juliafranciscus

"The darkest minds tend to hide behind the most unlikely faces" (Bracken 456).

I have finished reading the incredible dystopian novel that is The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken for my project. I was stunned by the events that lead to the end of the novel. I won't spoil it for you, but I guaranty that you'll want to read the next book with the cliff hanger it leaves you on. The quote above is clearly where the book title comes from. The passage it comes from is very interesting, and I invited you to guess who its directed toward. It's likely the intended target of the quote will surprise you. My partner has also finished her book, Passenger, by the same author. When comparing our novels, I found several similarities. The writing style was obviously very similar, with a lot of imagery and details. Both books also include lots of travel. In The Darkest Minds, Ruby and her friends travel around in Black Betty looking East River. In Passenger, the main characters Etta and Nicholas travel through time and place looking for an important artifact. To end this blog post, I would like to help you find some new books on this website. One way to do this is on your dashboard. Your dashboard is filled with your friend's review and your bookshelf updates. Make sure to check out these books, and not overlook them. And to get more books on your dash, simply make sure to follow more authors. I hope you liked my updates on The Darkest Minds and you find some great books.

I have continued to read the novel The Darkest Minds. Recently, we've been instructed to look at our books from the biographical criticism standpoint. After researching my author (Alexandra Bracken) I did find some similarities between the author's life and her writing. One parallel between Bracken's writing and her life is were she went to college. She went to The College of William and Mary, which is in Virginia. The majority of the book I have read thus far has also been in Virginia/West Virginia. Based on this information, we can assume that Virginia and Bracken's college years as a whole had a great impact on her. I also learned that the author has a dog she cares for through research. Similarly, a character in the book, Chubs, has a soft spot for animals. He accuses Liam of leaving a box of defenseless kittens alone (though the group had no way to care for them) and was described to have a goofy grin on his face while feeding ducks breadcrumbs. I can clearly see how much the author loves animals in general, as she pushes this love into one of her characters. After looking at Alexandra Brackens writing through the "lens" of biographical criticism, I have found that knowing more about her life has better helped me to understand her work.

As I read deeper into the book The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken for my project, the more I love it. She is such an amazing author and describes her characters so well. I feel as though I know each of them individually. The quote above is from Ruby, (one of her thoughts). She is convinced that she can't stay with the small group of kids she has found a home with, as she thinks they will hate her when they realize what she is. An Orange. She believes herself (and her power to see into peoples minds) to be a monster, worse then the people trying to put them into concentration camps or hunting them for a reward. With this quote, we can see how deeply these thoughts akin to self hatred really run. The way Bracken has Ruby call herself one of the "real monsters of the world" is such a great to show how camp Thurmond influenced her and her own thoughts about her powers. It is truly a magnificent quote by the author to show us what Ruby thinks of herself.

Hello, my name is Julia Franciscus. I love a lot of genres: fantasy, dystopian, and mostly anything fiction. I have recently chosen the author Alexandra Bracken for a book project. I have read a lot of her books and loved them, so I figured she would be a good pick. The novel I am currently reading is Alexandra Bracken's The Darkest Minds. I have read a decent amount so far, and I have thoroughly enjoyed it. The prediction I can make is that Ruby will likely stay with Liam, Chubs, and Zu for longer than she initially intends to. A particular passage that stood out to me in my reading so far was a quote from the beginning of the book. "The government was never afraid of the kids who might die, or the empty spaces they would leave behind. The were afraid of us--the ones who lived" (Bracken 12). This is such and amazing and eerie quote, and I feel it really sets the tone for the book.