Looking into The Darkest Minds
31-year-old Alexandra Bracken from Arizona really showed the world what she could do when she became a New York Bestseller after writing her newest series. Her first series, Passenger wasn't a very big hit but her next one, The Darkest Minds, became so popular that the first book was made into a movie. Known for her thrilling fantasy stories, it's no wonder Bracken's books became so popular.
While The Darkest Minds might make a lot of people cringe due to its darkness, it's actually an incredible read. The book is set in the United States, in a post-pandemic future recovering from a plague that only affects children. A child has up until they are ten years of age to figure out if they're going to be affected by the plague in a good or bad way. On their tenth birthday, the plague either starts to kill them or enhances their brain with special gifts such as telekinesis. Once the plague has reached the child and they are enhanced, parents usually send off to a government-owned prison. In these prisons, kids are tested to see how dangerous their abilities are and are labeled by colours--with green being the least dangerous and red standing for the most dangerous.
The story follows main character Ruby Daly, who has been in the prison ever since her parents put her there. Labeled an orange because she can't do extreme things like mind control, she tries her best to fade away so that the guards and other kids won't notice her. Ruby is the type of person to go along with anything even if she knows it's wrong because she wants to avoid making a scene. However, after making a mistake that puts her life at risk, she goes on the run with a doctor that helps her escape and cover up her lying to the guards about her abilities. On the journey, she runs into other kids who escaped from the prison as well and joins them in the search of a man who will help them get back to their families and live relatively normal lives.
Bracken aims this read towards young adults and happens to take the reader on a journey of self-realization. She really wants people to understand that someone can pretend very easily to be someone that they're not - either because they want people to like them or because they're insecure. She encourages the reader to look deeper into her characters, even the ones that aren't mentioned as much, and to really think about who they are.
If you're looking for a book full of gripping and unexpected plot twists, a multitude of characters that you'll love but then end up hating after a few chapters, and a fast-paced storyline, this is the right book for you. I bought the series at Monument books because I ran out of books to read and the cover grabbed my attention. The moment I started reading Bracken's book I couldn't put it down: I took it with me everywhere and ended up finishing it in about two days. Bracken does a wonderful job presenting her characters and creating them to be realistic teenagers. She also does a wonderful job weaving intricate plot-twists together with the storyline so that the reader is always on the edge of their seat. Because of her hard work which resulted in a fabulous series, it's no wonder that people are raving about it.