Review: The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken (=MUST READ!!)

Genre: YA, dystopia, sci-fi, romance, paranormal
Series: The Darkest Minds #1

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.

My review: ★★★★★

GET READY FOR A REVIEW FULL OF CAPSLOCK AND GIFS!

It’s been two weeks since I finished this book and I’m still not over it. This book is worth ALL the hype. I’ve been seeing this book everywhere. Goodreads, Instagram, blogs… and it made me curious. I had extremely high expectations about the plot and especially the ending. And oh man, I am completely stunned. Alexandra is an amazing writer. She completely ruined me. RUINED me.

This book is a rollercoaster of feelings. I laughed, cried, squealed, held my breath, … I think my face was worth filming through the whole book, because I must have done a few weird expressions. I cannot believe how good this was. Like I said, my expectations were VERY high and I wasn’t bored for a single second while reading The Darkest Minds.

The story is a little slow in the beginning, because you get a lot of information about the world Alexandra created, but it wasn’t boring-slow, it was interesting-slow (you know what I mean?). I loved how Alexandra introduced everything. Dystopia isn’t my usual genre, so even I’m surprised of how much I loved this.

That being said, let me tell you my feelings about the characters. Ready? Okay, here I go:

RUBY, LIAM, CHUBS AND ZU ARE MY BABIES. I LOVE THEM SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH OH MY GOD.

Ruby: She is freaking badass! She is one of my fav main characters, without hesitation. She had an amazing and big heart and I loved the way she thinks. She’s been through hell and she’s still so good. She’s a survivor and I just love her.

Liam: CAN I HAVE HIM PLEASE? I have a huge crush on him and… and… oh god, I can’t after that ending… I just… I CAN'T.

Chubs: I want him as bestie. He’s amazing and I love him so much. I wasn’t so sure about him in the beginning, but once a friendship started between him and Ruby, I just couldn’t resist him anymore. He’s funny, caring and such a good friend! I WANT MORE OF HIM!!

Zu: Awwwww, she’s just freaking cute! I love how she expresses herself and I am very curious about her past! I cannot wait to find out more about her!

The rest of the characters were amazing too. I even loved how much I hated Clancy (because no, Ruby is for Liam, just get out)!! Every character is so complex and although we don’t know much about all the side-characters, Alexandra managed to make me interested in every one of them.

The whole plot of this book keeps you on edge. It’s damn stressful (the good kind)! One moment it’s fast-paced, on other times you’re like ‘what the HELL is happening?’. The whole thing with the abilities is freaking cool!! Cannot wait to find out more about the other colors! 

And then you have these super cute romantic moments and your heart melts completely.

That’s the thing I loved the most by the way: the romantic moments. Not because they were super cheesy, but the way Alexandra slipped them into this (dark) dystopian story. The romance in this book is effortless and personally, I think this is the best kind. And HELL YES, I SHIP LIAM AND RUBY!!

I want to tell you so much more about my feelings, but I think you’re going to find it out yourself while you’re going to read this book yourself (because trust me, YOU WILL), so I’m just going to say one more thing:

THAT ENDING WAS JUST FREAKING EVIL. LIKE NO. NO. NO. NOPEEEEEEE.

Little tip: make you already bought the second book before finishing this one. You’ll need it.

*sighs* This is such a crappy review, but I just CAN’T COPE WITH THIS BOOK. IT’S SO FREAKING GOOD AND MY MIND/HEART IS A MESS.