The Darkest Minds

Darkest Minds, Book 1

By: Alexandra Bracken

Narrated by: Amy McFadden

Length: 13 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

Book one in the blockbuster Darkest Minds series—now with cover art from the major motion picture!

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 got her sent to Thurmond, a brutal government "rehabilitation camp." She might have survived the mysterious disease that killed most of America's children, but she and the others emerged with something far worse: frightening abilities they cannot control.

Now sixteen, Ruby is one of the dangerous ones.

But when the truth about Ruby's abilities—the truth she's hidden from everyone, even the camp authorities—comes out, Ruby barely escapes Thurmond with her life. On the run, she joins a group of kids who escaped their own camp: Zu, a young girl haunted by her past; Chubs, a standoffish brainiac; and Liam, their fearless leader, who 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.

While they journey to find the one safe haven left for kids like them—East River—they must evade their determined pursuers, including an organization that will stop at nothing to use Ruby in their fight against the government. But as they get closer to grasping the things they've dreamed of, Ruby will be faced with a terrible choice, one that may mean giving up her only chance at a life worth living.

©2012 Alexandra Bracken (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Perfect Pairing of Story and Narrator

Any additional comments?

This book was compelling, masterfully written and beautifully narrated. Amy McFadden did an artful job of making the characters believable. I was inwardly cheering for the main characters as they tried desperately to find home.

If you are looking for a feel-good book, this is not the one for you. While it has moments, this book is a series of struggles and would not be the book I would choose for a lite read. With that said, it is well worth the credit.

Rarely do I find a book that evokes such a power emotion from me as the end of this book. While I did not agree with all the decisions that were made, I did find them all believable based on the characters development. And most importantly (to me), the author never dumbed down or over explained anything. As a reader, it is a pet peeve of mind to read something and assume, "this author thinks I am a moron." It was refreshing not to have one instance of that in this book.

Hopefully, there will be a sequel. I grew attached to the characters and would love to know what would happen next.

Just not that great...

What did you like best about The Darkest Minds? What did you like least?

I found the author hard to follow and at times totally lost. A stronger editor could have made a difference.

Has The Darkest Minds turned you off from other books in this genre?

Yep, I won't be reading any of the other books in this series.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

Narrator, was fine.

Did The Darkest Minds inspire you to do anything?

Yes, I purchased Zero Hour: Expeditionary Force, Book 5, by Craig Alanson. I much more enjoyable series.

Any additional comments?

Skip this book. There are so many better ones to read.

Best book I ever read

I listened to this book within a weekend and literally binge listened ( if that's a thing) to it all such an good and additive book.

Great Story

This story is so great. You will fall in love with Ruby and her friends and their story

Started out slow, but once it got rolling...

If you could sum up The Darkest Minds in three words, what would they be?

What's your color?

Who was your favorite character and why?

Liam, he is so adorable and steadfast, you can't help but love him.

Which scene was your favorite?

The scene with Ruby and Zu in Walmart. They were actually happy.

Any additional comments?

Ruby eventually grew on me as a heroine, which was greatly facilitated by the remarkable supporting characters in this book. Chubbs, and Zu are so great and really made this story more likable for me. Once those two and Liam show up, the plot really picks up and there are only small hiccups the rest of the way through. Overall, it's a intriguing concept with characters that continually realize their potential.

Complex, engaging, enjoyable

This series is extremely enjoyable. The characters are engaging, the plot is complex but understandable and the ideas covered are quite challenging.

The author creates characters that we grow to care about, makes them flawed as to be human but not so flawed that we can't care about them.

The narrator does an excellent job of handling female and male voices and making them believable characters.

I'd highly recommend this series of books!

A very good book!

This book is the kind of book that would keep you wanting to read through the night wanting to see what happens next. It has a good and compelling storyline with adding and ending new characters. All in all I recommend this book to anyone,any age as a good book to read.

Noooooooo!

What an ending! This is a great little book along the currently popular line of a population ( in this case just children) classified by color and abilities. This book even includes a darling little girl. A group of 4 children are in this group, escaping from a couple of camps to wander in search of a rumor of a safe location.

I was sucked in as the storyline and character backgrounds were revealed. It did not end the way I wanted it to. But that is the way used to entice readers to finish the series, haha.

Shockingly unpredictable

I love YA novels and knew I would like this series. I'm used to reading them but being able to predict the outcomes of the plots (with the exception of Cassandra Clare's work). I figured this book would pretty much be the same, run-of-the-mill dystopia. But I was shockingly surprised throughout the whole story, with Brackens twists, turns and character unpredictability. Fantastic read for YA livers and have I recommended it to many.

I want more!!

Agh! My heart! I fell in love with these characters. I wasn’t expecting to but I did. I can’t wait to read more.

It takes a minute to pick up but it’s worth the wait.