|| The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken: Discussion W/ Anna @ Annaish ||

I recently had my first ever buddy-read with the loveliest of lovelies, Anna, from Annaish. While I kind of sucked on the actual keeping on track with reading part (@ school: why), it was immensely fun to be reading a book at the same time as another blogger, and to be able to flail over everything that was happening.

And Anna had the great idea of taking our buddy-read a step further, by doing discussion posts on both of our blogs! We both have the same set of questions to answer about the book, and we'll be discussing all of our thoughts on the first Darkest Minds book.
You can go see Anna's post over on her blog, and leave a comment while you're there, because she's the best. ^-^

The Blurb: (cover + summary from Goodreads) 

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.

The Questions: 

1. First off, what color would you be? (Kids in the TDM world are sorted in base camps by colors; which correlate to their abilities. Red- pyrokinesis; Orange- mind control; Yellow- power over electricity; Blue- teleknesis; Green- super intelligence.)

Anna's Answer: Blue! I feel like the Blue abilities would fit me best.

My Answer: I'd probably wind up being a green, only because I spend so much time shoving facts and schoolwork into my head-- but I do think being a yellow and having power over electricity like Zu did, would be amazing. 

2. Favorite character (so far)?

Anna's Answer: Oh definitely Zu. She's a rebellious little girl yet a sweetheart.

My Answer: I'm definitely a huge fan of Chubs and Zu. Zu reminded me a lot of Eleven??? But that could just be because I'm so obsessed with Stranger Things. And I related to Chubs a lot, because I feel like in his situation I'd be exactly the same. Closed off, kind of bitter, and lugging a book with me everywhere I went. (Except it'd probably be The Foxhole Court instead of Watership Down, but still.) 

3. If you were an adult in this world, how would your story play out?

Anna's Answer: Haha I'm pretty sure I would be a 50/50 parent. Like, let's say, the PSI comes knocking on my door and wants to take my kid away. I could see myself saying:

"NO NO ... WILL! YOU CAN'T TAKE MY WILL. NOT MY WILL!! WILL SWEETIE W I L L!!

Or

"oh yeah you can take that mutant kid. just take a left and down the hallway,,, third door."

I'm going with me as a "NOT MY WILL!!" parent.

My Answer: The first answer that popped into my head was, "Dead, tbh."

In all seriousness though, I feel like I'd be that ever skeptical adult not really believing the government/what others were saying. I'd probably wind up making my own conclusions, trying to help the kids I came across as best I could??

4. Any favorite quotes?

“The Darkest Minds tend to hide behind the most unlikely faces."

“I think maybe the most frustrating feeling in the world is to have something to say but not know how to put it into words. To have lived through something but not be able to get it out of you before it festers.”

5. Ruby and Liam's relationship ... thoughts? 

Anna's Answer: 

My Answer: I wasn't majorly shipping it, and the insta-love aspect was cringey, but I liked their kind of mutual respect for each other, and how their relationship progressed as the book unfolded. I do think Liam may have suffered from a little bit of being too perfect? I feel like most people when placed in an apocalypse style setting wouldn't be half as open or caring as he was. It felt a little odd at times. But overall not too bad-- and I definitely felt the pain Anna mentioned, at the end of the book. 

6. Do you have any fancast ideas for the main characters? (optional: fanart, edits, memes)

Anna's Answer: I do! Here are some links to my favorite edits, fancasts and memes ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) 

(each letter is one link)

T H E  D A R ( << i love this tumblr so much) K E S ( << that link has offensive language) T  M I N D S (<< i couldn't find anymore memes rip)  

My Answer: I don't have any fancasts, as so far I like what I've seen for the casting they've done for the adaptation. I especially commend them on ensuring that they have a diverse cast. It's a nice change from the usual white-washed adaptations. 

As for edits/art, I'm just really in love with this one:

7. Thoughts on the movie adaptation?

Anna's Answer:  I am loving the casting for this movie adaptation! I have high hopes. Exciting stuff!

My Answer: I think it'll make a really good movie, but as always with adaptations, I just hope they don't butcher it. I feel like it'll be made into something akin to The 5th Wave movie, which wasn't actually too bad?? (I was grinding my teeth at it only because I love the book so much)

8. Do you have any possible theories in the next book, Never Fade?

Anna's Answer: Not really. I just hope that the black betty crew™ find each other again. 

My Answer: Certainly Ruby and a certain character have to meet up again, because there is no way I can accept that ending. I think Ruby will definitely find her way out of her current situation. I don't know?? Perhaps she makes her own camp + hunts down kids to protect them? I want to see more of her powers, that's for sure, because I really enjoyed that element of TDM.

9. Speaking of which, are you planning to continue reading this series?

Anna's Answer: Most likely!  

My Answer: At this time, I can't see myself picking up the next book for a while. The Darkest Minds was one I kind of slugged through, with regards to the writing style, so if I do pick it up, it'll probably be later in the year when I'm not trying to get ahead of my reading goal.

10. Finally, were you satisfied with this book? (optional: a star rating )

Anna's Answer: I was! I found The Darkest Minds to be a somewhat cliché dystopia but also found myself enjoying it. 4.5/5 stars!

My Answer: I'd say yes! It wasn't an all time favorite, but I gave it 3 out of 5 stars, and I definitely liked a lot of the aspects that appeared throughout the story. ^-^

And there we go, lovelies! Our discussion on The Darkest Minds, by Alexandra Bracken.

A big thank you to Anna for partaking in this buddy-read with me! I know I wasn't the best at it, but it really was fun getting to read it around the same time and discuss everything that went on. It definitely made the whole reading process 100x more enjoyable. <3 

Now, let's chat! Have you read TDM? What did you think of it? If not, are you intrigued? It's an interesting book, that's for sure. Let me know what power you think you'd have, and the power you'd want, down below! :)