Content levels
Trigger warnings
Positive tags
Hero archetypes
Heroine archetypes
Protagonist archetypes
Themes
Synopsis
When Ruby woke up on her tenth birthday, something about her had changed. Something frightening 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 had killed most of America’s children, but she and the others emerged with something far worse: frightening abilities they could not control. Now sixteen, Ruby is one of the dangerous ones. When the truth comes out, Ruby barely escapes Thurmond with her life. She is on the run, desperate to find the only safe haven left for kids like her—East River. She joins a group of kids who have escaped their own camp. Liam, their brave leader, 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. When they arrive at East River, nothing is as it seems, least of all its mysterious leader. But there are other forces at work, people who will stop at nothing to use Ruby in their fight against the government. Ruby will be faced with a terrible choice, one that may mean giving up her only chance at having a life worth living.
Tags
Is The Darkest Minds appropriate for my child?
Suitable for most readers 13 and up.
Teens with supernatural powers face brutal government imprisonment and violence. Contains themes of parental abandonment, captivity in camps, moderate action violence, and a developing romance with kissing but no sexual content.
What to know going in
This book has moderate violence, mild sexual content, and mild language. Content notes include child harm, captivity, and government oppression (see the full list above).
Who'll love this
Fast-paced dystopian adventure about teens with dangerous psychic powers trying to survive and find freedom while on the run from the government.