Review: The Darkest Minds and WW Read-A-Thon Update (1)
Author: Alexandra Bracken\
Published Date: 2012
Genre: YA, dystopia, sci-fi
Rating: ★★★★.5
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.
Review:
The Darkest Minds aka a dark YA sci-fi/dystopia novel that blew me away. And also the novel which ending broke my heart into a gazillion pieces and left it scattered on the floor. I am still mulling over the ending. I should've seen that coming, but I refused to believe my instincts until it all came at once *BAM* WORLD COLLAPSED.
Children with supernatural powers that have the ability to overrun the government. The government fears them so they dragged them away from their families and locked them up in their so called rehabilitation camps. Instead of helping the children to control their abilities, the rehabilitation camp turtored their minds and dispatched them in the world especially when they appear too dangeorus. The main protagonist, Ruby, suffered 6 years of pure torment in Thurmond, the biggest camp for children like her, that was until The League dragged her out convincing her that it's safer if she joins the so called league. From there, all things brooke loose. She met other kids who were also running away from the PSI and some skip-something. Together, they made their way to find the Slip Kid every child of their own was talking about. But, it wasn't as easy as 1 2 3, they were attacked a lot of times, almost on the verge of hoing back to their rehabilitation hell.
So finally, I am done! It took me a good 3 days to finish this book and I admit that at first I wasn't entirely hooked and engrossed. The first 60-70 pages were agonizingly slow. I almost gave up and put this on hold until I came across the chapter where Ruby met Liam, Zu and Chubs. Hope flared in me as I continued to read and read and read.
The book was hauntingly dark and wrenched with a lot of plot twists. I enjoyed every bit of the adventure slash car journey of the 4 characters namely, Ruby, Liam, Zu & Chubs. Each of them had their own powers and distinguished personalities. I found myself caving in the characters as pages dragged by. Ruby might be a little naive and fragile but her character development was suprisingly commendable. Liam, my darlin', he was like the Big Brother among them, he might looked calm and in control of the situation, but underneath lied vulnebarility and pain. Zu, I pretty much felt all the sympathy for her. She's just a kid, but the cruel world started to shake off her sanity. Chubs, he might be a little grumpy and cynical but at the end he proved to the readers that loyalty and hope are enough to keep going. These characters left me in awe. I admired how strong-willed they were and how they worked as a team. They were each others' strength, that's why one's lost is the lost of the team. They crawled inside my heart and I just loved them to bits especially Liam *swoons*
Storyline. Never in my life that I've read a novel with a similar plot as to this. It was original and creative. The plot was well thought of and well organized. The trail of events might be a little on going forward-going back but it was bearable. It might be a bit slow, but the latter picked up into an intense and action driven sequence. But as I was saying the highlight for me and thr strongest point of the book was the road trip of the 4 characters. It was just exhilirating, refreshing with a mixture of intense blow of cover. The idea of the color clustering was funny and confusing at first, but I came to embrace it. Blue, Red, Orange & Yellow. My only complain is why there's no pink (nah kidding).
Romance. It wasn't the biggest deal of the book. In fact it took 300 something pages for the story to pick up on the gnawing tension between Ruby and Liam. Their relationship was fatal but strong. They are lsot in their own world, as long as they're together no amount of PSI or The League will separate them from each other. I just liked how their relationship was developed. It wasn't rushed nor crammed. Although, it was obvious that Liam had the shots for her, still the book let both characters find their way into each others arms in a heart-fluttering and dreamy way. I totally melted in Liam's words like how come a person like him doesn't exist in our world. But, seriously, yes.
“Did you know...you make me so happy that sometimes I actually forget to breath? I'll be looking at you, and my chest will get so tight...and it's like, the only thought in my head is how much I want to reach over and kiss you.”
Err. The antagonists. They ade everything exciting and miserable. i just all of them to suffer, but i know in time they will. And by that time comes I'll be curled in my blanket rejoicing while chanting "HAPPY EVER AFTER DOES EXIST" I am keeping my faith. I am.
Let's not talk about the ending cause it pretty much messed up my ability to be coherent. I just can't gouge the right words to express how much the ending broke me. But without that ending, I think the next books will just come in HEY-THERE'S-BOOK-2 kind of mood not OMFG-THIS IS FUCKIGN IT IS-GUYS-BOOK-2-WHAT-HAPPENED-TO-LIAM excitement. Overall, the book taught us that there's always a spark of hope in every situation. Giving up may not be the most reasonable thign to do, but fighting for what you stand for til the end although it might cause so much personal dread still matters. Also, this book exhibits the lesson of equality. We may have a lot of skills that make others look untalented, but at the end all of our feet are on the same level ground. There's no need to be greedy. No need to be godawful. Acceptance is always the key. Well done, Ms. Bracken! 4.5 stars to be exact.
WW Read-A-Thon Update
One book done! I am going to read the novella of this so that makes 4 potential books for this Read-A-Thon! Yay, so far so good! :D
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