The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken
Series: The Darkest Minds #1
Rating: ★☆☆☆☆
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.
If The Hunger Games brought back my faith in YA dystopia,Darkest Minds made me an atheist. This book has a plot filled with more holes than a Dunkin Donuts. It is mind-boggling to me that the rating in this series is as high as Hunger Games when the supporting characters in this book are are without personality nor complexity, combined with a weak-ass, whiny wimp of a main character, not to mention the majority of a book is a pointless snoozefest of a roadtrip.
Let’s for 1 minute talk about The Hunger Games. The world is well-developed, well thought out, and honestly, the best thing about that series for me lies in Katniss’ personality and strength of character (let’s just forget Mockingjay ever happened *curls up into a ball and weeps*).
The events in this book just plain don’t make any damned sense. And not as in the whole “What?! There’s no way hundreds of thousands of kids could just DIE out of nowhere and then some develop psychic powers!” No. Believing that that event could happen is a willing suspension of disbelief, one that every reader accepts. This book had me in disbelief.
Take, for instance, the whole “Shit, our kids are either dying or turning into the X-Men (they’re not mutants, but you get the point)” thing. Hundreds of thousands of kids are dying. The government’s solution: LOCK UP THE SURVIVORS WHO COULD BE DANGEROUS.
What the FUCK, why?!
Granted, the government isn’t the most rational of entities, but let’s think of it this way. To be a little clichéd, the young is the future. There’s a Social Security crisis right now because there are too many old people who need support and not enough of the working young giving tax dollars to support them. Same with developing countries. More young people = more workers.
Therefore, my reasonable mind comes up with these few questions:
1. Why the fuck is the government locking up the future? No kids means no population growth (unless you do mass test tube babies or something and we ain’t that advanced yet) -> decline of a country. Yeah, I don’t think our government is that stupid. Or at least, I hope not.
2. Why the fuck is the government overreacting when they don’t even know if these kids are dangerous? I mean some of the Oranges can read minds. I DON’T KNOW ABOUT YOU BUT THAT’S PRETTY FUCKING USEFUL. THEY SHOULD BE TRAINING HER FOR THE FUCKING CIA, AM I RIGHT? Best spy ever! But noooooooooo, they ship them away and lock them up as dangerous. Doesn’t make any fucking sense.
Then, when the kids are in the camp. They just bend over and take it because they’re poor little helpless kids.
Not.
Please. We saw one of the kids make a security guard shoot herself in the mouth. The kids are strong, they clearly have powers. Why just take the abuse when they can easily free themselves?!
Makes no fucking sense.
And then there’s Ruby. I hate Ruby so much. Her level of whine in this book made Katniss in Mockingjay look strong and tough in comparison. Wah wah wah. Wah wah wah. I have strong superpowers. Wah wah wah I’m a monster. Wah wah wah I’m unnatural. Fuck you.
Maybe it’s just me, but wouldn’t having mental powers be the coolest thing in the world? Imaging the evil and havoc I could wreak (I could do good, but that ain’t my thing). I want a character who embraces her own strength. I want a character who matures through her weakness. All Ruby ever does is whine, whine, whine. I’m sick of her pitiful, maryred mewlings.
The Bad Guys have no personality. They have no complexity. They’re there to abuse and hurt and nothing else. There is nothing human in them, and that’s just unbelievable.
This book was a waste of time.
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