The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken--ADVISIBLE

Bracken, Alexandra The Darkest Minds, 488 pgs. Hyperion, 2012. $17.99. Language: R (100+ swears 3 Fs); Mature Content: PG-13; Violence: PG-13

Everything starts to change in Ruby’s world when she turns ten and a mysterious disease attacks America’s children. Most of the children die, but the others begin to manifest strange, and even dangerous, powers that lead authorities to lock them up in rehabilitation camps. Separated from her family, Ruby has to do whatever it takes to survive. After she turns sixteen everything alters when a society formed to fight the government breaks her out of camp. Now on the run she joins up with other kids like her and it is up to them to not only survive, but figure out what they want their future to be.

This book is another in a long line of supernatural novels, but presents the reader with a new idea. Children who have powers of varying degrees are placed into rehabilitation camps and the chaos that ensues causes an appealing story to unfold. The overall plot of the book is intriguing and the characters are well-written and the reader will come to care for them and their futures. The story also brings up intriguing ideas about the direction the United States is heading and what might happen to our government and society if we, as a nation, were faced with a crisis. The book is the first in a series.

MS,HS—ADVISIBLE AEB