A review by huongdang
The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
I have the same feelings about this book as my feelings for The Knife of Never Letting Go. Weak main protagonist. A plot that goes nowhere. Poor writing all around. The storygraph's book ratings have been disappointing me lately with these books that have such high ratings but terrible content.
First, let's talk about the main protagonist. Ruby has no personality. There's nothing about her that makes me want to root for her. She's not a clever or witty or interesting. All she is in the book is pretty, as expounded upon multiple times by Liam and the many boys that came along. All she does in the book is get into trouble and be rescued. Supposedly a character possessing of strong superpowers, there are few moments when she actually makes herself useful with her powers. My bar for an interesting but flawed main female protagonist is Katniss Everdeen, and if you compare Katniss side by side with Ruby, you'll see why Ruby doesn't deserve to have a story to begin with.
This brings me to point 2 and 3 - a plot that goes nowhere written by an author who has yet to command the craft of writing. The entire book is misery upon misery. There is no singular moment of triumph for the ostracized psi kids. It's only suffering again and again, whether it's at the hands of the brutal military or their own people. This book is also hella long too, so I was just reading a really long depressing book with a weak main protagonist and mediocre side characters.
Bracken's writing also leaves little to be desired. There are many moments in the book where I read words but don't know what they're trying to say. It's like there are words stringed together but they don't make sense within their own context. For example, Ruby would be awoken not by the gentle hand of Cate but by the cold water. What does that even mean? Did Ruby get splashed with cold water? If so, why wasn't that included in the follow-up sentence? But also did that really happen because Cate was gentle with her so why would she splash water on Ruby? What is this water that woke Ruby? Is it the sound of a running stream of water? But then how did she know it's cold? There is a lot of ambiguity in the writing. I don't understand what happened in chapter 29 when Ruby called her mom and heard the voice message with Ruby's name. Who is the other Ruby that Ruby is referencing? I don't even think the author knew what she wanted to write when she wrote these lines.
The book was published in 2012. After finishing it in 2023, I can tell how dated it is. There's an unnecessary romance plot that is silly and stupid. I'd be concerned with other things when I'm being hunted down by all the adults in the world, not dilly dallying over whether I should kiss a boy or not. It's so stupid and cringeworthy and reminiscent of the early 2010s era when all the YA dystopian books always had to have a stupid ass romance. The only character that has any depth, wit, of personality is Chubs and it's unclear at the end whether he was written out of the series. There's so much potential in the premise of the book, and it's sad that none of it is seen in the light of day. I guess I'll just have to search harder for my next dystopian read.
First, let's talk about the main protagonist. Ruby has no personality. There's nothing about her that makes me want to root for her. She's not a clever or witty or interesting. All she is in the book is pretty, as expounded upon multiple times by Liam and the many boys that came along. All she does in the book is get into trouble and be rescued. Supposedly a character possessing of strong superpowers, there are few moments when she actually makes herself useful with her powers. My bar for an interesting but flawed main female protagonist is Katniss Everdeen, and if you compare Katniss side by side with Ruby, you'll see why Ruby doesn't deserve to have a story to begin with.
This brings me to point 2 and 3 - a plot that goes nowhere written by an author who has yet to command the craft of writing. The entire book is misery upon misery. There is no singular moment of triumph for the ostracized psi kids. It's only suffering again and again, whether it's at the hands of the brutal military or their own people. This book is also hella long too, so I was just reading a really long depressing book with a weak main protagonist and mediocre side characters.
Bracken's writing also leaves little to be desired. There are many moments in the book where I read words but don't know what they're trying to say. It's like there are words stringed together but they don't make sense within their own context. For example, Ruby would be awoken not by the gentle hand of Cate but by the cold water. What does that even mean? Did Ruby get splashed with cold water? If so, why wasn't that included in the follow-up sentence? But also did that really happen because Cate was gentle with her so why would she splash water on Ruby? What is this water that woke Ruby? Is it the sound of a running stream of water? But then how did she know it's cold? There is a lot of ambiguity in the writing. I don't understand what happened in chapter 29 when Ruby called her mom and heard the voice message with Ruby's name. Who is the other Ruby that Ruby is referencing? I don't even think the author knew what she wanted to write when she wrote these lines.
The book was published in 2012. After finishing it in 2023, I can tell how dated it is. There's an unnecessary romance plot that is silly and stupid. I'd be concerned with other things when I'm being hunted down by all the adults in the world, not dilly dallying over whether I should kiss a boy or not. It's so stupid and cringeworthy and reminiscent of the early 2010s era when all the YA dystopian books always had to have a stupid ass romance. The only character that has any depth, wit, of personality is Chubs and it's unclear at the end whether he was written out of the series. There's so much potential in the premise of the book, and it's sad that none of it is seen in the light of day. I guess I'll just have to search harder for my next dystopian read.