Here I am again after a much needed energizing post-exams break. I intend to make good on my promise to myself - of writing more substantial posts, including semi-articles, thought-pieces and occasional book reviews.
I have read every more famous YA novel that's out there nowadays, and I'm still baffled why those specific ones became famous. My most well loved ones are, unfortunately, less well-known, so I am taking it upon myself to write about some (two in total) on my virtually unknown blog. The first one is the post-apocalyptic sci-fi The Darkest Minds. Doesn't sound too different from the batch, does it? I can point out a few things that make it different, because there are exceptional things in both the character and the world-building. I try not to reveal too much, but if you're one of those with an absolute no-spoiler policy, I think these waters might be too dangerous.
I love post-apocalypse, but it's often stupidly underdeveloped in YA. Hunger Games is engaging, but entirely fails to address what happens outside the US; Divergent, while it's not its biggest fault, is entirely implausible in its setting. Here, while scientifically unlikely, the cause of the "apocalypse" and the reason for its relative containment are adequately explained. A large part of the novels is actually focused on our characters trying to find out the exact reasons (and then some more).
A young adult novel rarely addresses heavy philosophy or contains a really hard-to-follow, complicated plot, simply because that's not what this genre is about. Hence, the one thing authors absolutely cannot fail at is creating interesting and somewhat relatable characters, and this is where in my eyes many series fail (most notably the whole City of... mess and the Divergent series, whose heroines I simply cannot stand).
The main character, Ruby, on first glance is a textbook YA heroine. She's strong, she's special in ways she doesn't really know at first, even if she appears perfectly average. But none of these things are done like they usually are - she's more of a reluctant hero, or not one at all, in the beginning. She never becomes a huge chosen one, she's more like one of the leaders, and she's never really held above all the other characters. I don't think her appearance is ever described in great detail - all I remember is she's not very tall and has dark wavy hair. (I hate when outside appearance is described in details, because more often than not, it's unnecessary.) The deliberate first person narrative and the slow reveal about her past is a huge contributing factor why her character arc is so enjoyable even in the first book.
The series has an engaging plot, but it places emphasis on its characters and their relationships. When Ruby meets her would-be best friends, the interaction feels real and absolutely relatable, despite the unrealistic circumstances. They're not needlessly sarcastic and standoff-ish, and it's easy to feel like they genuinely grow to love each other. The lot of them are refreshingly original, even if the heroine is more to genre conventions: the dashing male character is the one with the biggest heart, a sensible and loyal young man, who doesn't try to be cool. The narrative doesn't force the cool-badass guy image either, and to be honest, it's something I'm really too tired of. There's the best friend, the bookish, crafty and sceptical, but loyal to death black guy, and the curious young Japanese girl who never stops seeing beauty amidst the worst of nightmares. (I love all four of them, and then the others...)
What greater evil is there than the government and those is power in general? But none of the solutions are so simple, and it's not two, or even three factions that are against each other. There's a wonderful dose of grey ground, and many sides of the same characters, wonderfully represented in the vast variety of bad guys and adversaries.
I'd honestly recommend it to anyone who likes post-apocalyptic YA. There's romance, but there's even more friendship, which is something everyone tired of love triangles (quadrangles, pentagrams etc) can appreciate. It's intensely exciting, with lovable and delightfully hateable characters. The author said on her Tumblr that there might be a movie adaptation coming - if so, I really hope they don't mess it up. Despite that its post-apocalyptic setting, it's way less of an adrenaline-heavy adventure than a character-driven drama, so a loads-of-explosions approach would ruin much of its appeal. I do have high hopes. (And I hope to hell nobody gets white-washed like in The 5th Wave.)
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