The Darkest Minds - Alexandra Bracken

Summary:  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. (Summary and image from goodreads.com)

My Review:  Ruby is not brave.  She's dangerous.  She's terrified of people finding out who she is and what she can do, but she's even more terrified of herself.

The premise of this book grabbed me from the first few pages.  Alexandra Bracken has approached the dystopian genre with fresh eyes -- instead of the typical "start in the middle", Bracken begins where it should, at the beginning.  Society hasn't fallen apart yet, but it's about to, and Ruby and her misunderstood, newly-found powers have a front row seat.

I started this book in the middle of a reading drought.  I'm ashamed to admit that I've been reading the same book for over a month.  It's fascinating.  But I'm just stuck in such a busy rut I can't devote the brain power to finish it.  I picked this up one lazy and grumpy day, thinking I may finish it before summer, and couldn't put it down.  At all.  (I finished it that day.)  I have so many questions I'm dying to get answered - why did the absence of powers affect the children so dramatically?  What in the WORLD does the government think is going to happen to the next generation?  Is there a way to fix Ruby's powers?  When, oh, when, will the next book come out?!

If you're needing a good, quick, fun read, grab this one on your next trip out.  Trust me.

My Rating: Four and a half stars. 

For the Sensitive Reader:  Children are placed in concentration camps.  Although the first two thirds of the book are shockingly cuss word free, there is a profanity-laced speech at the end that makes up for the restraint in the first part of the book.