The Darkest Minds~Alexandra Bracken | Book Review/Thoughts

My most recently read novel is The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken. So let's get started with some of my thoughts. I am trying to keep this as spoiler free as possible.

 My Thoughts

This novel follows Ruby, a girl who, at the ripe old age of ten, is shipped off to a camp where children who have developed special abilities are kept and "rehabilitated." This is after she survived the disease that killed nearly every child she ever met and her parents locked her in their garage due to the changes taking place in her mind and body. Ruby miraculously escapes the camp when she's sixteen and meets up with other runaways from a different camp: Liam, Chubs, and Zu. Ruby has to learn how to be a part of a team and allow people to get close to her after pushing them away for so long.

Honestly, I probably knew what this book was about at some point in the past, but when I picked it up this time, I didn't remember. For some reason I had it in my head that it was going to be some fantasy novel. I'm sure you can imagine my surprise when I started reading a dystopia instead. I wasn't particularly disappointed by the novel, though it certainly wasn't what I was expecting. Here are some of the things I enjoyed.

•  The overall flow of the novel
•  The characters
• The relationships  

I found the story very well paced and overall an enjoyable read. Ruby was likable enough and I loved Chubs! I'm not particularly sure why. I guess he just seemed real, while some of the others were a bit more farfetched. The way that Ruby grew closer to her new traveling companions was sweet. It was very realistic in its depiction of actions and how they speak louder than words. You can't just tell someone what you feel; you have to show them.

The story was lacking in many details as far as the disease and exactly why people were just ok with their children being shipped away. It didn't seem like the military and president had enough power to hold down the common people if they were against what was happening. Some of the character stories were a bit rushed and just didn't really make enough sense. I still enjoyed the novel as a whole simply because it was a fun, quick read.

Here are my rambles! Let me know what you thought about the novel if you've read it. Hope you enjoy the blog and check out my videos on my booktube channel!

CourtneyReads

Always read!