Never Fade: Review

Synopsis:

Ruby never asked for the abilities that almost cost her her life. Now she must call upon them on a daily basis, leading dangerous missions to bring down a corrupt government and breaking into the minds of her enemies. Other kids in the Children’s League call Ruby “Leader”, but she knows what she really is: a monster.

When Ruby is entrusted with an explosive secret, she must embark on her most dangerous mission yet: leaving the Children’s League behind. Crucial information about the disease that killed most of America’s children—and turned Ruby and the others who lived into feared and hated outcasts—has survived every attempt to destroy it. But the truth is only saved in one place: a flashdrive in the hands of Liam Stewart, the boy Ruby once believed was her future—and who now wouldn’t recognize her.

As Ruby sets out across a desperate, lawless country to find Liam—and answers about the catastrophe that has ripped both her life and America apart—she is torn between old friends and the promise she made to serve the League. Ruby will do anything to protect the people she loves. But what if winning the war means losing herself?

***

I've seen so many good reviews about Never Fade. But well, I guess this book just doesn't do it for me. Though I think Never Fade is slightly better than The Darkest Minds. Still have me very confused, but at least there are several scenes that can actually get my attention. There are also some very intimate moments that I really like. But besides these, this book just doesn't have that kind of enchantment for me.

There are many readers out there that likes the idea of people with weird abilities and a place where children with abilities are classified into different colors and are treated differently. And there's the Children's League, which their original purpose is to free those children in the camp but is rotten. But the idea of the Children's League, for some reason, just doesn't sound appealing to me. It could be because there are so many passers-by in the book that doesn't contribute much for the book. And I really don't like Ruby now. I can't tell exactly why, but every time she says something emotional, I just don't want to read about it. The characters are too fragile-minded for the book's own good. 

I think I will still read the sequel of Never Fade, but I'm not sure even the last installment will have me finally hooked up.

Rating: 5/10

Short Story Review Sunday [Monday Edition]: In Time

Synopsis:

Gabe’s life has been devastated in the wake of the economic crash. The only option left for someone like him to escape his tragic past is to leave his small town behind and to attempt to become a skip tracer. This already almost impossible task is made all the more difficult by his first score, a young girl who won’t speak, but who changes his life in ways he could never imagine

***

Gabe is a better character than Liam, I guess. But again I can still hardly pick up any outshining personalities of his own. We will also see Zu in this novella. And truth to be told, Zu is a much better character than Ruby. Although she's not outspoken and really quiet, she makes a very interesting character. I mean, a not-talking Yellow is intriguing. And she's older than her age. So yeah, she might actually be my favorite character in the whole series.

In Time is slightly better than The Darkest Minds, but there are similar flaws between the two and I don't find myself enjoying this novella much more than The Darkest Minds. I still will read Never Fade. Although I'm a little hesitant about this.

Rating: 6.5/10

The Darkest Minds: Review

Synopsis:

When Ruby woke up on her tenth birthday, something about her had changed. Something alarming enough to make her parents lock her in the garage and call the police. Something that gets her sent to Thurmond, a brutal government “rehabilitation camp.” She might have survived the mysterious disease that’s killed most of America’s children, but she and the others have emerged with something far worse: frightening abilities they cannot control.

Now sixteen, Ruby is one of the dangerous ones.

When the truth comes out, Ruby barely escapes Thurmond with her life. Now she’s on the run, desperate to find the one safe haven left for kids like her—East River. She joins a group of kids who escaped their own camp. Liam, their brave leader, is falling hard for Ruby. But no matter how much she aches for him, Ruby can’t risk getting close. Not after what happened to her parents.

When they arrive at East River, nothing is as it seems, least of all its mysterious leader. But there are other forces at work, people who will stop at nothing to use Ruby in their fight against the government. Ruby will be faced with a terrible choice, one that may mean giving up her only chance at a life worth living.

***

The Darkest Minds sets in a world where children who have evolved strange abilities is cast away and under constant and harsh control. This actually sounds like Shatter Me meets Article 5, with all the strange abilities and the whole imprisonment thing. It's a fairly good background for the story, if not a little typical.

But the development of the story is kind of rocky. I have no idea what I have read in the first few chapters. I'm just so utterly confused and I don't like this kind of feeling. It starts getting better when Ruby is finally on the run. But I can barely make through the first part of Ruby in the Children's League because that bores me to tears. It gradually gets much better and more interesting when a new character shows up and brings along a series of twists. I'm glad that at least I'm not bored enough to not being able to enjoy those parts.

I have a huge problem with Ruby's character. She's a good-hearted girl. I get that part. But apart from that, I can't see any of her special personalities shining through. It's like she's a shadow, not really attaching to anything special. Liam is slightly better but he's too flat and too good to be a character in a dystopian novel. The character part of the story is... I hate to say it, but it's kinda a fail.

The best part of the story is probably the sort-of cliffhanger ending. Not enough to make me bite my nails out and twitch my toes like some sort of lunatic, but enough to make me want the next book. I'm pretty curious to read about the "dangerous mission" that has Ruby running across the country.

Rating: 6.5/10