The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken Review + Giveaway

The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken
(The Darkest Minds, #1)
Release Date: December 18, 2012
Publisher: Disney Hyperion; 496 pages

When Ruby wakes up on her tenth birthday, something about her has 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.

I do believe this is one of the most depressing endings to a book I have ever read. Actually, a lot of this book was depressing. Not in a bad way. I know, you're wondering how depressing can be a good thing. It's not. But it's not like so depressing it sucks, you know? It's so depressing it's great. I actually don't think I've ever read a book with so much death in, especially the deaths of so many children. It's absolutely heartbreaking and scary.

Once you reach the age of ten and are still alive there's a good chance you'll be labeled as a freak and shipped off to a camp. One where the parents and adults think are helping their children and finding a "cure". Naive parents... Each child is categorized depending on the abilities they posses. There's Green, Blue, Yellow, Red and Orange. The latter three being the most dangerous. Actually, I ordered it for what I believe to be from least dangerous to most. The camp where our heroine, Ruby Daly, had a few thousand children there. All the Yellow, Red and Orange's were taken from camp and 'disposed' of. Use your imagination on what that might mean...

America is beyond broke and fan past the point of desperation. The President has surpassed his two term quota and yet is still President because there really isn't much of a government to begin with. Ruby has been in 'camp' for six years and figures the rest of her life will be spent wasting away there, as the adults in America are afraid of these kids and the abilities they possess. When a test is ran to find if there are any dangerous kids hiding out amongst the Green's and the Blue's - this is where things get very interesting.

Ruby is broken out of Thurmond by a group called Children's League that is against the government but not exactly innocent themselves. With her abilities she finds herself to be in an even more dangerous situation than she originally planned. She does what she needs to survive because really, that's most important. She's out of Thurmond and has a chance at a life...at freedom, but at what cost? She finds herself to be thrown in with a group of other kids who escaped a camp in Ohio. Here is when the fun really begins...

I absolutely and utterly love Chubs. Not as a love interest for Ruby but as a character. He is so real. His personality is charming and infuriating at the same time. It amazes me that a character can get such varying reactions out of the reader but he is definitely one of those where you laugh at him (or with him), want to slug him, kick him in the shin and sometimes, even agree with him. He's a great friend and truly is my favorite character in this book. Let's not forget our charming Liam who gets me time and time again when he says darlin'. He sacrifices so much for the kids he's with. To be so young and yet so responsible is stunning.

You're probably wondering what each color stands for, right? Well, I'm not going to tell you. You should read this book to find out because it's definitely interesting. Orange's are certainly the most interesting and by far, the most dangerous. Once you finish, besides being thoroughly depressed, you also sit there, stumped. Trying to figure out which of two characters truly are worse...two characters who hold the same abilities but which have really done the unthinkable. Plus, you sit here throughout the book wondering what color you'd want to be categorized as...if you were in this world, of course. So tell me...after you read this book, what color are you? I would like to say I'd be a Blue...

While I was at New York Comic Con this year, Alexandra Bracken was there signing ARC's of The Darkest Minds. I told them I already had a copy from BEA but they told me to hold on to that & give it to someone. So, later during NYCC I met her again and got my extra ARC signed so I could give it away to one lucky winner here. I wanted to not only share this ARC but make sure it was signed for the lucky winner.

This contest is only for US residents.

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