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A review by raygersh
Chosen Ones by Veronica Roth
3.0
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
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