Reviews

I was initially drawn to Chosen Ones because I love the examination of what makes a character Chosen and the intersection of choice and destiny. The weight of being a chosen one felt by the protagonist, Sloane, was the greatest strength of the novel. Ten years ago, Sloane experienced serious trauma at the hands of the book's villain, but continued to face him and face her demons because she was Chosen. Now she struggles with that trauma and how to move on. I had a huge appreciation for the way Veronica Roth demonstrated her fight with PTSD and Sloane’s inability to feel “normal” after experiencing such life-altering and devastating events. Sloane is morally gray and has an offbeat sense of humor that made her a fantastic character.

While Roth’s character building was fantastic, her worldbuilding was seriously lacking and kept me from being fully engaged in the plot. Most of the struggles the Chosen Ones are facing centralize around magic (magic here being a loose term to define a broad array of objects, actions, and behaviors). The rules of magic were never clearly defined and I never knew where each of the characters stood in their understanding of and ability to use said magic.

Once I could finally accept the world that Roth pieced together, the momentum of the story was completely undermined by a hasty wrap-up. The ending undid a lot of the beautiful characterization Roth created and didn’t really make much sense. There were several loose ends that didn’t get addressed, while other elements were spelled out to the reader with heavy-handed descriptions.

Overall: Sloane was a great character and this was a pretty fun exploration of what it means to be Chosen, but I can’t really call it a well-written novel. 2.5 stars

vic_to_ria's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

This was a fun read, I liked a lot of the humour our main character gives and I personally related to her character and how she handles her trauma and emotional responses to opposition or media expectations.
This gave me like the Umbrella Academy vibes in the sense that we are picking up after the chosen ones have saved the world and what their lives looked like after the fact as they were just teenagers at the time of triumph.
The mystery is good and there isn’t a time in the plot where we don’t know what we are doing- there is always something to do or to learn as our main character can’t stay still for too long and I loved that.
My one issue is I felt the ending was rushed and we didn’t get a satisfying ( to me ) explanation for the main mystery

aka our main character being a main interest of the villain (the Dark One) and why he consistently sought her out and targeted her out of all the chosen ones- I didn’t feel like that was a satisfying ending as it’s mentioned in flashback only and not expanded upon

Overall this was a great superhero trope twist I enjoyed and wished we got a little bit more of just to properly flush out the villain and the mystery.

Content Warnings

secondhandpages's review against another edition

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4.0

"It will be the end of Genetrix.
The unmaking of worlds.
Something stands between Genetrix and its twin.
The Dark One will excise it,
and the worlds will be crushed together,
and that will be the end of all.
The Dark One of Genetrix will be hidden,
but not secret, with a thirst that will never be slaked.
Their Equal is the hope of Genetrix,
born marred by magic
and mastered by a power previously unknown to us.
Twice will Equals greet each other anew,
and the fate of the world is in their hands."

I finally finished Chosen Ones ! It took me so long to finish it, BUT not for the reason you'd think! I was so worried about the ending - literally it gave me anxiety! - so I really couldn't bring myself to pick it up to finish it. I think I read approximately 6 books before I picked this one back up because I just couldn't bring myself to torture my heart.

I am here to say that I should have just read that damn thing because WOW! I definitely loved how this novel rose and fell like a crescendo. The world building, stunning magical system, magical realism elements, and gritty character development make this one of Roth's best novels.

There are so many tropes in this novel, it would take too long to list them all but they are all done SO WELL! From the Chosen One, to the Enemies to Lovers, to Loss of a loved one - so many overlapping tropes weave together a mishmash of excellency.

Over all, I can say that I really loved the overall message of this novel - even if areas missed the mark a bit. For a full review, check out my blog!

larism27's review against another edition

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4.0

This author is really good at writing flawed characters, loved the themes of gray
Vs black/ white. The world building is also gorgeous. The plot I was less in love with, liked the mystery, but was hard to follow at times. But I am putting this at 4 stars because I would LOVE to see this as a movie/show.

aeryn_sun's review against another edition

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adventurous reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

I really wanted to like this book. I ended listening to it at 2x speed just to get it over with. I should have DNF'ed

kusine's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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