Item of the Day: “Never Fade” by Alexandra Bracken

Look, I don’t condone organized rebellion against the government, but it’s kind of my favorite theme in fiction. Book one in The Darkest Minds series by Alexandra Bracken is all about government rebellion. The main character, Ruby, wakes up on her tenth birthday and something about her has changed. Her parents lock her in the garage and call the police. Then she’s 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 frightening abilities they cannot control.

Book two, Never Fade (on sale on 10/15), is equally as exciting as book one. Ruby is considered a leader among the other kids in the Children’s League, but she sees herself as 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. She sets out on her mission across the lawless country to track this info down, and that’s when things get CRAY.

You will not be able to put either of these books down. And once you do, you’ll be bummed that book three isn’t available until fall of 2014. But also really pumped that Ruby’s story isn’t over yet.

Order Never Fade here and book one, The Darkest Minds, here.