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  • The Darkest Minds

  • Darkest Minds, Book 1
  • Written by: Alexandra Bracken
  • Narrated by: Amy McFadden
  • Length: 13 hrs and 56 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (197 ratings)

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The Darkest Minds cover art

The Darkest Minds

Written by: Alexandra Bracken
Narrated by: Amy McFadden
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Publisher's Summary

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.

©2012 Alexandra Bracken (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

What listeners say about The Darkest Minds

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    1 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

kids book

Couldn't do it..... probably great for pre teens and or teens in general.

Narrator is definitely queued into the 16 yr old girl roll.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Where Did That Come From!

I like the mystery surrounding the different types of powers the children/kids have. They are all different in some way.
#Audible1

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3 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

A solid book for teens!

This story is better for teenage readers. The romance and storyline may be considered too predictable for adults. The narrator was good, very fitting for the main character!

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Inconsistencies

I really had to force myself to finish this book. I kept thinking, “Well how could that be possible?” Or “Why wouldn’t they…” I simply couldn’t get lost in this reality and kept being jerked out of the story with questions. So no, I can’t recommend this book.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Great story but slow moving.

I really liked the story but at times it was a little to poetic and therefore stalled the story. the characters were well developed and and the relationships were well written even if sometimes I wanted to slap Ruby for being so naive. Looking forward to seeing what happens next.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Riveting!

I really loved this book! The voices for each character were clear and precise. Can't wait to listen to the next book in the series.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

I loved this book!

The story was great. The performance was really great too, I felt very invested in the book.
#audible1

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Love at first character sighting

Was skeptical this book would live up to the hype and not fall prey to clichés but WOW it blew all my expectations out of the water Alexandra bracken has you falling in love with her characters at first glance and the narrator added so much his personality and heart to the characters that I actually cleaned my room just for an excuse to keep listening to this audiobook.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

I loved every minute

This book and this performance, 100% had me wanting more. Once I finished this book, I immediately bought the next in the series. I cannot wait to listen to it. It has a great story line that really draws you in and holds your attention

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Gritty YA Dystopia

Alexandra Bracken does a passable job delivering what fans of this genre expect: a young misfit with an impeccable heart-of-gold and secret powers.. navigating a fight against injustice, loyalties to friends, and confused hormonal urges.
Her protagonist (16 year-old Mind-control Psychic 'Ruby') is interesting, appropriately conflicted/insecure, and worthy of admiration. Surrounding characters (Psychokinetics 'Liam' +'Chubbs' .. and Electropsychic 'Zu') are typecast - but portrayed realistically; the threats are credible [The Government, Bounty-hunters known as "skip-tracers", a Psychic Terrorist organization who wants them for use as weapons ('The Children's League'), and "tribes" of feral-anarchic psychic kids]; the vocabulary/prose in this offering is creditable; and the author's conception of a collapsing world is chilling.
Unfortunately, the whole scenario is made so ludicrously implausible that the suspension of disbelief is nearly impossible. There are only 200,000 Americans under the age of 18 left alive and Society has collapsed (characters loot a burned out gas station for food at one point, for example).. but there are functioning Howard Johnson Hotels, Starbucks, Classic Rock Radio Stations, and well-maintained Cellular Networks for some reason 🙄.
In addition, Bracken's commitment to a dark, moody atmosphere is over-the-top (melodramatic dialogue is faaaaar overdone and metaphorical descriptions - everything in the environment is somehow "skeletal" or "slithering" - are heavy-handed).

The end result is an interesting but lazily sophomoric story (readers/listeners 10-14 years old are clearly the target demographic - adults will have some reservations that kids will likely miss).

Happily, Brilliance Audio did a great job casting Amy McFadden to read the book. Her diction and rate of reading are exemplary, her timbre and cadence are *perfect* for a First Person narrative from the perspective of a 16-year-old, and her emotive tone is spot-on. Yes, McFadden exhibits a noticeable sibilance that engineers struggle to soften and some of her voice-acting is cartoonishly overdramatic.. but the performance is undeniably enjoyable.
Bottom Line: while other production teams could doubtless generate similarly effective recordings, this iteration is solidly "above-average".

Taken altogether, this audiobook rates a respectable 7.5 stars out of 10. If you can get it on sale - as I did - it's an excellent option for a long drive with the kids. It was well worth the $7.30CDN I paid for it. Should they ask for full price/a Credit, however.. you would do better spending it on some Veronica Roth or Suzanne Collins.

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