truly is my favorite character in this book. Let's not forget our charming Liam who gets me time and time again when he says darlin'. He sacrifices so much for the kids he's with. To be so young and yet so responsible is stunning.

You're probably wondering what each color stands for, right? Well, I'm not going to tell you. You should read this book to find out because it's definitely interesting. Orange's are certainly the most interesting and by far, the most dangerous. Once you finish, besides being thoroughly depressed, you also sit there, stumped. Trying to figure out which of two characters truly are worse...two characters who hold the same abilities but which have really done the unthinkable. Plus, you sit here throughout the book wondering what color you'd want to be categorized as...if you were in this world, of course. So tell me...after you read this book, what color are you? I would like to say I'd be a Blue...

Reviewed by Jessica @Step Into Fiction