The Darkest Minds

American author Alexandra Bracken’s young adult dystopian novel The Darkest Minds (2012) tells the story of teen protagonist Ruby, who escapes a grim government camp for kids with special abilities. She meets a group of other young people on the run led by the charismatic Liam.

The first book in The Darkest Minds series is followed by Never Fade, In the Afterlight, and Through the Dark. Exploring themes of generational conflict and the power of memory, The Darkest Minds was the winner of Goodreads’ 2013 Choice Awards for Best Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction. In 2018, The Darkest Minds was released as a film adaptation by 20th Century Fox. The novel contains profanity and non-explicit references to sexual assault. This guide follows the 2013 First Paperback Edition.

Plot Summary

In this near-future setting, most children in the United States have died from a mysterious illness. Those children who survived it developed abilities that were deemed dangerous by the government. These survivors, called Psi, were put into camps for the safety of the country. Psi abilities fall into one of five categories, coded by color: Blues can move objects mentally; Greens have advanced intelligence; Reds can start fires; Yellows can control electricity; and Oranges can enter others’ minds.

The novel begins in Thurmond, a government rehabilitation camp for Psi young people in West Virginia. While working, 16-year-old Ruby hears the “White Noise” sound the camp uses as a control tactic; the noise sounds more painful than usual, and she passes out. The novel flashes back to when Ruby was 10, living at home, and she first learned about her classmates dying. Shortly after, Ruby was taken to Thurmond. When the camp classified her powers, she was able to take over the scientist's mind and convince him that she is a Green. She knows, however, that she is really an Orange.

Years pass for Ruby at Thurmond, where life is controlled by the PSFs (guards). One day, in a heated discussion with her best friend Sam, a Green, Ruby touches her friend and receives flashes of her memories; after that, Sam no longer remembers who Ruby is. This accidental removal of Sam’s memory haunts Ruby.

In Chapter 4, the story resumes when Ruby is recovering in the infirmary after passing out from the White Noise. A young doctor, Cate, passes Ruby a note offering her an escape if she will take the enclosed pills. Cate sneaks Ruby out of camp and drives her and another escaping Orange boy, Martin, far away from Thurmond. Cate says she is with the Children’s League, an organization that opposes the camps. Yet Ruby sees, using her abilities, glimpses of memories that give her cause to doubt Cate’s colleague and boyfriend Rob. This makes her question Cate and the Children’s League, too. Feeling betrayed, she decides to run away from them while at a gas station, and when she does, she runs into a small girl stealing food in a back storeroom. This turns out to be Zu.

Meeting Zu leads Ruby to a group of fellow camp runaways traveling inside a black minivan with the logo “Betty Jean Cleaning” on the side—affectionately called “Black Betty.” The group broke out of a camp in Caledonia, Ohio. They are Zu (Suzume), the 11-year-old girl with Yellow abilities so traumatized by her experiences she no longer speaks; and two Blue teen boys: Liam (Lee), their informal, charismatic leader; and Chubs (Charles), who is sarcastic and intelligent.

Ruby and the Black Betty travelers are chased by PSFs and skip tracers, or bounty hunters who search for runaway Psi teens. One skip tracer, a figure called Lady Jane, persistently chases Liam. The characters defend themselves by using their powers. Liam and Chubs reveal that they’re looking for a Psi-governed community called East River, led by a legendary figure called the Skip Kid.

Ruby becomes closer to Liam, who dreams of rescuing all kids from camps. He feels responsible for those who died during the escape he led, including their friend Jack. Liam and Ruby are increasingly attracted to one another, but Ruby is hesitant to become involved, due to her fear of using her powers accidentally against him. Ruby also becomes closer with Zu, helping her gain confidence. Ruby’s relationship with Chubs also becomes closer when they stay up all night in an abandoned Walmart to figure out the location of East River.

On their way to East River, Lady Jane captures the four friends. Ruby uses her powers to save them, exposing herself as an Orange. Afterward, she flashes back to the night before her 10th birthday when she accidentally erased herself from her parents’ memories. The morning of her birthday, neither parent remembered who she was. Her mom called the police, and this led to her imprisonment at Thurmond. Ruby wakes in Black Betty expecting that the others will want her to leave now that they know she is Orange, but Liam and Chubs reject that idea. She has saved them from Lady Jane, but they now have to abandon Black Betty, since the car is too conspicuous. They begin to travel on foot, and after they witness a group of teens attack a semi-truck for supplies, they are led to East River.

At first, East River seems like a community of Psi kids who live free, happy lives. It is run by Clancy Gray, the teen Orange who is the son of President Gray. Clancy offers Ruby lessons in how to use her powers, and she soon finds him impressive and attractive. Only Chubs dislikes East River and raises questions about it. Zu decides to join a group leaving East River to go to California to find her cousin Hina’s parents. After Zu leaves, the group of four friends seem very alienated from one another.

Clancy uses his abilities to paralyze Ruby’s body, entering her mind and kissing her against her will. Liam witnesses this through Ruby’s memories, a reversal of how it usually works. Horrified, he decides they need to leave East River immediately, but Clancy and the East River security stops them. Ruby realizes that Clancy uses his abilities to manipulate the perceptions of the entire camp. In the confrontations that follow, Liam is injured. Ruby wields her abilities against Clancy's, but he overcomes her. Their conflict is interrupted when PSFs attack the camp on Clancy’s own tip. Clancy has a national agenda, using his abilities to manipulate his father the president. Chubs and Ruby flee. East River is now on fire, and Chubs and Ruby hide under the dock in the lake.

Afterward, Chubs and Ruby find Liam. They drive an abandoned car to a Days Inn to deliver the letter Jack wrote to his father. Chubs goes to Jack’s father’s door; Ruby and Liam watch from the car. Unexpectedly, Jack’s dad shoots Chubs; he hates Psi kids, including his own son. Liam and Ruby pull Chubs away and try to control the bleeding. Ruby remembers she has a panic button from the Children’s League, and she presses it. Cate shows up and drives them away.

In the final chapter, Ruby is in a Children’s League safe house. Cate tells her she thinks Chubs will be okay. Cate warns if Ruby tries to run away, they will hurt Liam. In exchange for Liam's freedom, Ruby agrees to do whatever the League wants her to. Ruby and Liam share a tender moment. When they kiss, Ruby purposely takes away his memory of her, an ironic reversal of her fears. Afterward, they let him go, and Ruby watches him leave, thinking part of her will go with him.