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    The Darkest Minds
    The Darkest Minds
    The Darkest Minds
    Audiobook13 hours

    The Darkest Minds

    Written by Alexandra Bracken

    Narrated by Amy McFadden

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Book one in the blockbuster Darkest Minds series—now with cover art from the major motion picture!

    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 got her sent to Thurmond, a brutal government "rehabilitation camp." She might have survived the mysterious disease that killed most of America's children, but she and the others emerged with something far worse: frightening abilities they cannot control.

    Now sixteen, Ruby is one of the dangerous ones.

    But when the truth about Ruby's abilities-the truth she's hidden from everyone, even the camp authorities-comes out, Ruby barely escapes Thurmond with her life. On the run, she joins a group of kids who escaped their own camp: Zu, a young girl haunted by her past; Chubs, a standoffish brainiac; and Liam, their fearless leader, who 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.

    While they journey to find the one safe haven left for kids like them-East River-they must evade their determined pursuers, including an organization that will stop at nothing to use Ruby in their fight against the government. But as they get closer to grasping the things they've dreamed of, Ruby will be faced with a terrible choice, one that may mean giving up her only chance at a life worth living.

    Editor's Note

    Dystopian superpowers…

    Though the series originally came out in 2012, “The Darkest Minds” has only become more relevant with time: It’s hard not to think of the immigrant children being held in detention camps by ICE under the Trump administration while reading about teens that develop superpowers being rounded up into internment camps. The movie adaptation stars darlings Amandla Stenberg and Mandy Moore.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateApr 2, 2013
    ISBN9781469291550
    The Darkest Minds
    Author

    Alexandra Bracken

    ALEXANDRA BRACKEN is the New York Times bestselling author of the Darkest Minds series. Born and raised in Arizona, she moved east to study history and English at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. After working in publishing for several years, Alex now writes full-time and can be found hard at work on her next novel in a charming little apartment that’s perpetually overflowing with books. Visit her online at www.alexandrabracken.com and on Twitter @alexbracken.

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    Reviews for The Darkest Minds

    4/5

    1,323 ratings98 reviews

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    • 4/5
      I found myself another dystopian series I love! I really liked this one! I liked the superpowers, world, characters, etc.. The ending tore my heart to pieces. I can probably guess where it all will end up, but I don't care because it was a lot of fun! The only criticism I have is that the main character was soooo whiny in the beginning and was very annoying. 4.5/5
    • 5/5
      Best audio book I've listened to yet, the story is gripping and fast paced, the narrator was perfect. I flew through this book and can't wait to start the next! If you like Divergent and Hunger Game type dystopian stories you'll love this book.
    • 4/5
      Better than the movie, fast paced, Ruby whines a bit too much.
    • 5/5
      watched the movie first then read this book, came honestly say that the book is 10 times better however i am not upset with the order i did things, i wouldnt have watched the movie otherwise.
    • 5/5
      I loved this audio book. Of course it had a twist. I can't wait to start the next book.
    • 5/5
      Just wow I hated this book so much. It was horrible it teared me apart but I kept listening.
    • 4/5
      This was a great start to a series! I almost cried at the end...which is unusual for me. I think the person reading the audio book could have been more invested in feelings the characters were going through.
    • 5/5
      i loved the storyline and the characters 5 stars for this book ???
    • 5/5
      This book was so great! The ending K I L L E D me! I love Ruby and the gang, so I expect a lot of respect heading to Alexandra's way from me! The book's writing fits so well and it's so atmospheric!
    • 5/5
      Ugh. Why have I been pushing this book aside for so long?? Like come on man. I knew this was going to be good but damn. I didn't know it was gonna be this good.
    • 5/5
      This book is amazing. It is made me cry but in a good way!
    • 5/5
      This audio was so good! I loved every second of it!
    • 5/5
      Most amazing, intriguing book i’ve ever read! Love it!
    • 3/5
      I thought this was pretty good, but the middle was soooo boring to me. Not sure why. I do think I’ll enjoy the second more, though.
    • 4/5
      Who doesn't love a good young adult dystopian story? Sure, we've encountered essentially the same premise in countless books, but for the most part they each have their own characters to get to know and their own trials and tribulations to survive.

      Bracken's writing must be particularly vivid as I can still recall most of the story visually, as though I saw it in movie format rather than listening to the audiobook.

      The president's son was a somewhat predictable character. Was anyone surprised that a politician's son would be an orange? Or that his goals for his camp weren't what they first seemed to be? But perhaps he gets a bit more depth in the next book in the series.

      I'd love to adopt Zu. Or maybe I could persuade her to adopt me.
    • 4/5
      This was awesome with just a hint of romance and true feelings of live without a ton hubba-balu of gushy emotions and back and forth and a female that's sleeps with the wrong person then sleeps with the right person.
      The character in this book truly emerges and you witness a true evolution of a character as she grows and matures.
      In other words : ❤️ it!!
    • 4/5
      Much better than the movie.

      ** spoiler alert **

      I would like some more background and details into the world they are living in. How other kids survive. How the adults are living, do they miss their kids, are more kids being born? Do the adults really still think their kids are being rehabilitated, especially with only one "success" story in all this time. What about all the kids who were older when they were taken and are now adults. Are they living among other adults and still have abilities and have to hide them? What about the why behind why kids were dying/got abilities, especially since it was US only? How is the rest of the world going doing?

      There are somethings about Clancy and what exactly is Project Jamboree and how he influenced/created it and what his plans were with the Reds. There was one phrase that hinted at him using them to maybe take over the government? I don't know, kind of confusing.

      I have so many unanswered questions. Hoping the next book gives a little more insight to things
    • 5/5
      Amazing ,heart-wrenching, thought-provoking! It absolutely shocked me in a good way
    • 5/5
      A brilliantly read, edge-of-your-seat book! I watched the film adaptation and wanted to continue the story. The film is actually quite faithful, but there is lots more enjoyment in the book, you can really become a part of that works because *you are the main character* because it is first-person! Highly recommended, for fans of "YA", fans of the film, fans of sci-fi, etc.
    • 4/5
      I suspect that if I had been able to read this straight through, it would've gotten the full five stars. Unfortunately school started and homework limited my reading time, giving me time to assess the things in this book that weren't perfect. Still, it's definitely worth four stars.

      One of the biggest reasons that I'm giving this book as high a rating as I am is because of Ruby. Ruby is a fantastic main character. It's easy to identify with her. She is sometimes stupid, but we always hear her reasoning of why she does the things she does. Except her erasure of Liam's memories at the end, that one wasn't reasoned out very well, and it was out of character for Ruby, given her terror of doing that very thing.

      Liam was nice. One problem is that I have trouble seeing the sweet, harmless Liam who feels guilty if he even just looses his temper. Don't get me wrong, he's a good character with a good conscience, but he didn't have the vulnerability that I felt he would need to be who Ruby, and the author describe him to be. I also felt that his romance with Ruby was forced. I can see how they could, eventually have something, but it was put in the story way to fast to be as strong as the author wants us to believe.

      Chubs is amazing. He is snarky, and stuck up, and annoying, but in some ways he has more vulnerability than Liam ever shows. Chubs is actually my second favorite character (after Ruby.) The ending was really, really annoying. I mean, couldn't they just let us know whether he survived? Please? How could you do that to us? How could you do that to Chubs?

      Suzume was sweet, and I thought she was a good character to contrast the other three main characters, so her abrupt departure was kind of disappointing. I do hope we will see her again.

      Clancy is everything you might expect. Handsome, charming, a natural leader, and ultimately a colossal jerk and a creep. One thing I wasn't totally sure on was whether he raped Ruby. It was almost implied because he froze her and kissed her, and then she woke up, but I was never actually sure if he was so evil as to force himself on her.

      I hope Sam is eventually able to restore the memories of the people whose memories she accidentally stole. There hasn't been much hope for her parents or Sam, but I was hoping from the beginning that she would be able to fix that, and the twist at the end will need to be corrected, and if she can correct that one, then she really should fix Sam and her parents. At least I hope so.

      The first three quarters (at least) of the book were incredible. In addition to being interrupted by stupid homework, the book got a little bit boring when the characters got to East End, but it snapped out of it pretty quickly. In time to provide us with a really, really irritating ending. That ending, combined with the slightly boring part that I got stuck at because of homework were what knocked off a star. Alexandra Bracken's characters are amazing, and she's pretty good at stories, she just needs to work on her endings.
    • 4/5
      So I feel like you can't trust anyone in this book. So many complexities and stories. I really don't like Clancy. That is one messed up kid.

      And that ending, it was just so sad.
    • 5/5
      I saw a comercial for the movie about to come out and it look interesting so I figured I would check out the book. I was not disappointed. I just finished it and I am so happy but sad at the same time. I’m actually kinda crying. It was a genius book. The plot was a little to similar to the book Unwound but otherwise it was really interesting. I feel in love with all of the characters and can’t wait to go read the next books. If you’re curious about the language used in book don’t be. They cuss but infrequently. I suggest this amazing book to any dystopian book lover!
    • 5/5
      Incredibly good! This book contains all the elements for a good young adults' literature bestseller. I absolutely loved it, and couldn't get enough of it once is started listening. Merely a work of art. I will definitely continue on to finish the trilogy.
    • 4/5
      The Darkest Minds is a science fiction story that takes place in a near future United States. The economy has crashed leaving many people out of work and homeless. The government has fallen apart. Worst of all, though, is that a disease has struck the nation’s children which has killed the vast majority of them and left the survivors with mental powers that frighten the adults. The children are rounded up and sent to camps where they are supposedly being cured. Ruby was ten when her powers developed. She has the ability to get into people’s minds and see their memories. She can also erase people’s minds and get them to do what she wants. Her powers would be classified at the orange level but she managed to convince the tester to classify her as a green. She spends six years at Thurmond where conditions are brutal for all the children. She sees the kids classified as yellow, orange, and red removed from the camps. Rumor has it that they have been killed. Ruby’s life changes when she is sixteen and she is rescued from the camp by the Children’s League. At first she is grateful for the rescue but her ability to see into memories quickly shows her that the League’s motives aren’t as pure as they told her. They want Ruby – who is one of the few remaining oranges – as a weapon to use in their attempt to overthrow the government. Ruby runs from them and meets three other children who are also on the run. Liam and Chubs are about her age and are blues – who have psychokinetic powers – and Suzume is a yellow and can control electricity. Through them she learns that there might be a safe place for kids if they can just find it. There is supposed to be a place called East River overseen by another mysterious kid called the Slip Kid where they can be safe. The kids go through all sorts of adventures on the hunt for East River. They have to avoid the skip tracers who are after them and the PSIs who are the President’s soldiers and the Children’s League. Along the way friendship develops between them and a romance develops between Liam and Ruby. When they find East River, they learn that it is not the paradise that they were hoping for and the Slip Kid not the hero they needed. While I enjoyed the story, I did feel that it was too long. I found it easy to put down and walk away from for long stretches of time during the middle of the story. But there was lots I liked too. I liked the relationship between Liam and Ruby. I liked that Ruby was afraid of her powers and determined to learn to control them. I liked that Ruby and Liam had a vision for their future that would make life better for all children. Liam was a true hero and a charismatic leader. I liked the friendship between Liam and Chubs and I completely understood why Chubs was initially so suspicious of Ruby. Fans of science fiction and dystopias will be the audience for this story. I sincerely hope that there is a sequel planned as the ending just about broke my heart.
    • 5/5
      I just saw the movie and it was awesome! But it left off with a crazy cliff hanger so I figured I would read the books. Omg. Way more detail. Super pleasing! Can't wait to read the next one. Also, the narrator us wonderful!
    • 5/5
      if i met the author :"thankyou,screwyou and I love you"
      thanks for lovely times
      screw for the hearteache
      i love for ...
    • 3/5
      Book Nook — Young Adult book reviewsMy journey with The Darkest Minds was a strange and complex one. My enjoyment was all over the place: up, down, and everywhere in between. The book started out pretty awesome. It put us right into the midst of things, it held back details to keep me interested.. it was great. But somewhere at the end of the beginning, my interest dropped off pretty hard. I felt like nothing was happening, it seemed like just a glorified road trip, I couldn't tell where the relationships were headed—or even where the plot was headed, and I didn't mind putting down the book. But at the end of the middle, things started picking up and getting intense again!So let's try to break this down...My first problem with the book is that we have very little back story. Or more accurately: it's there but it's never explained. We know that a disease killed off most of the child population. We know that the survivors have strange powers. We know that the government put those survivors in "rehabilitation" camps that were like prisons. The entire story is focused around these gifted children—Psi—seeking freedom and rights, but no one seems to question or wonder how they got those powers in the first place. And to be honest, that was my very first question. It's just like "Okay, so we all have these super crazy powers, we need freedom. That's all." Does no one care where they came from? Is no one curious as to how the heck these kids developed those powers?? We don't even get a hint that this question will be answered in the future; it was just ignored.Also, one more quick note, the powers were honestly a bit confusing because kids are classified by colour: green, blue, yellow, orange, and red. I came to understand that the higher the colour, the more dangerous the powers, but it was never clearly explained what each colour is. It was vaguely hinted that certain powers had a certain colour (i.e. telekinesis = blue; something with electricity = yellow; power over the mind = orange;), but I would have liked a clearer explanation of each rank. Unless I'm retarded and somehow missed those explanations during one of the "enjoyment low points" when my concentration was off...Moving on, I did not like the main character at all. Ruby was all about the pity parties. Her inner dialogue was constantly going on about how she's evil, she's dangerous, she's one of the bad ones, if her friends knew they would HATE HER, if anyone knew they would OUTCAST HER. Poor, poor Ruby. I'm trying hard to not sound like a bitch here, but oh my god, it drove me totally insane. And I felt like the 'big reveal' wasn't even that big of a deal. I mean, yeah it was scary and weird and okay, she's powerful.. but come on. We had a front row seat to her pity party every single chapter. It got old after a while and I just wanted to sew her inner dialogue's mouth shut.My last complain before we move onto the good stuff: the romance. The romance in this book had zero build up, and then it popped up out of nowhere. I guess it wasn't quite insta-love because Ruby and Liam were travelling together for a while, but they spent all that time travelling with next to zero flirtation or sexual tension, and then they were suddenly like, "Oh darlin', I've wanted you all along!" (Yes, he says "darlin'", I thought that was weird too.) To be fair, it wasn't horrible, it just could have had more build up. If the build up was better, I think it would have made an okay romance, especially because Liam is quite a likeable character (except for the "darlin'" thing, which made me feel like he was an 80 year old grandfather).This is all starting to feel depressing, so let's talk about the good stuff! The overall story behind The Darkest Minds is really interesting; we have powers, mind control, manipulation, government agents, conspiracy, and more! My love of the plot is one of the reasons that I'm dying to know more about the back story.Unfortunately, my favourite character is introduced towards the end so I'm hesitant to talk about him much, and my favourite part of him isn't even revealed until the very end! So I guess just know that there are a very wide variety of interesting and different characters. Some are annoying (like Ruby), but a lot of them have interesting personalities and they easily stand out from each other. Liam is sweet, determined, and a good leader—but he has flaws that you'll grow to love in some weird way. Chubs is totally weird and sometimes annoying, but he'll also grow on you.. especially near the end. And Zu is the most adorable character ever! I wanted to hold her, hug her, squeeze her, and protect her from the world.Overall, The Darkest Minds wasn't a bad book—I just wanted to see more from it. I wanted more explanations, more detail, and more answers. The story left off in a REALLY great place (and by "great" I mean it hooked me in and I want to keep reading), so that's very promising. I have some high hopes for book #2! The ending was set up in such a way that the second book could quite easily not be a 'filler'. Fingers crossed!
    • 5/5
      Inhaltsangabe:Ruby ist zehn Jahre alt, als sie mit 3000 anderen Kindern in ein Internierungslager gebracht wird. Denn Ruby hat das Kindersterben überlebt und besitzt seither besondere Fähigkeiten. Aus Angst vor den Konsequenzen verbirgt sie ihre Fähigkeiten und überlebt somit sechs Jahre in Thurmont, ehe sie von der „Childrens League“ befreit wird.Ruby bemerkt jedoch auch sehr schnell hier ein paar Unstimmigkeiten und kann aus ihren Fängen fliehen. Auf der Flucht trifft sie auf eine Gruppe Jugendlicher, angeführt für Liam Steward. Zu, ein asiatisches Mädchen, das nicht mehr sprechen kann, und Chubs gehören zu dieser Gruppe. Während Liam in Ruby eine Bereicherung für die Gruppe sieht, steht Chubs ihr skeptisch gegenüber. Doch Ruby kann sich bewähren – mehr als einmal. Denn sie werden nicht nur von den Lageraufsehern, sogenannte PSF’s gesucht, sondern auch von den Skiptracern und der „Childrens League“. Und alle sind bereit, scharfe Waffen gegen die Jugendlichen einzusetzen, die eigentlich nur eines wollen: Nach Hause und ein normales Leben führen.Ruby erfährt, das die Gruppe das Camp des „Der Flüchtling“ sucht, den Sohn des amtierenden Präsidenten der USA, der genau wie sie ein Orangener sein soll. Denn Orangene haben Fähigkeiten, die für die Gesellschaft gefährlich werden können. Deshalb werden diese auch gejagt, mit allen Mitteln. Ruby weiß, sie gehört fast schon zu den Letzten …Mein Fazit:Ein spannender Auftakt zu einer Trilogie der allertiefsten Dystopie. Und so beklemmend und furchteinflössend noch dazu.Man stelle sich eine Gesellschaft vor, in der Kinder als Freaks angesehen werden. Nicht, weil sie so entzückend sind. Nein, weil die Kinder mentale Fähigkeiten entwickeln, die die Erwachsene nicht verstehen und die ihnen, unterstützt von der Regierung, Angst machen. Das große Massen-Sterben der Kinder ist ebenso geheimnisvoll wie zerstörerisch, denn fast jedes Kind ist betroffen. Diejenigen, die überlebt haben, werden in irgendein Internierungslager gebracht, wo sie kein menschenwürdiges Leben mehr haben. Sie werden nach Farben – entsprechend ihrer Fähigkeiten – eingeteilt, doch einige Farben verschwinden später ganz von der Bildfläche.Ruby ist eine Orangene … sie kann mit Hilfe einer Berührung in die Gedanken des anderen schlüpfen, Befehle erteilen oder Erinnerungen löschen. Allerdings hat sie ihre Kraft noch nicht unter Kontrolle bzw. hat sie keine rechte Ahnung, wozu sie eigentlich wirklich fähig ist. Als sie auf die Gruppe von Liam stößt, wird sie mehrmals gefordert, sich und die Gruppe zu verteidigen, denn die „Jäger“ sind ihnen stets auf der Spur. Und jedes Mal empfindet sie sich als Monster. Liam, zu dem sie tiefe Gefühle entwickelt, vertraut ihr jedoch und nimmt sie stets in Schutz. Auch zu den anderen Kindern entwickelt sie allmählich eine gute Beziehung und sie streifen gemeinsam durchs Land auf der Suche nach dem Flüchtling.Und dann ist da noch das Neben-Szenario, das der Staat pleite ging und Chaos und Arnachie ausbrach. Ganze Landstriche sind verwaist, verlassene Supermärkte geplündert. Polizei gibt es nicht mehr und die Menschen ziehen zu den Großstädten, da sie keine Arbeit mehr haben. Universitäten und Schulen sind geschlossen, weil a) kein Geld mehr da ist und b) keine Kinder mehr da sind, die es zu unterrichten gilt. Sehr beklemmend …Die Charaktere haben für mich Tiefgang. Man weiß genug und doch nicht alles, genau, wie Ruby es aus ihrer Perspektive sieht. Aber auch ihre inneren Zweifel und Ängste sind sehr gut aufgefangen und für mich sehr glaubwürdig geschrieben. Mich hat teilweise entsetzt, wie viele Gefahren-Situationen die Jugendliche aushalten mussten. Aber wenn man die Rahmen-Handlung in Betracht zieht, ist es klar und nachvollziehbar, wenn auch verstörend.Diese Geschichte hat mich von der ersten Seite an gefesselt. Nur zum Ende hin gab es einen kleinen Hänger, aber das ging schnell vorüber, denn es passierte schon wieder was Dramatisches. Ich freue mich, den zweiten Teil der Trilogie zu lesen und hoffe, das Ruby weiterhin für das Gute kämpft und sie sich weiter entwickeln kann. Dieser Teil bekommt von mir volle 5 Sterne.Anmerkung: Ich habe es als eBook gelesen!Veröffentlicht am 12.07.15!
    • 5/5
      I don't listen to many audio books and I upon listening to the snippet available to us for free wasn't sure about the vocal artist. I went ahead and got the book and was amazed. The story was captivating and the artist did the story great justice. This isn't just a kids book.

      The only negatives I can possibly find is the fact that 6 years into a traumatic experience and the author indicates that the main character still remembers clearly music, pop culture, directions, area codes and other detailed moments from being 9-10. Some of these things the average 10 year old wouldn't be paying attention to enough to recall a normal year later let alone be a well behaved, morals-intact kid, who remembers tons of details after 6 traumatizing years.

      Still, very small issues given the fact that everything else makes up a masterfully epic tail. (A couple of graphic violent moments so preview before giving to a youth please)
    • 1/5
      They just had to go woke, so I won’t bother listening

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