The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken, 488 pagesMix one part Steelheart, one part Fallout 3 and one part Legend, and well... you still don't really have The Darkest Minds, but you're getting in the right ballpark. This is dystopia, except things haven't completely fallen apart, this is X-men where powers are just one step more believable, this is an outbreak story, but... not really.
It's pretty amazing that in today's age of YA dystopian saturation (particularly trilogies involving love triangles), that a book squarely in that wheelhouse can feel this fresh. For once, it feels like the author is not simply parroting the same basic rules and story structures from other similar novels, but instead had her own story to tell. Whereas many of the recent dystopian novels feel like they're checking off ingredients on a list, The Darkest Minds doesn't really care if it follows the rules or not, nor how it gets typecast. If you ignore it because of its contemporaries, you're doing so at your own peril, because you're missing out on a really standout book.
I shouldn't oversell it though. If this genre of YA doesn't appeal to you, The Darkest Minds isn't going to change your mind. But if the genre hasn't entirely burnt you out, then this is a bit of a gem in the rough.
The biggest problem here, is likely not Bracken's fault at all. There's quite a few grammatical and spelling errors that somehow slipped through the cracks during the editing process. Like... a surprising enough amount that it can feel a bit unfinished.
Also Ruby, the protagonist, is not nearly as cool as Suzume. Fact.
And SLPL doesn't have the sequel even thought it's already been released, so I had to buy it myself, boo. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge YS staff
No comments:
Post a Comment