Never fade by Alexandra Bracken

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The darkest minds bk 2. Harper Collins, 2013. ISBN: 9780732294595.
(Age: 13+) The darkest minds never fade is a book formed from an interesting concept and a very real possibility warped into fantasy. A killer disease has swept through the children of America, wiping out all but a small percent. Survivors are sent to camps to be monitored by doctors and specialists who are working towards finding a cure, but these children are no longer the kind to sit quietly and wait and these camps are no longer the patient sort. Survivors are quickly found to have talents, almost superpowers, and are classed into categories based on their talents. Being children, few escape their camps and even fewer live to tell the tale, but a special few become involved with The Children's League, a society formed for the purpose of freeing those frightened, abused children from the camps and the clutches of madness. If nothing else this book brings to light the very real issues of how a government could choose to deal with this kind of mass mutation.
The book is based around the story of Ruby, ex-escapee of brutal concentration camp, Thurmond, and current associate of The Children's League. Something is wrong with The Children's League; Alban is having a difficult time keeping his agents in line, particularly those who despise the idea of being sent on missions with Psi children such as Ruby and her team. After well orchestrated 'accidents' which resulted in the deaths of several Psi children Ruby's team is sent on a renegade mission to find the lost research of 'The Professor' and the key to curing the disease which caused the mutations. Running into old friends along the way and going through more than any child should ever have to go through, Ruby races against the clock to stop the bad agents from corrupting Alban's vision of freeing all the kids and returning the American life to a (would be) normal state.
As this is the second book in the series I would recommend it for teenagers and young adults. If nothing else it provides a range of interesting concepts and makes you consider your place in the world.
Kayla Gaskell (Student)

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