The Darkest Minds - Full Discussion
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Reminder of where we are in the story:
Ruby allows Clancy to help her train her abilities, only to discover that controlling them are a lot more difficult than she imagined. During the session, Clancy attempts to push new ideas into Ruby's mind, while also discovering her own internal qualms of abandonment. Ruby, fearing her power of erasing memories, starts to question her power, and worries for her own life knowing that the secret service is still out to get her.
Meanwhile, Hina explains to Liam, Chubs and Ruby that Zu wants to go back to California to find their family. They want to make a request to leave the camp, only to find out that Clancy has placed a ban on these requests to "protect the camp." Fights begin to break out, Chubs starts to lose his faith in Liam as a leader, and Clancy starts to show signs that he is no better than his father. Clancy continues to make demands for Ruby's power because he feels that he can help her harness them, but then calls her out on her lack of maturity and her failed attempts at being "normal."
An attack is placed at Clancy's camp, as the Psi Soldiers attempt to bring Clancy down. Clancy states that his "reds should have came," this suggesting that he was the mastermind in project Jamboree. Escaping the camp during the attack and Chubs getting shot, Liam and Ruby decide that they need to regroup and seek out Mr. Fields. Chubs explains to them that he also wishes to be taken to his father's hospital. It is then that they meet up again with the Children's League, more specifically, Cate. Cate explains that Liam is a security risk, a personal target of the president. Ruby desires to protect Liam and Chubs, and decides to turn herself over to the Children's League.
Ideas for discussion:
1) What would you rate the Darkest Minds out of five?
2) How do you feel about Ruby and Clancy's relationship?
3) What were your thoughts on the ending?
4) Share any other thoughts you like!
Next Discussion:
Monday, March 11th
Full Discussion
2) Hm. First I think calling it a relationship is doing a disservice to the word. I dislike that she never seemed to really ken how awful some of her own behaviors and actions were under his eye, but I guess she had enough on her mind. Unless you meant Liam? In which case, one word... booooooooring.
3) Flat out awful. I have read some endings that were worse from a story standpoint, but never one that made me feel so taken for granted as a reader. the ending essentially put us back where we were at the 1/3 point of the story. The only thing that was wrapped up was the slip kid stuff, and at the point we've regressed to that hadn't even come up yet. It might also feel different if there were any sign that the events of this ending won't completely be undone by the end of the trilogy, but there's no way. The author let us know that if we want any sort of satisfaction for the first book, we need to read 2 and 3 and I find that utterly unacceptable. </ all my feels>
4) I really wish we'd spent more time with the kids at Clancy's place. Some of them seemed really cool, but we only got the barest of looks at them.
2) I knew he was taking advantage of her from the start, using his abilities, putting on a front. But I still don't really understand WHY, and that is where I am frustrated. I am also really angry with Ruby for not realizing it.
3) I agree with lissibith. I felt really cheated by the ending. Why bother putting all that effort into taking your characters through the story if you are just going to plunk them back pretty much where they started? I kind of think book two might follow someone other than Ruby. At least I hope it does, because otherwise it will probably be horrid, because the author has gotten rid of the only interesting characters and taken the story backwards instead of forwards.
4) I am really torn between being right at the whole Clancy situation (down to manipulating his dad) and being mad because it was so transparent.
2) I hated him sooo much. The way he was being written set off so many warning signals in me from the very beginning, and the way that a voice was speaking into Ruby's head (I thought it was obvious it was Clancy because it wasn't Ruby thought it was said a voice in the back of Ruby's head :x I thought it was really naive of Ruby to trust him as much as she did
3) I was pretty annoyed at the ending, when Liam was telling her that story of their alternate meeting I was finally starting to be like, I could like them as a couple! And then Ruby makes him forget everything? Super dumb. Plus it makes me think the next book is going to be a lot of shooting and war and stuff and I just don't care about that stuff. Obviously they will meet again but meh.
It was the same with Ruby and Clancy's relationship. I expected some big fight between him and Liam and Clancy maybe forcing Ruby to team up with him or something interesting. I just feel like the whole book fizzled after the group got to East River.
I think Ruby's grandma was also named Ruby, and she moved in with the parents after kid-Ruby was sent away.
I'd give it a 3.5 - I gave it a 4 on Goodreads. There were a few things I disliked, but I really enjoyed it for the most part! :)
2) How do you feel about Ruby and Clancy's relationship?
I felt really frustrated with Ruby throughout her whole being friends with Clancy thing because he creeped me out from the start (and he creeped her out, too!) and then he told her about his past and suddenly it was like she trusted him 100%, and that bothered me. I didn't understand why she would feel that way, even though he was the only Orange she felt she could relate to... it didn't make any sense to me and I was really frustrated for all of those scenes, and furious when Clancy messed around with her. Ugh. :(
3) What were your thoughts on the ending?
Is it really possible to like this ending? xD It pretty much unravels everything the characters have done since the beginning, pretty much even the characters they've met, since Zu is, for now, out of the picture, Chubs is who knows where, and Liam doesn't remember her. I don't think that'll last, though. :x Like... yeah. After the big deal he made about how he couldn't forget her, I'm pretty sure she won't stay 100% forgotten.
4) Share any other thoughts you like!
I'm pissed off about Cate, cuz I really liked her, and I kinda feel like it would have been more interesting if she hadn't been aware of the shitty parts of the Children's League, or at least not entirely, but seems like that is 100% not the case. But I'm guessing we will figure out the answer behind Ruby's vision when she saw her memories at some point, so who knows.