Alexandra Bracken is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Darkest Minds series and Passenger series. Born and raised in Arizona, she moved east to study history and English at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. After working in publishing for several years, Alex now writes full time and can be found hard at work on her next novel in a charming little apartment that's perpetually overflowing with books. Visit her online at www.alexandrabracken.com and on Twitter @alexbracken.
Gr 7 Up Ruby is a member of the Children's League, a group of young
people who survived the catastrophic illness that has killed most
children in America. The survivors are blessed or cursed with a
variety of supernatural powers, from great physical strength to
Ruby's ability to invade and control the minds of others. These
talents make the children valuable to the corrupt government.
However, the adults controlling the League turn out to be corrupt
themselves. When Ruby realizes that the latest mission she has been
sent on was designed to eliminate some members of her team, she
decides to circumvent the League. The teen sets out with one of her
friends, Jude, in search of a flash drive that holds information
that may offer a cure for the disease that killed so many children.
They are soon joined by other members of the League. Struggling to
survive winter in a lawless country with minimal supplies is
difficult enough. Trying to keep everyone focused on the same goal
when the team members aren't sure if they can trust one another is
harder. When they finally find the boy with the flash drive, he is
so ill that it's not clear if he will survive or help them if he
does. This fast-paced, suspenseful dystopian novel moves back and
forth through time, jumping from one crisis to another, but
frustratingly fails to completely fill in the backstory, which
would have helped readers understand the characters' motivations.
Nancy Silverrod, San Francisco Public Library SLJ"
In the follow-up to Bracken's The Darkest Minds (2012), readers
jonesing for an adrenaline fix will delight in 16-year-old Ruby's
return as a reluctant resistance fighter. Having erased every trace
of herself from Liam's mind and abandoned her friends in order to
protect them, Ruby throws herself into mission after dangerous
mission for the Children's League. Though purportedly fighting to
save a generation of children stolen from their families and locked
away in camps for possessing powers they barely understand, it
quickly becomes clear to Ruby that the good guys may not be so good
after all. A Hail Mary mission to recover a flash drive containing
secrets about the origin of the disease that killed most American
children and left survivors a persecuted and feared band of misfits
forces Ruby on a perilous cross-country journey. It's a ride worth
taking with her, particularly as Ruby collects a small posse of
sidekicks who again become the beating heart at the center of this
dark, dystopian series. Ruby is a wonderfully flawed heroine:
fiercely loyal to the ones she loves and refreshingly conflicted
about the enormous power she possesses. The intricate plot and
diverse cast of recurring and new characters make this book
difficult to fully appreciate as a stand-alone. But after reading
the first two books, readers will be left clamoring for the third.
(Dystopian thriller. 14 & up) Kirkus"
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