The Darkest Minds (The Darkest Minds #1) — Alexandra Bracken

“They were never scared of the kids who might die, or the empty spaces they would leave behind. They were afraid of us-the ones who lived.” 

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. 

Opinion:

It's a good story, it is all science fiction, just as I like books. However, is not that surprising. I must be honest, I watched the movie before, and it is identical. The movie is also good. 

As many of the recent books I have read, the interesting part begins just at the middle of the book. Of course, I like the Ruby-Liam couple moments, but sometimes hearing too much about the guilt Ruby always has for herself was a bit annoying. 

Quotes:

“Black is the color that is no color at all.

Black is the color of a child's still, empty bedroom. The heaviest hour of night-the one that traps you in your bunk, suffocating in another nightmare. It is a uniform stretched over the broad shoulders of an angry young man. Black is the mud, the lidless eye watching your every breath, the low vibrations of the fence that stretches up to tear at the sky. 

It is a road. A forgotten night sky broken up by faded stars. 

It is the barrel of a new gun, leveled at your heart. 

The color of Chubs's hair, Liam's bruises, Zu's eyes. 

Black is a promise of tomorrow, bled dry from lies and hate. 

Betrayal. 

I see it in the face of a broken compass, feel it in the numbing grip of grief. 

I run, but it is my shadow. Chasing, devouring, polluting. It is the button that should never have been pushed, the door that shouldn't have opened, the dried blood that couldn't be washed away. It is the charred remains of buildings. The car hidden in the forest, waiting. It is the smoke. 

It is the fire. 

The spark. 

Black is the color of memory. 

It is our color. 

The only one they'll use to tell our story.” 

“They were never scared of the kids who might die, or the empty spaces they would leave behind. They were afraid of us-the ones who lived.” 

“Everyone is just making the choices they think will help them get by.” 

Score (3.5/5)