Overall: 5/5 Stars
Characters: 5/5
Setting: 5/5
Writing: 5/5
Plot and Themes: 5/5
Awesomeness Factor: 5/5
Review In A Nutshell: Through the Dark is an absolutely amazing collection of novellas, a must read for any fan of The Darkest Minds.

“One day we will ignite and create a blaze that no one can put out, ignore, hurt. We will move forward as one, and in time, rise like sparks beyond the night.”

– Premise –
Through the Dark is a collection of 3 novellas that take place in the universe of The Darkest Minds. While technically not necessary to understand the story, each novella is absolutely amazing and adds another layer of depth to this fantastic series. And since there are 3 different stories here, I wanted to do a quick review for each individual novel.

– Setting & Plot-
The world of The Darkest Minds is a fascinating dystopia, and all 3 novellas in this bind-up add more layers to this world.
In the first novella, In Time, you get to see what is happening from an outside perspective – Gabe, a skip tracer. In the main trilogy, you really only see what is happening to the kids in this world, but the adults have just as interesting a story.
Sparks Rise also gives more of an insight into what is going on in the camps, following a somewhat familiar character, Sam, and her best friend Lucas. It really helps set up some of the events of book three, In The Afterlight.
Beyond the Night takes place after the events of the main trilogy and got me so excited for the next book, The Darkest Legacy!

“We have learned that life is one journey, and the purpose is not to reach some treasure at the end of it, but to find the courage to decide which paths to take, who to travel with, and to let things fall into place as they should and will.”

– Writing –
Alexandra Bracken is an amazing author. She manages to evoke so much emotion in such short stories. I’ve never really been a fan of novellas, I could never really connect to the characters and the plots, but I cried in two of these.

“Of course. My girl? She’s incredible.”

– Characters –
I loved the characters in this book. While none of the characters from the original have a point of view, they do have cameos that made me love them even more (I didn’t even think that was possible, but here we are). However, the characters introduced (or expanded on, in Sam’s case) in this book were amazing. They were all well developed and unique characters, each with distinct voices that made them memorable.

“But we are stronger for what’s happened to us. I am stronger, even if I couldn’t see it at first. We have been given the gift of understanding that we can come through struggle and pain. We have built new families in place of the ones that cast us out. We have learned that life is one journey, and the purpose is not to reach some treasure at the end of it, but to find the courage to decide which paths to take, who to travel with, and to let things fall into place as they should and will.”

– Conclusion –
Individual Novella Ratings:
In Time: 5/5. My absolute favorite. This destroyed me, and I don’t think I’ll ever get over it
Sparks Rise: 5/5. So fantastic. I absolutely loved the characters and their story!
Beyond the Night: 4.7/5. Great read! It got me so excited for The Darkest Legacy, you have no idea.

Pros– Amazing writing, adds great insight into the world of The Darkest Minds
Cons– Hello yes this will break your heart don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Overall– 5/5 stars.
Through the Dark is an amazing collection of novellas that will astound you. Each story is beautifully crafted and perfectly done.

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