A review by brentmayberry
The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken
5.0
This book is better than [b:Divergent|13335037|Divergent (Divergent, #1)|Veronica Roth|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328559506s/13335037.jpg|13155899], better than [b:The Hunger Games|2767052|The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1)|Suzanne Collins|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1358275334s/2767052.jpg|2792775], better than [b:The Maze Runner|6186357|The Maze Runner (Maze Runner, #1)|James Dashner|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1375596592s/6186357.jpg|6366642]. Yup, I said it. Ruby Daly is a more-than-capable heir to Katniss Everdeen's and Tris Prior's teenage heroine throne.
The book's prose was descriptive and vivid without being over the top. The characters were all well written. You adore Zu, roll your eyes at Chubs (but secretly find his grouchiness amusing), admire Liam's strength, and feel so sorry for Ruby. Parts of this story were heartbreaking, parts were uplifting, parts were cheesy, but I had a hard time putting this book down. I wasn't a huge fan of the mushy parts, but even those weren't as bad as they could have been. The story has a couple of great scenes (why Ruby gets taken to Thurmond) and twists (the last couple of chapters) that wrench your heart right out of your ribcage, which is what makes it great. Granted, this isn't a perfect book. I thought Ruby was a little too smart/wise for having spent 6 years in a concentration camp starting when she was 10. The beginning of the book jumped around quite a bit, and I was a bit confused for the first three or four chapters. But that didn't stop me from devouring this book, and I can't wait for the next in the series.
The book's prose was descriptive and vivid without being over the top. The characters were all well written. You adore Zu, roll your eyes at Chubs (but secretly find his grouchiness amusing), admire Liam's strength, and feel so sorry for Ruby. Parts of this story were heartbreaking, parts were uplifting, parts were cheesy, but I had a hard time putting this book down. I wasn't a huge fan of the mushy parts, but even those weren't as bad as they could have been. The story has a couple of great scenes (why Ruby gets taken to Thurmond) and twists (the last couple of chapters) that wrench your heart right out of your ribcage, which is what makes it great. Granted, this isn't a perfect book. I thought Ruby was a little too smart/wise for having spent 6 years in a concentration camp starting when she was 10. The beginning of the book jumped around quite a bit, and I was a bit confused for the first three or four chapters. But that didn't stop me from devouring this book, and I can't wait for the next in the series.