The Darkest Minds

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Soon to be a 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.

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School Library Journal Review

Gr 9 Up-When Idiopathic Adolescent Acute Neurodegeneration broke out in the United States, most teens died, and the few who lived manifested psi powers, from telekinesis to mind control. The government, already on edge from political and economic issues, used scare tactics, misinformation, and bullying to insure that parents sent their children to government "rehabilitation" camps. Ruby was placed in Camp Thurmond at the age of 10. Once there, the youths with special powers were punished, not rehabilitated. At 16, she is liberated by the Children's League, but they, too, want to control her, and she breaks from them to join fellow escapees Liam, Chubs, and Zu. They are determined to find the Slip Kid, who is rumored to help kids reunite with their families. This ragtag foursome outfits themselves at an abandoned Walmart, fights off unfriendly youth "tribes," and begins to forge bonds of trust and romance. Ruby makes a thoughtful sacrifice, for the good of those she loves in the final chapters of the book (Hyperion, 2012), the first in a trilogy. Narrator Amy McFadden grows more comfortable with the voices as the title progresses, adding more nuance, particularly to major characters, and the proper note of teenage sarcasm. This dystopian tale will attract fans of Scott Westerfeld's "Uglies" (Simon Pulse) and Lauren Oliver's "Delirium" series (HarperCollins).-Maggie Knapp, Trinity Valley School, Fort Worth, TX (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.