Audiobook: The Darkest Minds

The Darkest Minds is written by Alexandra Bracken and narrated by Amy McFadden and is the first book of the Darkest Minds series.

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.


The Breakdown:
1.  Loved this book on so many levels.  The dystopian setting, the characters, and the story all worked so well together.  It is an interesting world that Bracken as written with a disease that has killed many children and those still alive suddenly have strange powers.   I thought Fadden was the perfect narrator for this book.  She really captured the tone and characters so well in her narration.

2.  Ruby is definitely an interesting character.  She has the ability to see minds and control them, but hides this, mostly in order to survive.  Most with her talents have been eliminated by the government, but Ruby manages to hid who she is for a very long time.  She is kind and brave, although she does not think so.  Plus I love seeing the growth of her character throughout the book.

3.  Liam is definitely a swoon worthly character.  He really does have a heart of gold, and wants to make the world a better place.  The way he cares not only for Ruby, but Chubs and Zu is so heart meltingly sweet.

4.  Speaking of Chubs and Zu, they are such great supporting characters.  I kind of adore Chubs dry humor and prickly self.  And who could not love Zu with her sweet self.  I do have to say that I did not like the Slip Kid one bit.  He just came off as disingenuous to me from the beginning.

5. OMG that ending.  It punched me right in the feels.  I might have gotten a little teared up during it, which is never good when you are driving.  I definitely download the next book in the series to start tomorrow because I have to know what happens to everyone.

To Read or Not to Read:
Must Read