REVIEW: The Darkest Minds (The Darkest Minds #1) by Alexandra Bracken

The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

Did Not Finish at 45%

““Maybe nothing will ever change for us,” he said. “But don’t you want to be around just in case it does?”

No. I don't wanna be there anymore when things change, because I am so done with this book. Here I am, hating myself, for picking up another over-hyped book, which I did not enjoy at all. I paused at 45% with this book - I just couldn't bear to torture myself any longer, trying to figure out what the fuck was happening. I have no freakin' clue. I seriously have to stop forcing myself to read dystopian books. So far the only ones I did like was THG, Divergent, False Memory and Terra. The others? (Wither, Eve and Catching Fire and a bunch of others I couldn't remember or don't want to remember) Not too much.

I didn't hate this book. I am not angry. I am not upset. Just disappointed, because there is far too many good stuff in here that should have been more developed. There were just too many questions, I wanted answered. You might be thinking, I'm an idiot, for wanting the answers, but not finishing the book. That's one of my problems with this book, it was interesting, but not presented in a way that readers like me, who enjoy fast paced book will enjoy.

I GOT TO TELL YOU. THIS BOOK IS ONE OF THE SLOWEST BOOKS I'VE EVER READ!

It bored me.

THE GIST

Kids were dying.

They had no idea what was causing it.

On Ruby's 10th birthday, something happened to her.

She was then, taken away, along with a bunch of other kids.

They were taken to a Rehabilitation camp.

Ruby was one of the few who didn't die. But instead, she developed powers. Powers she never knew possible.

The kids were classified by colors.

Ruby was definitely not a green.

She was smart enough to pretend she was.

Ruby was able to escape the camp. 

The camp that says that they were tying to help the kids, but really, they were just abused there. 

They were experimented on. 

They were forced to do manual labor.

They were separated.

They were punished for being what they are.

And some of them are killed.

Ruby has been locked up in Thurmond for a long time, so when she got out, she had no idea what to do, or who to trust.

What she does have is her ability - her ability that she hides from everyone.

She knew she was dangerous.

She knew that what she can do could hurt other people.

Now, she's on the run from the government, from the people who broke her out from Thurmond, and from herself.

But how long can she run?

How long could she evade the people who wants to use her abilities to fight the government?

Let me start with the good.

1. This book started out really strong. For me, a good start is a good start. The start of the book should always be strong, because then it will keep the readers interested. This one has that. All the things that were revealed about the concentration camps during the first few chapters were really intriguing - I wanted to know more about it.

2. The ending. Okay. I didn't finish this book, but because I wanted to find out how it ended... I skimmed. And I was glad I did. I was so glad I did. I find the ending to my liking actually. It wasn't expected.

Now here are my issues

1. I've never really had a thing for dystopian novels. If you ask me, they are my least favorite genre of all time. For some reason, I'm not too keen about reading how the future will end up. I'm not really comfortable with the fact, that these could really happen to our society in the future. And I figure that's what dystopian novels should do, invoke that type of feeling that this could happen in a forseeable future. This book failed in that regard for me. I couldn't believe any of it, mainly because there was so much information missing. The attempt was good though. Kids were hit by some sort of an epidemic where they either die or get X-men like powers. But why the kids? Why not the adults? Why do some die and others develop powers? How did that happen? I know I didn't read past 45% of the book so, maybe they did explain it, but based on some of the reviews I've read - it wasn't revealed. Readers have to know those things so that they could believe it. It has to be explained. In order for an illness to sound legit, it should be backed up with some sort of a story why it broke out and how it affects only kids and all that crap.

2. The government in this book is stupid. They are real idiots. Why would you take these kids to a camp, make them shine shoes, do some other stuff, experiment on them, but not train them to use it rather than keep them confined, hide them from everyone? Why? I get that they're afraid of what they could do. Humans are like that. They're afraid of what they are not familar with. Human nature. But then, doesn't anyone on that fucked up government even realize that the more they oppress these kids of their abilities, the more they are a risk for them? At some point, they are going to get angry. At some point, they are going to rebel. If they trained these kids, there are more benefits than keeping them and treating them like criminals. These are kids we are talking about. What the hell happened to lets protect our kids for our future generation? They are bunch of idiots. Totally unbelievable. I hate those fucktards!

3. The writing. It was confusing as a mathematical equation. I felt like I was solving a math problem the entire time. Oh God I hate math. So imagine my agony. I don't mean it in an offensive way - but it's just that I couldn't get to where some parts are going. It was all over the place for me. I'm not sure if the author intentionally did that, but it didn't work for me.

4. Ruby. She was also one of my biggest problem. For a dystopian novel, the protagonist should be strong. Sometimes they start weak, but then they develop. I didn't see that in Ruby. (Based on the parts I've read obviously). I was 45% in the book - I didn't see any changes in her at all. She was all mopey and doing the annoying monologue in head about how dangerous she is blah blah. I seriously don't give a shit about Ruby. I actually like Zu better. I think she'll be a better protagonist.

5. Liam and Ruby. Zero chemistry. I like Liam, not in anyway though like I liked Peeta or Four. Nope. He was just nice. And together? I don't see it. It obviously wasn't insta-love which I am grateful, but sometimes, based on just how two characters talk, you'll feel the connection. But with these two... there was none for me. If there was some sort of a park between them, I would have cried towards the ending... even if I skipped.

6. SO SLOW! This is the thing I hated the most about this book. There was too much development on the relationship between the characters (which not really by the way) that the excitement of the story went on a pause. It was like watching a movie but then it was cut in the middle, then you have to watch shit loads of commercial before you get to see the last half of the movie. And admit it, that's pretty annoying. I thought, that stupid road trip was worth somthing.. That was the final straw for me!

FINAL RAMBLING

I'm not sure how I'm going to end this review.

Hmmm. I really wished I liked this. I really wished I did. This book had so much potential. I know a lot of readers are already crazy about this - it could be more than what it already is.

I might try it again someday, when I won't be too distracted with the other books I have in my shelf. It might be that I'm just not into it at this time, I will give it a try again... Maybe.

I think I just about sums up my entire review of this. If you agree or don't agree, feel free to comment below. If you think I missed out on something during the beginning of this book that made me think that there were too many inconsistencies, feel free to point them out to me so I could maybe recheck it again or reread this.

As of now, I don't recommend this. For those of you who liked this and want to read something like it, I could recommend Dan Krokos' False Memory. It isn't that hyped up, as far as I know, but that book's strength is the one The Darkest Minds lack.

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