Author Discusses Books with Stratford Students

Author Alexandra Bracken at a “Meet and Greet” at Stratford High School.

War and famine dominate dystopian adventures. While at surface level they may portray a perfect society, if you go deeper there is always a flaw in the system. The Darkest Minds book series, like many others recently, follows a group of young individuals in a dystopian world who have special powers that help them fight the system.

The author of this series, Alexandra Bracken, describes the characters as “teenage superheroes,” but admits they don’t exactly live in a perfect world. At an author “Meet and Greet” recently, Bracken talked with Stratford students about the novel and the publication industry in general, as well as how she got her start in writing.

Initially Bracken was going to be a lawyer, but while taking the LSATs she had an epiphany.

“I realized that I didn’t really want to spend the rest of my life in a courtroom or an office,” she said. It was then that Bracken started to pursue a career in the publication industry.

“I started out as an assistant, but after four or five years I had worked my way in.” After a few years in the industry, Bracken had her first novel published and has been writing ever since. “I signed with my agent on my 21st birthday.”

During the event, Bracken was asked why the dystopian genre has become so popular in recent years.

“I don’t know about the genre as a whole, but for me part of The Darkest Minds was inspired by the post 9/11 government and the increase in regulations and security. I think that authors who grew up through that, like me, are coming of age now, and so they’ve written about the experience through these dystopian stories.”

The “meet and greet” event, held in the Stratford library, was the first in many planned author appearances designed to connect students with some of their favorite authors.

“I was so excited to meet a real author. I’ve read her books before, but meeting her in person was totally different,” said Jordyn Waterson, a sophomore who attended the meeting and is a fan of The Darkest Minds series.

Bracken’s newest installment in this series, In The Afterlight, came out Oct. 28 and is in bookstores now.