The story:

Fifteen-year-old Alexandra Spencer has led a life of privilege. That all disintegrates when her boyfriend
Marcus begs her to take the fall for a minor crime that he committed, and she is sentenced to a year at Elder Gray prison – by her own father. Forced to cross a danger-filled, dystopian landscape just to get to Elder Grey, she must learn to toughen up or die, to say nothing of survive the brutal prison itself.


What I loved:

I really liked Alexandra as the main character. Obviously, she had to grow up and harden herself really fast in order to survive her circumstances, but the revelations that she discovers about herself and those around her were quite startling. The cast of characters that surround her are also compelling and interesting, from the handsome guard Will to the friendly Cassidy to mysterious Emily Jane.


What I didn’t love:

If I have one nitpick about the story, it's that there were times when the plot moved a little too slowly, and other times when so much happened at once that I had to read it several times to process it all. The last chapter, in particular, could probably have benefited from being longer, in order to set up the next book.


My Final Verdict:

Into Darkness is a very good dystopian book, with an unlikely heroine that you will definitely root for. There are clear good guys, clear bad guys, and plenty who could fall on either side, which is what you need to keep you guessing until the end.