Synopsis: 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.
Review: I've read The Darkest Minds 3 times now, so I'm clearly a fan of this series. This is one of the few adventure dystopians I've read where all the characters feel important and they all bring their own unique charm. My favorite is Zu, but Chubs is a close second. They are both so in tune with the world they're in and they make decisions based on that, as opposed to Liam and Ruby who are focused on a singular mission. That's fine and it helps the story progress, but this is why I love Zu and Chubs. All of the kids were believable for their age as well. Zu was shy, Ruby was closed off because she hadn't been outside the camp for a long time, and Chubs and Liam were both headstrong. They were constantly bumping heads, but not enough to end their friendship which is refreshing. They always seem to challenge each other to think outside of their own experiences and look at other options.
The story is so well thought out. This is an almost 500 page book, so you might have to work up to reading this if you don't read a lot of larger books. I think the story is balanced quite well though. We get a good feel for how camp life was like for Ruby, but we also get snippets of her past peppered throughout the story. I wish we got a little bit more clarification on the different color categories and what these powers could be. The twists in this book are still solid and, while I knew what was coming, I still looked forward to seeing the characters react. I'm glad I made the decision to re-read this series because I do enjoy it quite a bit.
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