The Darkest Minds
Ratings157
Average rating3.8
Blech. According to my Kindle, I'm 75% through....but I just don't think I can go any further. Writing is okay, but man, has the plot become boring. Not believable enough for me and the author seems to be trying to develop a love triangle. A dystopian YA book with a love triangle. Not cliche at all...
For most of this book it felt like it was very much ‘of its time'. It used very familiar tropes that appeared everywhere 10-15 years ago, such as twilight and divergent. However, the last quarter introduced some more complex characters and the plot took off to the point that I was intrigued enough to think about reading the sequel.
All the world will be your enemy, Prince with a Thousand Enemies, I thought, and whenever they catch you, they will kill you. But first they must catch you, digger, listener, runner, prince with the swift warning.Be cunning and full of tricks, and your people shall never be destroyed.
Rabbits need dignity and, above all, the will to accept their fate.
It is never wrong to cry. It is never wrong to mess up. It's what you do afterwards that makes all the difference.
if 2012 was a book.. this would be it.
Ya 2012 was a great time but also very sinister and no, I cant explain.
this was a re-read bc I DNFed the second book a million years ago and the series has been on my shelf for years, judging me for not finishing it. I forgot everything that happened so I had to start from the start again. Turns out that I remember every detail in the book (the characters looked , how the inside of the car looked) everything was the same as the first time that I read it but the only thing I couldn't remember well was the story.
anyways it was entertaining and ive bumped it from a 2 star to a 3 star (well a 2.75 but we round up things around here)
would recommend to anyone who misses the old Ya dystopian days
relatively unmemorable book that left an unappetizing taste of young adult novels in my mouth (not sure what that analogy is)
[b:The Darkest Minds 10576365 The Darkest Minds (The Darkest Minds, #1) Alexandra Bracken https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1343178841l/10576365.SY75.jpg 15483434]I have a very love hate relationship with this genre. I however found this one quick and enjoyable. It is something where I am glad I read it. I will also be watching the movie. My thoughts are as follows. The Darkest Minds is another dystopian novel, one of the many now found on YA shelves, but this novel is not just another dystopian but a creative story focusing on children with unique abilities and the cruelty and oppression they suffer. The plot is interesting and engaging, if not predictable at times. The unique story with supernatural abilities and youth trying to fight a Government that's not completely in control leads to a resistance and different groups fighting to control these children, government groups and splinter groups as well as the groups these youth form on their own.The characters are where this novel really shines, with a strong, but unsure female lead in Ruby, a young girl named Suzume who never speaks out loud, an intelligent and grumpy (but loving) boy nicknamed Chubs, and the love interest with a heart-of-gold and endearingly naïve named Liam. This group Ruby finds herself apart of is dynamic, interesting, and very sweet and watching them grow close and learn the darker histories each character hides is incredibly satisfying. I also love that instead of a “bad boy” love interest which has become a staple in a lot of young adult fiction, Liam is unfailingly empathetic and compassionate as well as optimistic in their bleak circumstances. He has his share of flaws to balance out his best traits. The romance is sweet but not rushed and a healthy and positive example of love, even if their life on the run doesn't allow it to be easy.The writing is good, but can be unclear at times, especially in action sequences when several things are supposed to be happening at once but comes out more convoluted. It also felt like random facts would show up in conversation, things I didn't remember them talking about, but suddenly everyone knew it anyway (this happened once or twice but still confused me). Some scenes are written with a certain point in mind but come of more ambiguous as to what the other meant. Despite these snags, the writing is still absorbing and the story and characters bring it together nicely
Ugh why did I wait so long to read this book? I have had it on my bookshelf for the longest time and for some reason I kept putting off reading it and now I am kicking myself for waiting so long.
I loved the characters in this book. Some more than others obviously. Ruby I think showed the most character growth out of all of the characters. When we are first introduced to her character she is such a coward who is to afraid to have a friends back who is actually standing up for her in the first place. By the end she is more sure of herself and isn't afraid to stand up for/protect the people she loves. Her character did get on my nerves a little because I just didn't understand why she felt like she was so much worse than the other kids with abilities which made her keep secrets from them. She did eventually grow on me however she did something at the end that I knew was about to happen but that doesn't mean I was happy with it.
There was a case of insta love in this book which didn't work for me. Well the romance I thought was cute it was the build up to it that didn't work for me because there basically was no build up to it.
There is just so much I loved about this book. The characters Liam, chubs, and sweet little Zu, To the writing and the plot line. I definitely want to continue on with this series.
A mysterious disease is killing children. Ruby has watched as her class has gotten smaller and smaller. On her tenth birthday she feels weird. She's not quite sure what's different. Whatever it is makes her parents call the police and have her taken away. She is sent to camp Thurmond. It's a horrible place filled with other children. Apparently the children that survived the disease have developed some scary and dangerous abilities and the government wants them contained.
I've had this book on my radar since it came out. I just never got around to it. When I saw the movie trailer, I decided I should read it before I watch the movie. I really enjoyed this book. I loved the characters. I'm excited to read the rest of the series and to see the movie.
La verdad, es un 3'5/5. Me ha decepcionado un poco. No sé, quizá me lo esperaba más rápido, con más acción. Al final le he dado tanta puntuación porque me ha gustado el final y quiero ver lo que sucede en el siguiente. A ver si mejora...
Balik ke genre dystopia, buku ini alurnya lam bat se ka li. Awalnya sangat membingungkan bacanya, byk sekali cerita & tokoh dan blm sepenuhnya ngerti. Memasuki 70% baru deh terbuka satu-persatu penjelasan apa sih yg mau disampaikan penulis.
Sbnrnya menurutku idenya menarik, di dunia masa depan dimana Amerika Serikat terjangkit wabah yg menimpa anak pre-teen mulai usia 10 hingga 18 thn yg mematikan. Kalaupun ada yg selamat mereka jd mempunyai kekuatan, diklasifikasi ke 5 warna, urutan dr yg plg dianggap bebrahaya : merah, oranye, kuning, hijau & biru. Nah untuk memahami warna2 ini sj ak mesti buka wikia fandom nya the darkest mind hohoho.
Menjelang akhir mulai menikmati buku ini. Tapi kok endingnya kok begitu ya... Sedih aku jadinya...
This was one of the worst books I've ever read. The only thing that kept me reading was the potential it had, but that wasn't even fulfilled. The main character was terrible and I hated every decision she made, she was a complete and utter idiot.
4.4
I don't understand why people hated this book and never found it compelling. Here's my review, nonetheless:
I fell almost instantly in love with this book. From the very first page, I was sucked into this world that was so full of horror and tragedy and yet also so fascinating and interesting. The Darkest Minds hooked me with its well-developed world, heart racing action, and characters that made their way easily into my heart.
I loved that this book was so gritty. Ms. Bracken holds nothing back and really tries to give the reader the perspective of what poor Ruby's life is really like. The writing is beautiful and I honestly loved every page.
For our protagonist, I very much enjoyed Ruby to the fullest extent! She is so brave and actually very heart-broken. The things that the kids had to deal with in the camps were appalling and she actually comes out pretty unscathed for the most part. The fact that she could hold it together makes her an awesome character.
But what literally left me speechless was the end of this book. There were ~almost~ tears in my eyes. I'm such a sap, I had all kinds of feels going on! This book has the first chapter of the next book and I honestly could not bring myself to read it without having the finished copy right in front of me. I knew that once I started, I would not want to stop.
I'm actually looking forward to reading its sequels because I heard they're much better than this one. I highly recommend it to EVERYBODY. It doesn't matter what genre you like. This book has something for everything.
Halfway through I'm finally throwing in the towel.
This book has some interesting plot ideas, but terrible execution. Things are introduced, then discarded. It's as if the author set up all these extra plot lines for sequels, but never focused on the original storyline.
I kept hoping the book would get better. In spurts it did, then it'd fall back into a boring predictable unfinished YA mess.
I thought it'd be a hidden gem. Instead, it's just another humdrum YA novel in an ocean of others.
So I feel like you can't trust anyone in this book. So many complexities and stories. I really don't like Clancy. That is one messed up kid.
And that ending, it was just so sad.
Let me just say one thing: AHHHH SO GOOD.
I was going into this book pumped because I have heard so many good things about it BUT I didn't even really know what it was about. I just knew it was a dystopian novel which is fine. When we were first introduced to Ruby, she was 10 years old and shy. When she got drafted into one of the camps, I felt her pain and watched her shut herself out of everyone around her.
It wasn't until she left that you can tell how strong she actually is. The entire book was perfection and I was engrossed the entire time. I read 200 pages in a little over an hour the first time I cracked open this book. The reader will fall in love with Ruby, Chubs, Zu, and of course LIAM. Ahhh, the ending broke my heart for what Ruby had to do to keep him safe. I recommend this book to everyone. I picked up The Darkest Minds and Never Fade so that is my next read!
I don't know what to say about this story. I'm torn between giving it 3 stars or 4 stars. A lot of things just didn't work for me. One, being the slowness to the story. It bored me to death for the first half of the story, or the half before Ruby met up with Liam, Chubs, and Zu. If I didn't have the sequel already on my bookshelf, I probably wouldn't have finished it, but I'm kind of glad I did.
Although much didn't happen in much of the book, there was a part of me to want to see why everyone was raving about the ending. And, when I finally got to it, I'm not gonna lie, I was a little shocked. I didn't find it emotional or anything, but I was like :O for a while.
And I'm glad that there's a sequel too, because I want to know if Chubs is okay (he was my favorite character). Speaking of characters, Ruby annoyed the hell out of me. I was confused as to why she didn't use her powers in certain situations when she got to East River and certain things happened and I was all, “Ruby? Why you no use powers?!” She was just ugh, and I did not enjoy her one bit. Chubs all the way!
There's so much I need to know after that ending though. Ah!
it was alright I didn't really connect with ruby so it was difficult to read. I I didn't really enjoy the book until the last 20-30 pages. I'm may check out the next book but it is not high in my priorities.