Review: The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

The Darkest Minds
by Alexandra Bracken
Series: The Darkest Minds #1
Publication Date: 18 December 2012
Disney Hyperion, Hardcover, 488 pages
Source: Library

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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 gets her sent to Thurmond, a brutal government “rehabilitation camp.” She might have survived the mysterious disease that’s killed most of America’s children, but she and the others have emerged with something far worse: frightening abilities they cannot control.

Now sixteen, Ruby is one of the dangerous ones.

When the truth comes out, Ruby barely escapes Thurmond with her life. Now she’s on the run, desperate to find the one safe haven left for kids like her-East River. She joins a group of kids who 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 a life worth living.

Rating: ★★★★

Disclaimer: I was rather busy and hence distracted when I read this book you might want to take my opinions with a pinch of salt.

I had been really looking forward to reading The Darkest Minds because I’ve seen so many amazing reviews about it on Goodreads and it has been some time (about 4.5 months?) since I last read a dystopian novel. It was a pretty good book with the exception of one rather glaring issue—Ruby.

Ruby was such a hot and cold character; one moment you would admire her courage and intelligence yet the next her pushover attitude might make you want to yank your—or her—hair out. Although some may see her bravery mixed with bouts of cowardice as something that made her more ‘real’, I found the clash of personality traits too inconsistent and jumbled, and was left grasping at wisps of random characteristics, wondering who exactly is Ruby?

Review: These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner

These Broken Stars
by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner
Series: Starbound #1
Publication date: 10 December 2013
Disney Hyperion, Hardcover, 374 pages
Source: Purchased

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It’s a night like any other on board the Icarus. Then, catastrophe strikes: the massive luxury spaceliner is yanked out of hyperspace and plummets into the nearest planet. Lilac LaRoux and Tarver Merendsen survive. And they seem to be alone. 

Lilac is the daughter of the richest man in the universe. Tarver comes from nothing, a young war hero who learned long ago that girls like Lilac are more trouble than they’re worth. But with only each other to rely on, Lilac and Tarver must work together, making a tortuous journey across the eerie, deserted terrain to seek help. 

Then, against all odds, Lilac and Tarver find a strange blessing in the tragedy that has thrown them into each other’s arms. Without the hope of a future together in their own world, they begin to wonder—would they be better off staying here forever?

Everything changes when they uncover the truth behind the chilling whispers that haunt their every step. Lilac and Tarver may find a way off this planet. But they won’t be the same people who landed on it.

Rating: ★★★★

I had expected more sci-fi elements in These Broken Stars as compared to romance but ultimately, it felt more like a survival love story than anything else. That of course, is not a bad thing as the amount of times your heart will leap, stutter and shatter because of Lilac and Tarver is insane.

At the very beginning of the book, I noticed some pretty powerful Titanic vibes. Or well, the sci-fi version of Titanic. That’s where the similarities end, however. After the Icarus crash landed on a mysterious planet and Lilac and Tarver appeared to be the only survivors, the story was filled with unpredictable twists and incredible suspense. Not to forget the lovely budding romance (though it was more of love/hate at first) between the two protagonists.

Unfortunately, I had to cut off a star as the book was a little too focused on the romantic aspects. There were many questions regarding the world building and history of the current reality left glaringly unanswered. Despite that, what we did get to know about the Starbound trilogy universe was definitely intriguing. Moreover, since there are still two other books to go, there’s plenty of room to buck up on world-building and therefore, the unresolved mysterious shouldn’t be a humongous issue in general.

As I’ve already mentioned countless times, the romance takes center stage in These Broken Stars and it definitely killed its role. In a good way, of course. The dynamics of Tarver and Lilac’s relationship were stunningly portrayed, progressing neither too fast nor too slow as befitting two people from opposing ends of the social spectrum. It was wonderful witnessing how they came to trust and eventually love each other (I’m sure that’s the obvious outcome) even though they started out ‘enemies’. Albeit enemies who are still attracted to each other on some level. Wink, wink.

Another thing I loved in this novel was its unpredictable nature. Readers basically had no idea at all about the planet Lilac and Tarver were stranded on and hence, it was pretty darn hard to guess whatever happens next. I truly felt I was wrecked on the planet right alongside the protagonists and went through the hardships they did. Admittedly, that was also largely due to the vivid description by Kaufman and Spooner of every scene in the novel. I do have a favorite scene that I managed to visualize insanely well, which was when the Icarus crashed. I shared a teaser from that scene 2 weeks ago for Teaser Tuesday and like I’ve said before, I found it mesmerizingly tragic. The authors somehow gave a twisted beauty to a horribly catastrophic event.

All in all, I found These Broken Stars an intense, romantic and overall satisfying read. In spite of the slightly questionable world-building, the book was gorgeously written and the romance flawless. I would say readers who prefer romantic reads might enjoy These Broken Stars better than those crazy about intricate sci-fi universes. However, this is definitely a book I would recommend to everyone because essentially, it was one seriously kick-ass survival story.

Adelena

Review: Altered by Jennifer Rush

Altered by Jennifer Rush
Series: Altered #1
Published: 01 January 2013
by Little Brown Books for Young Readers
Hardcover, 323 pages
Source: Library

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When you can’t trust yourself, who can you believe?

Everything about Anna’s life is a secret. Her father works for the Branch at the helm of its latest project: monitoring and administering treatments to the four genetically altered boys in the lab below their farmhouse. There’s Nick, Cas, Trev . . . and Sam, who’s stolen Anna’s heart. When the Branch decides it’s time to take the boys, Sam stages an escape, killing the agents sent to retrieve them.

Anna is torn between following Sam or staying behind in the safety of her everyday life. But her father pushes her to flee, making Sam promise to keep her away from the Branch, at all costs. There’s just one problem. Sam and the boys don’t remember anything before living in the lab—not even their true identities.

Now on the run, Anna soon discovers that she and Sam are connected in more ways than either of them expected. And if they’re both going to survive, they must piece together the clues of their past before the Branch catches up to them and steals it all away.

Rating: ★★★★

Altered is definitely going on my unrecorded (but still  pretty legit) favourite YA thriller/action novels list. It was filled to the brim with excitement and adrenaline, without a single dull moment and also one of my favorite debuts this year. Set in our present time, the story was told from Anna’s POV.

Anna was definitely awesome kickass female lead material. She’s actually very relatable and cool, one of those characters who seemed like they could be your best friend in real life. I loved that she was smart enough to know when to and when not to speak, a wonderful skill which I myself sometimes lack.

As for the boys, Sam, Trev, Nick and Cas are all fascinatingly different. Although the fact that they were all attractive was slightly overrated, their personalities definitely outshone the predictability of their outer appearance. Despite Cas, Nick and Trev’s personalities being so defined, Sam was slightly more mysterious. It was unquestionable that he was the leader (something which Jennifer Rush showed amazingly well) but his true self, his likes and dislikes, were all pretty shady.

That, however, did not equate to Sam having a lack of personality. He’s just mysterious. Moreover, his ability to make good judgement under stressful circumstances was so swoon-worthy! What’s not to like about that?

The pace and romance in Altered was also impeccable. You would expect an action novel to be somewhat lacking in the romance department but actually, it was oh so good! I found how fragile and delicate Sam and Anna’s relationship seemed at first but grew and developed as they went through more perilous experiences together very engrossing. Every event that tries to separate them just makes me ship them more!

To wrap this up, Altered was like one of those action movies with an okay underlying meaning but with supercalifragilisticexpialidocious action. Yes, I had to resort to the longest word in the English language in encompass the greatness of the action in this novel. Would I recommend this? Without a doubt, yes.

Adelena