Darkest Minds, The-A Darkest Minds Novel, Book 1 (The Darkest Minds, #1)

by Alexandra Bracken

[kimbacaffeinate]

One of the reasons I began reading young adult novels was because of my love of the dystopian genre. When I read the synopsis for the Darkest Minds I knew I had to read it. Bracken has written a clever tale intertwined with paranormal and science fiction elements. Creating a horrifying dystopian world where children are feared and most of America is brainwashed into believing the government is helping their children. This was a brilliant read with fleshed out characters that held me captive.

A rare virus is killing children around their tenth birthday. The government and schools have sent home letters with warning signs. They encourage parents to register if they notice any symptoms. What they don’t tell them is that they don’t care about the ones who die but the ones who live. When Ruby awakes on her tenth birthday, something horrible has happened and her parents lock her in the garage and call the police. She ends up being taken to a rehabilitation camp and the tale that unfolds held me captive till the last page.
I really became immersed in the tale and a lot of that had to do with the characters themselves. Ruby, Liam, Chubby and Zu were all unique and so fleshed out that they became very real to me. I love when that happens and I found myself swept up in what happens to them. Bracken slowly revealed each character to us, peeling back their layers to expose their raw feelings, fears and personalities. The way the characters interacted and drew strength from each other was so well done and believable. The romance was sweet, tender and tore my heart up.

World building is so important to me, and Bracken did a fantastic job. She reveals the world to us as the tale unfolds. She utilizes the show don’t tell method that I prefer as this allows me to knit the pieces together creating the world in my mind and breathing life into the pages. I loved the dark, gritty, violent world she has created and want to know more. The characters pop against this backdrop, making their experience all the more real. The ending flat out made me cry, no lie and I cannot wait to get my hands on book two as this tale is far from over.

Fans of dark dystopians and fleshed out characters who like a little paranormal woo-woo weaved into their tale are going to flip over The Darkest Minds. Book two and three have yet to be titled but are scheduled to release in 2013 and 2014. I look forward to reading more of Bracken’s work.
Copy received in exchange for unbiased review and originally published @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer