Book Avengers: The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

Hello and welcome to our very FIRST Book Avengers post!  Today we are featuring The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken.  If you’ve read our intro post you know that this book has been on both of our TBR piles for awhile and we are very excited to start this series together for our new feature!

When Ruby woke up on her tenth birthday, something about her had changed. Something frightening 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 had killed most of America’s children, but she and the others emerged with something far worse: frightening abilities they could not control.

Now sixteen, Ruby is one of the dangerous ones. When the truth comes out, Ruby barely escapes Thurmond with her life. She is on the run, desperate to find the only safe haven left for kids like her—East River. She joins a group of kids who have 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 having a life worth living.

Kristina’s Thoughts:

I’ve always felt TDM was a popular book among bloggers/readers but a sleeper hit if that makes sense.  I never really saw anyone “shouting from the rooftops” about it repeatedly but if it was mentioned I always got a positive response and usually some part of that response was in ALL CAPS.

I liked the premise behind it and the classifications, (I have a bit of a theory there that I’d like to talk about maybe after I can start book two just in case I’m reading way too much into it) but I felt like there could have been a bit more back story of the characters.  I’m hoping that this might happen in the future titles but I’d like to get into more about exactly what happened and what is going on with their families.  I adored the loyalty that Ruby and her group had from the start which I felt made up prejudice I went in with because of my dystopian burnout.

Did it live up to the hype?

Eh.  This one I’m still debating.  While I loved certain parts of the story there were others that left me feeling a bit flat and I’m not sure if that is because of the hype or I’m just so used to reading fantasies that reading a dystopian threw me off my game.  Regardless, it read quickly and was entertaining enough that I’m sticking around to read book two for sure as I’ve already purchased and read the novella after TDM, In Time.

Kristina’s Rating: 3 Stars

 

 

 

Sarah’s Thoughts:

Going in to this ‘The Darkest Minds’, I was a little wary of the fact that it was a dystopian novel. To be fair it came out over three years ago, back when that genre was still new and exciting, but I’ve read SO many young adult dystopian novels and to be honest, its grown a little tiresome for me. Thankfully, ‘The Darkest Minds’ was an intriguing read for me, and rather than getting caught up in the dystopian aspects of the story, I was completely invested in the characters. Bracken has a knack for writing characters that are struggling with an internal debate, and Ruby’s character, along with Liam, Chubs and Zu, all had fully developed personalities and motivations, which made it easy for me to understand their choices. It was refreshing to read a survival type story that involved a group of people working together and coming to rely on and trust each other. The relationship Ruby has with Zu in particular really touched me.

The storyline totally kept me guessing as well, as I tried to figure out who exactly who the bad guys were, and what their end goal was. There were so many people I was suspicious of, and so many times I THOUGHT I knew what was going to happen next, only to find out my predictions were totally wrong. I love being kept on my toes. ‘The Darkest Minds’ turned out to be a four star read for me. The storyline, characters and action all came together for an exciting book that definitely kept me guessing.

Did it live up to the hype?

I’d always heard such great things about this series, and so many of my bookish friends would insist that I had to read it. So between that and the fact that I had just finished the amazing ‘Passenger’ by Alexandra Bracken, I had HIGH hopes for this book. I’m happy to say that this book totally lived up to the hype for me and I now know what so many of my friends were fangirling about.

Sarah’s Rating: 4 Stars

LINK UP

Hey you guys! We want to see what you thought too.  Whether you have an older review or if you read along with us we want to know!  Link up and you could be eligible to enter our giveaway! Giveaway is US only but all are welcome to link up reviews to share the post love.  Link ups will close on January 25th so hurry!

GIVEAWAY

Loved The Darkest Minds?  Want to win this snazzy print from Evie’s Society6 shop?  Just follow our rafflecopter link to enter!  US ONLY, ends 01/25.  GOOD LUCK!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Want to be a part of picking our next book?  Below are our three February picks that we’ve narrowed down from our currently TBR list and to be honest, we aren’t holding back.  These are three “big” books we haven’t read, one being the sequel to our January pick and two new series that so many of our fellow bloggers are so passionate about.  For your vote to count your can either comment on this post with your pick or head on over to our twitter hashtag #bookavengers and vote using our twitter poll.  Feel free to retweet and help promote your pick!  Voting closes January 25th and we will be announcing both our next pick and giveaway winner via twitter that day.

February picks:

Once, a hero rose to save the world. He failed.

For a thousand years since, the world has been a wasteland of ash and mist ruled by the immortal emperor known as the Lord Ruler. Every revolt has failed miserably.

Yet somehow, hope survives. Hope that dares to dream of ending the empire and defeating the Lord Ruler. A new kind of uprising is being planned—one that depends on the cunning of a brilliant criminal mastermind and the determination of an unlikely heroine: a teenage street urchin named Vin.

Once, a hero rose to save the world and failed. This time, can a young heroine succeed?

Ruby never asked for the abilities that almost cost her her life. Now she must call upon them on a daily basis, leading dangerous missions to bring down a corrupt government and breaking into the minds of her enemies. Other kids in the Children’s League call Ruby “Leader”, but she knows what she really is: a monster.

When Ruby is entrusted with an explosive secret, she must embark on her most dangerous mission yet: leaving the Children’s League behind. Crucial information about the disease that killed most of America’s children—and turned Ruby and the others who lived into feared and hated outcasts—has survived every attempt to destroy it. But the truth is only saved in one place: a flashdrive in the hands of Liam Stewart, the boy Ruby once believed was her future—and who now wouldn’t recognize her.

As Ruby sets out across a desperate, lawless country to find Liam—and answers about the catastrophe that has ripped both her life and America apart—she is torn between old friends and the promise she made to serve the League. Ruby will do anything to protect the people she loves. But what if winning the war means losing herself?

Lord Colum of Sevenwaters is blessed with six sons: Liam, a natural leader; Diarmid, with his passion for adventure; twins Cormack and Conor, each with a different calling; rebellious Finbar, grown old before his time by his gift of the Sight; and the young, compassionate Padriac.

But it is Sorcha, the seventh child and only daughter, who alone is destined to defend her family and protect her land from the Britons and the clan known as Northwoods. For her father has been bewitched, and her brothers bound by a spell that only Sorcha can lift.

To reclaim the lives of her brothers, Sorcha leaves the only safe place she has ever known, and embarks on a journey filled with pain, loss, and terror.

When she is kidnapped by enemy forces and taken to a foreign land, it seems that there will be no way for her to break the spell that condemns all that she loves. But magic knows no boundaries, and Sorcha will have to choose between the life she has always known and a love that comes only once.

 

 

We hope you guys enjoyed our post and link up to help promote your back list books!  Please remember to vote for your favorite and join us January 25th when we announce the winner for our giveaway and our February pick.  As always, if it is new to you as well please join us in reading, we’d love to chat with other while reading.  See you soon!

 

 

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