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4.13 AVERAGE
4.13 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
4.5 out of 5 stars
I always approach sequels with caution because most of the time, in my experience, the best book in the series is the first one. Imagine my surprise when I found myself loving Never Fade more than The Darkest Minds. No spoilers ahead.
Never Fade continues Ruby's story, but now she has to also deal with the difficult choice she made earlier. It's obvious right away that she has changed as a person: she's not as naive, she's tougher, she is determined to get what she wants, and willing to make sacrifices. Of course, she's not made of stone, so her struggle between being efficient in reaching her goals and being compassionate is one of the most interesting things to witness. It's also frustrating at times—there were moments when I wanted to shake her so she would finally allow her humanity to come through. What I also loved is seeing Ruby slowly get more comfortable with her powers, try to use them, master them, and not be afraid of what she can do.
There is a lot of character development in Never Fade for almost everybody, which is always great to see. There also are a lot of new characters, which kind of overwhelmed me in the beginning. Because of this, it took me a bit to get into this book—I was immediately thrown into action, while I was still trying to figure out who is who. Speaking of action, there is a lot of it, and it's just as good (if not better) than what was happening in The Darkest Minds. I would say the book really picks up after about 20-25%, and after that it just keeps going strong. The pacing worked really well for me, and there was only one part where I got a bit annoyed with the drama between Ruby and her love interest. Nothing to consider a big issue though. Overall, I thought the plot developed really well, and there were a few very strong scenes that got my heart racing or got me emotional. The cliffhanger at the end isn't as frustrating as the one in The Darkest Minds, but it's still a very good one—I'm very excited to find out what happens next.
As I've already mentioned earlier, I loved Never Fade, and enjoyed it even more than the first book in the series. I can only hope that the final book is just as good—the bar is set pretty high in my mind now. I was originally planning to marathon through the series, but I'm taking a little break before reading the last book—I know I'm going to be sad when it's all over, and I'm just not ready for that yet.
I always approach sequels with caution because most of the time, in my experience, the best book in the series is the first one. Imagine my surprise when I found myself loving Never Fade more than The Darkest Minds. No spoilers ahead.
Never Fade continues Ruby's story, but now she has to also deal with the difficult choice she made earlier. It's obvious right away that she has changed as a person: she's not as naive, she's tougher, she is determined to get what she wants, and willing to make sacrifices. Of course, she's not made of stone, so her struggle between being efficient in reaching her goals and being compassionate is one of the most interesting things to witness. It's also frustrating at times—there were moments when I wanted to shake her so she would finally allow her humanity to come through. What I also loved is seeing Ruby slowly get more comfortable with her powers, try to use them, master them, and not be afraid of what she can do.
There is a lot of character development in Never Fade for almost everybody, which is always great to see. There also are a lot of new characters, which kind of overwhelmed me in the beginning. Because of this, it took me a bit to get into this book—I was immediately thrown into action, while I was still trying to figure out who is who. Speaking of action, there is a lot of it, and it's just as good (if not better) than what was happening in The Darkest Minds. I would say the book really picks up after about 20-25%, and after that it just keeps going strong. The pacing worked really well for me, and there was only one part where I got a bit annoyed with the drama between Ruby and her love interest. Nothing to consider a big issue though. Overall, I thought the plot developed really well, and there were a few very strong scenes that got my heart racing or got me emotional. The cliffhanger at the end isn't as frustrating as the one in The Darkest Minds, but it's still a very good one—I'm very excited to find out what happens next.
As I've already mentioned earlier, I loved Never Fade, and enjoyed it even more than the first book in the series. I can only hope that the final book is just as good—the bar is set pretty high in my mind now. I was originally planning to marathon through the series, but I'm taking a little break before reading the last book—I know I'm going to be sad when it's all over, and I'm just not ready for that yet.
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Minor: Child death
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
medium-paced
Still enjoyable to follow the characters' stories, but now the plot is muddled by so many bad guys popping up everywhere and finding themselves in the same situation over and over. Probably won't read the next in the series.
DNF @ 32%
Three words: second book syndrome.
Ruby is so much worse in this book. She was such a bland character in the first book, but I managed to tolerate her. But she just became unbearable to read in this book.
I thought I could manage to force myself through this book simply because it’s Alexandra Bracken, but it was too awful and I skimmed literally everything I read of this book because it was that boring. I’m really disappointed.
Three words: second book syndrome.
Ruby is so much worse in this book. She was such a bland character in the first book, but I managed to tolerate her. But she just became unbearable to read in this book.
I thought I could manage to force myself through this book simply because it’s Alexandra Bracken, but it was too awful and I skimmed literally everything I read of this book because it was that boring. I’m really disappointed.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Vida's presence is what saved this book for me. I still liked it, but I had some problems with it. Some had carried over from the first novel and weren't fixed or explained.
One thing I will say in favor of this book is that there was a lot less pop culture referencing and all of these kids somehow recognizing songs than in the first one. It still got pretty irritating when it popped up, though. Like, what are the odds these kids from entirely different walks of life would be familiar with Bruce Springsteen, let alone heard entire albums' worth of his music? But there was still a lot less of it and for that, I was grateful.
It still bothers me that these books so far haven't really dived into the morality question of the Orange powers. How it can be used to twist a person's will, perception and memories is downright disturbing. I'm glad that Liam bit Ruby's head off for how she fucked with his mind, and there is some analysis of the morality of it when she talks to Vida, but I really wish we got more. Instead of having the characters captured for the tenth time, let them relax and breathe and really think through their actions.
Speaking of that, there was a lot of repeating going on. It got downright irritating how many times chapters ended with Ruby being knocked out. You'd think all those head injuries would be a detriment to her ability. And while I get the logic of how Knox stepped into power, when Ruby and company were brought to him, all I could think of is, "Really? We're doing this again?" Even Vida called you on your bullshit by saying something about hearing the same argument for the tenth time before 5am.
Also, the ending really pisses me off. How stupid is Ruby, really? She just learned that Clancy went through these great lengths to destroy the research on how to cure the disease, and she goes LOL U MEAN THIS RESEARCH. Like he isn't going to brain voodoo a way to destroy that, too. And yeah, we went through this whole book and I still don't know what caused the disease or why it killed some kids and gave others super powers.
But let's talk about the best part of this book: Vida. She was amazing. She took no shit from anybody and talked bluntly about things. She didn't care about hurting feelings. The bonus story centered on her gave some insight into her background and why she acted the way she did. Also explained her attachment to Cate. I liked that and I can honestly say that a huge reason why I would read the third book is because of her.
Don't get me wrong, I still liked it. It still had a good Last of Us/TellTale's Walking Dead vibe to it. How cool would this be as a TellTale game, by the way? But it dragged a lot, repeated and didn't actually move forward in the plot that much. Here's hoping the third one ends this series with questions answered.
One thing I will say in favor of this book is that there was a lot less pop culture referencing and all of these kids somehow recognizing songs than in the first one. It still got pretty irritating when it popped up, though. Like, what are the odds these kids from entirely different walks of life would be familiar with Bruce Springsteen, let alone heard entire albums' worth of his music? But there was still a lot less of it and for that, I was grateful.
It still bothers me that these books so far haven't really dived into the morality question of the Orange powers. How it can be used to twist a person's will, perception and memories is downright disturbing. I'm glad that Liam bit Ruby's head off for how she fucked with his mind, and there is some analysis of the morality of it when she talks to Vida, but I really wish we got more. Instead of having the characters captured for the tenth time, let them relax and breathe and really think through their actions.
Speaking of that, there was a lot of repeating going on. It got downright irritating how many times chapters ended with Ruby being knocked out. You'd think all those head injuries would be a detriment to her ability. And while I get the logic of how Knox stepped into power, when Ruby and company were brought to him, all I could think of is, "Really? We're doing this again?" Even Vida called you on your bullshit by saying something about hearing the same argument for the tenth time before 5am.
Also, the ending really pisses me off. How stupid is Ruby, really? She just learned that Clancy went through these great lengths to destroy the research on how to cure the disease, and she goes LOL U MEAN THIS RESEARCH. Like he isn't going to brain voodoo a way to destroy that, too. And yeah, we went through this whole book and I still don't know what caused the disease or why it killed some kids and gave others super powers.
But let's talk about the best part of this book: Vida. She was amazing. She took no shit from anybody and talked bluntly about things. She didn't care about hurting feelings. The bonus story centered on her gave some insight into her background and why she acted the way she did. Also explained her attachment to Cate. I liked that and I can honestly say that a huge reason why I would read the third book is because of her.
Don't get me wrong, I still liked it. It still had a good Last of Us/TellTale's Walking Dead vibe to it. How cool would this be as a TellTale game, by the way? But it dragged a lot, repeated and didn't actually move forward in the plot that much. Here's hoping the third one ends this series with questions answered.