Goodreads Synopsis:
When Ruby woke up on her tenth birthday, something about her had 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.
Review:
I have a confession to make… I saw the movie before I read the book. I absolutely prefer to do it the other way around but sometimes that just doesn’t work out. What this means is when I read the book I didn’t imagine what the characters looked like, or their mannerisms, etc. I just saw the actors from the movie. But, with that said, I did like the movie so much that I had to go read the book.
The Darkest Minds is an easy read; the sentences just roll by. It takes no effort to jump right into the plot and hit the ground running. The book drops you right into the beginning of a dystopian world which allows the reader to really feel connected to the story. I was immediately hooked from page one. The story is written from Rudy Daly’s perspective, a young, rather pragmatic girl. What I like are the details. For example, when recalling a traumatic event in the past Rudy recounts, “It had rained the night before, so my parents sent me to school wearing red galoshes.” To me that just seems the way you remember things from childhood that stand out. Sure, you remember the event but there always seems to be some other specific details that ties itself to the memory, like the color of the shoes you were wearing or the way it smelled in the kitchen that morning when you were having breakfast. These details just give the character a personal feel; you connect with her.
The one thing in the story that doesn’t resonate with me is how parents could just turn their children over to “rehabilitation camps”. As a mother they would have to pry my child from my arms to take her away. I understand that for some of the more dangerous children you might think you are doing what is right for them but what about the children that have more benign gifts (like a Green)? I can’t be the only parent that wouldn’t part with my child, or once parted not try and move heaven and earth to get them back. But being fiction, I am willing to suspend disbelief and just enjoy the story. And a good story full of adventure, comradery, danger, mystery and of course a quest.