Bibliophylum discussion

Hi everyone! Thank you for being so patient and voting on the poll. The first book we will be reading for the monthly read-along is *drumroll please* The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken!

We will be starting the discussion on June 5th. If you are not able to obtain a copy of the book, it's okay because we have this page and this page accessible to you. We will be covering seven chapters a week in order to finish in about a month. Every week we'll be posting discussion questions for you to think about while reading, but know that EVERYONE is free to post their own discussion questions as well! Our goal is to create a never-ending, free-flowing conversation about the book.

We made a post on tumblr with more specific information, so you can read that and share it with your friends to get them involved, too.

If you have any questions, please ask. We will be clarifying more details on June 5th.

Happy reading!

Week 1
June 5-12
Chapters to read this week: Prologue + Ch. 1-7
~DISCUSSION QUESTIONS~
1. Have you read this book before?
2. What were/are some of your first thoughts about the title, synopsis, or cover?
3. What are you expecting out of the read?
4. What are some of your first impressions of the characters and the dystopian world?
5. Having a traumatic and life altering event take place when a character is so young will inevitably take a toll on their physical and psychological growth. If you agree with this statement, how will these disadvantages play out for and against the character? If you disagree, why?
6. Why do you think those specific children were taken to Thurmond? Why did they survive the epidemic and why is the government concerned about them?
7. How do you think Ruby’s society evolved?
8. Do you think the epidemic and the separation from her parents had any effect in transforming her into the person we see now? If so, in what way(s)?

Feel free to ask your own discussion questions as well! The questions we provided are to help get the conversation flowing.

1. I have read this before.
2. I wasn't at all interested but people kept talking about it I eventually gave in.
3. Well since I read it already its really amazing. I dived right in to the second book, Never Fade.
4. First impressions of characters were cool and mysterious. I was very drawn to all of them and curious how their story fitted in with the whole world they were living in. As for the dystopian world I thought it was really clever and scary in some sense. I felt like they were in some time of world war with concentration camps.
5. I think that the statement is true and does have a huge impact on the character and I don't think it could be called a disadvantage but more of a strength since the character has been through it all and this would just be another obstacle I guess you could say. Though yeah at first it will be fairly traumatizing or rather painful.
6. I think this is about power and keeping control. There is always that someone wanting complete power and doing whatever it takes to get it or maintain it.
7. I think Ruby society really evolved in the sense of fighting for what they believe in and not letting other come between her beliefs or her own instincts cause thats what got her in trouble in the first place or at least where she was to begin in. PLus she didn't have faith in herself cause all of these people around her were telling her she wasn't strong or she wasn't this.
8. I believe so. She became more vulnerable and wanted to keep whoever was close to her away because she didn't want to feel that loss all over again. I mean imagine having your parents lock you up at 10 years old and sending you away to some facility or whatever AND have a friend and erase her memories... I would definitely be traumatize and question myself why would my parents do this to me or how do i live with this constant fear of letting someone in to later on lose them. But this made her really strong regardless of all the loss and pain she has felt over the years. I believe she is a very strong female heroine/character and I really do love her. But like any other character there are times where I want to punch her in the face.

1. Nope. I haven’t read this book before.
2. TBH I wasn’t super interested in this book. It’s gotten a lot of hype and I’m always wary of reading books that are super hyped up because they never seem to live up to the high expectations. However after reading the first few chapters, I was hooked.
3. I guess, just a fast paced, adventure filled book.
4. So far all of the characters seem pretty complex and I’m excited to learn more about them. I really love when novels have characters that are multifaceted and not typical one-dimensional characters.
5. I agree with that statement and I also agree with everything Ilse said.
6. Well I guess the obvious answer is that these kids have some type of powers that the higher powers are afraid of. Having only read the first seven chapters, this book kind of reminds me of the basic plot of the X-Men. People are afraid of things that are different from them and in order to eliminate the fear, they must eliminate the cause.
7. So far it seems like the society is doing the opposite of evolving. (Is de-evolution a thing?)
8. Definitely! The way Ruby reacted to Cate is a clear indication of how being away from her parents had effected her. She wanted to trust her instantly because Cate was kind and was taking care of her. Something a mother should do.

Also, Ilse your last comment makes me worried that Ruby will turn into a frustrating character. I really hate when that happens.

She isn't frustrating per se but once in a while I don't agree with her decisions. She really does grow as a character throughout the books so don't worry too much haha.

1. I have read the book before.

2. Well, the titles complete a sentence (Which you can now see is 'The Darkest Minds Never Fade In The Afterlight') but when I first read the book I just kept wanting to figure out what the rest of the sentence would be! I also found the synopsis misleading.

3. This time, I am just expecting to pick up on details that escaped my notice the first time around. When I originally read it, I was not expecting the camps. The synopsis led me to believe Ruby's parents were maybe going to have her killed or arrested and that she'd get away and trek across the US and find a group of kids like her who had done the same. That isn't totally wrong, but it's also not correct.

4. I hate Martin! I don't trust Rob. When I read this part the first time, I also didn't like Cate and wasn't crazy about Ruby. So I find it strange I still loved the book, even when the characters weren't so appealing to me. At the end of chapter 7, we are about to meet my favorite character, Zu! I find the world fairly unique. Most dystopians seem to just be about an oppressive government, wherein this government seems to be doing a decent job with everything except the fact they're, you know, placing children in labor camps and lying to their families about it. There is still a power struggle, but it's not global and there don't seem to be huge food/power/supply shortages, but I could be remembering wrong. IAAN adds an interesting twist.

5. The trauma in Ruby's past undoubtedly makes her less trusting and more susceptible to the idea that anyone could turn on her, because she is dangerous. This will affect all her relationships until someone fully knows her past and strives to prove the unconditionally accept her anyway.

6. Fear of the unknown mixed with the small percentage of sick and twisted kids who would, and probably early on did, use their powers to hurt others.

7. I agree with Marissa. I think they reached essentially the same point we are at now, or maybe slightly more advanced, but now with all the chaos of the disease and kids escaping and everything, they will only be taking steps back. Innovative technology won't really be a priority when so much funding is going to camps and possibly to finding a cure.

8. I think this relates back to the trust issues again but has also made her more independent.

Hi guys, we have a pretty good start so far! For Week 2, though, we're going to try something different. This week, there's only a single general question.

Week 2
June 13-20
Chapters to read this week: Ch. 8-14
~DISCUSSION QUESTION~
What are your thoughts on the development of the plot and characters?

My thoughts on the devwlopment of plot and characters... Misterious mostly. I love how the characters are kids and think like kids and respond with the same fear kids like them would react but not with the anger of an adult or something. And the plot, although I still have trouble sometimes knowing which one of the enemies is after them in moments of attack until i directly told, is great and full of things happeningg that make you wish for more happening. I am loving this book so much and I ship Liam and Ruby, they are good for each other for what I have read

So I started off really enjoying this book and I still do; however I have found Braken's writing to be a little jumpy. There were many places where her writing shifts between Ruby's thoughts without much context and I found that a little frustrating (it happened quite often when Ruby was in the minivan and I couldn't really tell which of the characters she was thinking about). Aside from that I really am enjoying the characters and their development. I agree with Estefania when she said that she liked Ruby and Liam together. Their relationship is really cute and I feel like it's developing quite nicely (no insta-love here). I can't wait to read the next section of this book because we ended on a cliff hanger.

I personally enjoy the development of the relationships between characters than the development of the individuals. The growing romance between Liam and Ruby, Zu and Ruby's really sweet friendship, and the lingering mistrust between Chubs and Ruby are all interesting dynamics. I also love the way Chubs and Liam treat Zu like a little sister, and the camaraderie between the two boys. They all have unique relationships that Bracken actively distinguishes and develops and that's one thing I think makes the a great book.

Im sorry for this but I couldn't help myself and already finished the book

I've also completed the book :( it was just too good. I'm not really good at pacing myself

For Week 3, try to read chapters 15-23, if you haven't already finished the book :) Then analyze the specific motivations and desires of Ruby, Liam, Zu, Chubs, and the other characters you encounter through these chapters! Week 3 ends the 27th.

If you haven't finished the book, please do by July 2nd and then we can all come here and talk about all things TDM, spoilers included!

I think we are quite late in the talking part, did everyone finish?

I think the group is dead...??

Possibly, this makes me sad because I was really liking this group

Estefania wrote: "Possibly, this makes me sad because I was really liking this group"

Same ...maybe we can get it up and running again?

Lets try, how do we do that first of all?

Estefania wrote: "Lets try, how do we do that first of all?"

Contact the admins of the group through their tumblr! haha

Hi all,
I replied to Ilse's ask on tumblr yesterday.

First, sorry for letting the group die omg.

The gist of my reply to Ilse is that I personally would LOVE to bring this group back to life, but I don't know how. Would people be interested in finishing this read-along, or would they rather start a new book? I imagine most participants have already finished reading the book by now. xD And I'll have to find a way to guarantee at least one of the admins is able to participate in discussions so this group doesn't die again.

Melanie wrote: "Hi all,
I replied to Ilse's ask on tumblr yesterday.

First, sorry for letting the group die omg.

The gist of my reply to Ilse is that I personally would LOVE to bring this group back to life, but..."

I think we should start with a new book... I mean like you said I think most people have finished this book.

Im in for a new book

Im in for a new book

Does anyone have any book suggestions in mind?

Anyone at all?

I dont know, for november right? It should something gentle and easy to read, maybe a contemporary book? Or a sci-fi, I dont know which books to recommend but something along those lines would be fine. Now, are there any suggestions along these lines? Or another genre?

I dont know, for november right? It should something gentle and easy to read, maybe a contemporary book? Or a sci-fi, I dont know which books to recommend but something along those lines would be fine. Now, are there any suggestions along these lines? Or another genre?

Melanie wrote: "Anyone at all?"

-Well we need to get more people to join the group in order for it to work and be active a lot more. So maybe promote it via the tumblr group and its moderators tumblrs about the read-a-long here. We need people that are active on goodreads haha in order to keep the thread going.
-I also think that we could split the book (whichever it is that is that we are reading) into chapters so that people can comment on the section that they are on without spoiling anything for the rest that are behind.
-In order to pick a book we should have a poll and in that poll have different genres so its a bit of everything and people can just pick what they feel like reading or in the mood of.

These are just some ideas.

I think that is perfect

my true love gave to me, that is a good book for winter lets read that

Estefania wrote: "my true love gave to me, that is a good book for winter lets read that"

this group is dead haha Im leaving, sorry guys