The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken is in one word: GOOD.  Not the most flowery of words to use but this story has the ingredients to become the next Hunger Games or Divergent series.  Set in a dystopian world where there is a virus IAAN (Idiopathic Adolescent Acute Neurodegeneration) that is causing children between the ages of 9-13 to die or become PSI (have psychic abilities).  Those that become PSI are feared by the adults and this cause the taking of children from their home, once symptoms hit.  The children are taken to camps and separated by a different color x marking their PSI power.  There are a total of 5 groups: Green, Blue, Yellow, Orange, and Red.  Green means that the child is good at solving puzzles/mathematical equations, the Blue means they have the ability to move objects with their minds, Yellow is for those that can control electricity, Orange is for those that can control others and their thoughts, and Red is not fully explained.

Ruby is our main character, who has been institutionalized since she was ten, she is now 16.  It is unclear what happened to get Ruby sent away, meanwhile you hear about others’ stories.  This leads to a mystery of her true code color.  She is placed with the greens but is that what she really is?  At some point someone infiltrates the camp and breaks Ruby and a boy named Martin out.  Because of their special powers, a group of rebels see them as a ticket to destroying the new world order.  As, Ruby begins to think about this group of rebels and what her part might be, she decides it would be better to make a run for it, to find her grandmother.

She then finds Liam, Chubs and Zu, kids that have escaped another camp and are on the run.  Once she meets up with them a world wind of suspense and lies commence.  Ruby will not tell them her ability, they do not tell her what they have been through and this person they are searching for, an Orange who helps way wards like them, who is he really. Bracken chose the brilliant technique of missing puzzle pieces and strung them along in this novel.  By the end I wasn’t sure what the hell was going on, for that matter I still don’t.  I don’t mean this negatively at all, the end begs for a sequel and I don’ think it is possible to know what will happen in the next book.  I loved it and think this is a great book for both genders since it hits romance, sci-fi, suspense, and thriller.