In The Darkest Minds, we meet a sixteen year old Ruby Daly, who is lives in a world where the only children still alive after the disease, are teenagers with uncontrollable, and some times dangerous abilities. She and other kids plagued with this curse were sent to abusive “rehabilitation camps” put together by the government to separate them from society. In this camp, Ruby meets three other kids; Zu, a younger girl haunted by her past; Chubs, a boy that has less dangerous abilities, but a strong intellect; and Liam, a boy with dangerous abilities that begins to develop feelings for Ruby. Eventually, group of kids are able to escape camp, to them the idea of being free from the government is glorious. Unfortunately, they had no idea of the other dangers that lie outside of the camp walls, and the difficulties they will face. Ruby is left with a difficult decision, to lose her life or everything she has fought to keep.
The beginning and exposition of the novel had me very much intrigued. I was addicted to reading this book. I latched onto the journey of them escaping the camp and figuring out their relationships with one another as they built trust. I also tend to like a good teen romance story, and was quite excited as Ruby and Liam’s relationship developed. Their backstories were all hidden and I was eager to learn about their pasts which kept me reading. Unfortunately, the end of the book started losing me as the story did not turn out exactly as I was hoping, but this is likely due to my own personal preferences. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and it was a great read. Personally though, I have never read through the whole series because the last book really lost me. I would recommend reading this book, but honestly I stopped after book two, which unfortunately leaves a cliffhanger. If you are interested in science fiction and young adult adventures with hints of romance, this book or series, might interest you.