A Review of Never Fade, a sequel to The Darkest Minds

Never Fade by Alexandra Bracken
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I always get nervous about reading sequels, because so often the different tone of the book means I find it less interesting than the first one. But this cursed downhill slope with sequels thankfully did not happen with Never Fade. In fact, I may have enjoyed this one even more, as there was a lot less aimless wandering around. The characters constantly had a purpose, and a reason for going the direction they went in. And dang, they went to some pretty intense places.

I'm trying not to give too much away, but I will say that in some ways, Never Fade is probably darker than The Darkest Minds. The premise of The Darkest Minds was definitely pretty horrific, but this time Alexandra Bracken revisits some of the worst parts of the camps, plus takes us to some pretty awful places outside the camps. Not in a bad way either--I think the grittiness of the book helps shape Ruby's character growth. It's awesome watching Ruby come in to her own, and refreshing to see a character who while admitting they might have made some mistakes, doesn't take up half the book to wallow in those same mistake.

I was happy to see the return of a good number of the characters from the last book, and of course Liam--I don't know what I would've done if I hadn't gotten to see Liam. Throw a pillow across the room? Maybe something more breakable? :) All the characters are changed in some way, but that only makes sense, considering what they've been through. And personally, I loved the change; the "kids" are growing up, after all.

Whereas the end of the last book left me sad and horrified, this one left me still a little bit sad, but also hopeful. And impatiently awaiting the next one (I know, I have a super long wait since this one isn't even published yet)! I don't often give sequels five stars, but I'd say this one definitely deserved it.

This digital copy of Never Fade was given to me by NetGalley & Disney-Hyperion in exchange for an honest review.

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