The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

In a futuristic America, all of the children aged from 8 to 14 are dying from a disease known as IAAN, but the government is not concerned about those who are dying, they are more afraid of the 2% of children who are surviving it. Because these children are no longer simply human, these survivors are harbouring different dangerous gifts ranged from the Green level of higher intelligence to the Red level of powers like pyrokinesis. Canada and Mexico have shut their borders to the Americans, sealing in not only the disease, but the desperate teenagers who are being rounded up into concentration camps for 'rehabilitation'. Ruby is an Orange (someone who can control minds) who at the age of 10 years old was taken from her family along with thousands of other survivors who are now being held at Thurmond, a camp widely known for its harsh and dehumanising treatment of the children. After six years of hiding amongst the Greens with the help of her power, Ruby has evaded the mass killing of the Yellows, Oranges and Reds as they were seen as a safety risk, but when the truth comes out, Ruby barely escapes with her life. Now she is on the run, desperate to find the one safe haven left for people like her, and the one remaining non-psychotic Orange left who can help to control her powers. 

A story filled with hope, despair and love amidst a crumbling society and an even more corrupt government, Bracken's book left me crying from laughter and then crying from sadness, there was never a dull moment or one where I wanted to put the book down. I loved Ruby, a character who developed from a docile girl to a young women who put up with zero crap from the various people who wished to control her and her powers. The world building is fantastic, as if I was actually along for the ride with Ruby and her friends as they battled their way to a safe haven that may or may not even exist. The strength of the characters was astronomical after they were subjected to untold horrors and various losses, though not so strong as to make them seem un-human-like. Will be getting onto the next book ASAP because I cannot be left with that cliff hanger! Make sure you have a lot of time on your hands before starting to read this book because once you start you will not be putting it down until the very end.  

Rating: 4/5 Titans

"Maybe nothing will ever change for us. But don't you want to be around just in case it does?"

Other Books in the Series

The Darkest Minds
Never Fade
In the Afterlight (not yet published)