Chosen Ones Kindle Edition

I'll start by pointing out that this is NOT a Young Adult novel nor is it marketed as such. This is meant to be an adult novel debut. I'l also admit fully that I'm already a big fan of Veronica Roth's writing so it was a given that I would pick up, and probably enjoy this book. And despite a few issues here and there I was absolutely blown away by how much I enjoyed it.As someone who loves reluctant heroes I absolutely loved Sloane and her perspective. The book opens with a terribly sexist "interview" which well reflects how real world women celebrities are treated, as objects to salivate over and critique. Not to treat as actual people with thoughts and feelings of their own. It also sets the tone for how Sloane is viewed and why she shies away from the spotlight so much. It was easy for me to empathize with how much she hates the spotlight and her desire to just be left alone. But also her deep loneliness as well despite the friends she has around.I was surprised by just how quickly I grew attached to everyone in the main cast. Not just Sloane but Matt, Esther, Ines, and Albie. They may have saved the world but doing so left some deep scars and it was interesting to see how each person did, or did not, manage that and how they struggled to cope in the time afterwards. Although I would have liked to see a lot more of Ines throughout the book and I hope to see her more present in the second one.All of the characters felt well balanced out to me with no one falling too far into one trope or another. Esther's love of social media, Matt's overwhelming kindness, or even Sloane's constant grumpiness could have been very irritating if handled differently. But they all felt like multifaceted people just trying to figure their lives out and move on.Matt is kind, a natural leader and protector type doing his best to keep everyone together, but he has his own hard edges, his own disappointments and frustrations. It felt good not only realizing that the leader of the Chosen Ones was a black man but also seeing that other racial tensions didn't get swept under the rug along. Like when Sloane doesn't hesitate to say that people who try to diminish his accomplishments are racist. As well as when supporters of The Dark One are specifically called out as white supremacists using what he did to advance their own agenda. There's also Sloane acknowledging there are some aspects of his life she'll never be able to understand. Matt seeing young black students in a crowd and taking the time to go over to them and speak to a young black girl with braids and beads in her hair like I used to have as a kid. Matt's frustration at Sloane not understanding why he doesn't, physically, fight back against it at times the way she would or wants to. All of these moments combine to make it feel more authentic and real. It would have been easy to just say Matt is black isn't that nice? And move on as if it didn't change anything. But it does change things and it felt validating in a way to see the book acknowledge that in ways that felt real to me and to what I've seen.I also felt like Esther and Sloane were both interesting contrasts. I feel like it would have been easy to reduce her to "just" a social media celeb or to use her love of it as her only quality but she's given a lot more time for readers to understand her and her character better. I loved seeing her interact with Sloane who hates social media, the press, the fame, all of it and just wants to be left alone. Seeing their friendship was honestly pretty heartwarming.It was interesting to see how magic was handled. Not something known but an unknown factor that just appeared one day without warning. Now what do you do with it? How do you fight against it? How do you use it for your own ends? How does it even work? The magic itself isn't all that complex but snippets of information from Government reports, news articles, and in world books help add more depth. Its less about the magic itself and more about how it has affected the world as a whole and people's perception of what is now possible. And what danger's might come in the future as a result.The transition into the "real story" was pretty jarring and I don't really want to spoil what happens.. It was understandably sharp but that change meant it took a bit for me to get fully on board with what was happening. But I think the differences between the two were well handled and while magic might not be all that complex in and of itself, I feel like the issues surrounding it and how it can or can't be applied were really given a lot of thought and care by the author.I started off more then a little suspicious when I realized where the story was going but it still ended up surprising me and thrilling me all the same. It made for an exciting story, an even more exciting conclusion, and for characters I loved to see and read about.I especially loved Sloane as the main character and seeing her point of view. Despite her friends being around she's still a deeply lonely person and carries around a lot of emotional pain and frustration. I liked the way her mental health was handled and the validation the story gave her in the end.“Therapy. Is that all anyone can tell us to do?” “Didn’t help you?” she said. “It did. And it didn’t. I don’t know. I just wish people would stop talking about it as if just going fixes everything.”I like that quote from the book especially. All of the Chosen Ones have been badly damaged by what happened. They all handle it in different ways. Fame, volunteer work and public speaking to help others, or hiding away from the world. Even therapy and medication but those things alone aren't a cure all that can magically (pun intended) fix everything and make it all go away. There's still a lot of work to be done in order to heal.Its probably easy to see that the characters were the highlight of the book for me but as it went on I found myself really getting into the world building, the differences in how magic is used or not used, and the truth of The Dark One. Parts of the final climax did fall a bit flat for me but the end result was incredible. Most of the loose ends were tied up but there's still plenty to be explored both with what happened to the world and where the characters will go next.I loved this book and I look forward eagerly to reading the next one!

Yes, there is language in this ADULT book but it is greatly reduced after the first few chapters. The story, as a whole, was excellent. Each character is well defined with their own voice. Veronica develops a world filled with very unique magic that I found quite fascinating. The last third of the book is powerful. I highly recommend the audiobook as much as the hardcover. It is so well done PLUS Veronica cameos in it.The Divergent series of books are some of my favorite books of all time. Carve the Mark and The Fates Divide were also extremely good. Chosen Ones has earned its place among them.UPDATE:I have now listened to the audiobook four times. It gets better each time as there are several tributes to other works of art hidden in the details. I no longer notice the cussing. It really wasn't that bad to begin with. There's a lot more in any R rated movie and in a lot of other books. Do not let the opinions of others discourage you when looking at books as we all have our own preferences and those tend to be exaggerated with our own views. I am excited to read/hear the next chapter in the Chosen Ones series. I do not like to compare books to other books that a writer has created because it superficially puts a limit on an author's ability to stretch out into other stories. If you like science fiction then I can recommend this book. If you like chosen one stories then I can recommend this book. If you like interesting characters then I can recommend this book. There really isn't any reason I can find to not recommend it. Overall, it is a decent read.

Overall: An engaging and magical book about parallel worlds, desire, power, and finding and embracing who you truly are. Though I would not call this an adult fantasy novel, it is still engaging with a strong cast of characters though slightly over the top 3.5/5 or 6.5/10Summary: Sloane Andrews, Matthew Weekes, Esther Park, Albert Summers, and Ines Mejia fulfilled a prophecy ten years ago by killing an evil villain known as "The Dark One." This made them instant heroes and they have been living with the aftermath ever since. Each hero has a different personality with strengths and weaknesses but this novel focuses on Sloane. On the ten year anniversary of destroying the dark one, one of the heroes dies. This event is the fulcrum that catapults the heroes to a new parallel world where. In this new world, the heroes have similar challenges but also some major differences they have to face. Together they embark on a new adventure of a lifetime.The Good: Very engaging and most of the book is difficult to put down. Fast paced with lots of adventure and things going on. I really enjoyed the format which alternated from telling the present day plot to different documents featuring Sloane from the past. You are only given bits and pieces of the history which keeps you thinking and guessing. I loved Sloane as a character though it took my nearly half the book to come to that conclusion. She is shark and complicated, with many different sides to her. I disliked her for the first half before coming around and really enjoying her as the heroine. The other characters are OK though none measured up with the same complexity and depth as Sloane.The Bad: For a book this interesting I was able to put it down and walk away multiple times. To me, that means it was missing something. I think I may have lost interest when the living dead army developed. Though I changed opinion on that as well by the end, this book just had a bit too much thrown into the mix. Some aspects were quite predictable as well. I had read reviews calling this Roth's first adult novel and I definitely would not call it that. This may have been why I was a bit disappointed, I expected a bit more from it.Favorite Quotes:“Just because something is difficult doesn't mean it's worth doing.”“Nature is bloody, and as a whole, it favors strength over compassion.”“What, then, is a desire? We may begin by stating what it is not. A desire is not a whim. It is not an idle wish concocted on a sunny afternoon. A desire is a profundity of want, a deep and abiding craving that cannot be denied.”

This new piece of work of Veronica Roth is as wonderful as her divergent series , and her other books.

I've really come to enjoy the dark and twisty tales of Veronica Roth, and this book is different from anything I've read before, especially because it's set after a great battle. It kept me on my toes, and remained unpredictable until the very end. Every time I thought I may have figured out what was truly going on, I was surprised by yet another twist. And I loved it. There is no black or white in the fight between good and evil. Not in this story at least. I loved how the characters interacted with one another. They were human, they felt real. I personally don't care too much whether this is an Adult fiction book or YA, or a combination thereof. What matters to me is the story itself, and it's brilliant. Many of the concepts that were explored felt like they were above YA level, and many were somewhere in the middle. Veronica Roth is, as always, amazing at world building, and she puts a lot of thought into the universe she creates. And that's a difficult task. I am assuming there's going to be a second book in the series, and I'm already impatient to get my hands on it. I would also be very excited if a prequel comes out one day. Thank you, Veronica Roth, for always delivering, for being an amazing author, and a great inspiration for this aspiring author.

Très agréable à lire.

I enjoyed this a lot and will probably reread it sometime. Random thoughts...- Great characters, especially the heroine. I love that they are all heroic yet a little annoying. Matt in particular felt very realistic.- Lots of twists and turns, some of which I didn’t see coming, which is a nice change.- It’s supposed to be an adult book, but the ‘chosen’ characters act like teenagers with teen emotions and concerns, being stroppy, impulsive, obsessed with media, issues with authority, scared of marriage, still emotionally coming of age, etc. I would definitely call this a young adult book despite the characters’ supposed ages. No-one in the book is thinking about adult preoccupations like starting a family / building a career / seeing the world etc.- Some bits are crying out for an editor. Eg a mysterious man surprises the heroine, to quote the book: “‘I didn’t mean to startle you.’ She was glad she hadn’t taken off her bra the night before. ‘Did you follow me here?’ She asked.” Her bra? Wtf? Why is she thinking about her bra given the dangerous situation and why did she sleep in it anyway? Where on earth was the editor on this bit? Sounds petty but one minute I was enjoying a dramatic story and the next I was laughing my head off at the bad prose. Fortunately most of the book is very well written.- the first third of the book is a fascinating reflection on the theme of coping with the fact that your life has already peaked. (Given extra pathos since the author was so successful so young). The second two thirds of the book are a classic ‘chosen one with exceptional magical ability defeats baddie while loving two hot guys in different ways’ type story. I loved both parts, but am not convinced they fitted together very well. I would have liked to read a climax to the ‘what if you have peaked’ theme. Don’t get me wrong the book climax is great, just has nothing to do with the themes raised at the beginning and I felt that “What if your life has already peaked?” question deserved an answer. (And I suggest the answer would be that you may have peaked at one thing, whether defeating evil villains or writing fiction, but you haven’t peaked at everything, so go try your hand at a new adventure in a new arena whether starting a family or ruling a magical world in a different dimension or whatever.)- In the final few chapters a lot of information was revealed very fast, I still feel a bit puzzled about some of the backstory/motivation details and will need to reread it I think!- Much better than most of this genre out there so give it a go.

Somehow I knew that this book would live up to my expectations... And it really did ! I loved it, another beautiful book with a hero true to herself and I spent a great afternoon reading this.I love the universe created by Veronica Roth, once again we meet her characters in Chicago and find real characters with emotional and physical pain that will get you rely to them quickly. You'll love, hate, cry with them, and wish for a second book.