The darkest minds

All the world will be your enemy, Prince with a Thousand Enemies, I thought, and whenever they catch you, they will kill you. But first they must catch you, digger, listener, runner, prince with the swift warning.
Be cunning and full of tricks, and your people shall never be destroyed.

Rabbits need dignity and, above all, the will to accept their fate.

I... Wow... I can't express everything want to say about this book. At first, it was this depressing sort of reality that spoke to me on deep levels. Then, it was this hopeless reality that tried desperately to shine a little light. Lastly, it was a reality that showed you that no matter the struggles or the pain you went through, you can always find a way to press through and find hope in the darkest worlds.

Alexandra Bracken, you have reminded me of a simple truth that I had began to believe as false. I don't know what was going on in your life when you wrote this book, but let me tell you a little about mine. In three short words, I am depressed. Yes, it's true. I'm trapped in a castle with one Queen Mother controlling my life and my interactions. I can speak to no one; they just don't understand that I'm not free. I'm alone, no one listens to me nor do they really care. My day is one big routine that I cannot shake. I am hopeless that it will get better anytime soon. I no longer feel much joy or excitement. To borrow words from NF, "I'm paralyzed. Where are my feelings? I no longer feel things the way I should. I'm paralyzed. Where is the real me? I'm lost and it kills me, inside. I'm paralyzed."

Reading this book has just encouraged me on a way I can't fully explain yet. Something about it just pointed out the harsh reality that life can really suck sometimes for years and years and years. Even when it seems like it's getting better, it can be so hard to truly believe it; and it might not even be true. No one can just escape their situations or their past; you have to deal with it and learn to get back up again and change it. For me, this looks nearly impossible; I don't know what to do or if I should even do it. I lay awake at night thinking of what it would be like to just have someone next to me, comforting me, and telljng me it'll be alright. I no longer dream, nor do I hope. Yet, somehow, you Alexandra have given me a simple reminder that all I have to do is take it one day at a time and enjoy the small things. It is never wrong to cry. It is never wrong to mess up. It's what you do afterwards that makes all the difference. Thank you Alexandra for reminding me of this.

The next time I feel like crap and start to hate how I'm such a coward, I'll remember Ruby Elizabeth Daly and how she put one step in front of the other, even after her life feel apart again and again.