Through the Dark (A Darkest Minds Collection) (Darkest Minds Novel, A) Hardcover – October 6, 2015

Where are rated the original trilogy between a 3 and a four depending on the books these short stories are excellent and could very well stand on their own to a certain degree. These three novellas feel like actually two stories with the second and third story being pretty much one story in and of itself.These stories feel more real and gritty. the first two stories do take place within the timeline of the original trilogy and if you have read the third book of that trilogy would be spoiled to a certain degree of knowing at least where the story will end up. At the same time they are emotionally impactful in a way that the original series could not quite reach. I believe one reason why these novellas work so well is because they do not rely upon a lot of World building and would not necessarily need that which is found in the original trilogy to carry them.It also could be because we do not spend a lot of time Meandering in the stories. They are quick and to-the-point. The characters are rich and have a unique voice in and of themselves. Alexandra Bracken has been able to produce some very relatable characters.

If you are buying all of the books ahead of time I personally recommend reading these novellas in between books as you read the series. There’s a recommended order online, but by the time i found out about this book I had already finished the series. Beautiful details and back story that really ties the series together. 10/10

Great book

awesomely ! I got this book for $1 and it came it basically perfect condition. I will be shopping from these people again!

I rarely write reviews, but when I read this book, read this series, I just had to write one. I cannot express enough how much I adore this series; these characters and plotline. This book, and all of the books, are beautifully written. I was a bit wary, I will admit, to read this book because it was not in the POV of Ruby, like the rest are. But such a thing doesn't stop the greatness of the series, and the changes in POV's only help the reader in understanding characters we didn't have time to understand. We read about Gabe, the importance of him and Zu, we read about Sam, and her time in Thurmond and we read about Mia and Lucus, Sam's old friends and their appearances later on, and the help Ruby and everyone gives them. We read about the forming of a beautiful, but damaged family, and it has made me so happy to experience this series. I wish I could read it again and again and have the same reactions each time. Honestly, truthfully, one hundred percent recommended; this series, this book. Try it. You won't regret it.

If you loved the Darkest Minds series, you will love this collection of short stories. Now, I'm not a short story kind of gal, I get way too attached to the characters and ache to hear more about their journey after meeting them, but this book blew me away. This book still tied in characters from the fist book while getting to know some of the background characters more in depth. These stories dives into the minds of a Skip Tracers journey through being good or bad and Sams story of survival and escape at Thurmond. Being short stories, these books should be read with the Darkest Minds series to understand best and get the full effect but can definitely be read on their own too. For lovers of the Darkest Minds series and for anyone who wants to know Sams story, I would totally recommend this book to you!

While some of the novelettes in this volume take place between books in the Darkest Minds trilogy (one would probably be 1.5 and another 2.5 if you were trying to read everything in order), I found that reading this volume after finishing the trilogy worked out better for me, mostly because of the different viewpoints of the narrators. I'd recommend reading the trilogy, all of which are narrated by Ruby, first, then these, which are narrated by others, even though in an aside in one of her afterwords the author points out the order in which all events take place. These characters have minor connections to the main series, but reading this after you've finished it fills in a lot of gaps and ties the ending together more clearly. Anyone who likes her series needs to read this, especially the last parts that tie up, even while opening out in some ways, the ending. It was wonderful; I would never, in any of Bracken's books, deduct a star: five stars all the way.....

These books are suppose to be meant for a younger audience but with the content in it it’s for sure better for an older audience.I guess it helps a bit to close off the series seeing it from sams part and the red but I still think it’s still lacking some, plus author shouldn’t have wiped out Cole, Cole deserved a happy ending that he didn’t get to have and would have liked that with ruby.. all and all expected more from this series and ending was okay.. nothing special