The Chosen Book Review

From Goodreads: Throughout history, people have vanished with no explanation. A group of teenagers are about to discover why.

Cade is settling into a new boarding school, contemplating his future, when he finds himself transported to another realm. He soon discovers their new world is populated with lost remnants from the past: prehistoric creatures, ancient relics, and stranger still — people. Overwhelmed by his new surroundings, Cade has little time to adjust, for soon he and his fellow classmates are forced to become contenders in a brutal game, controlled by mysterious overlords.

But who are these beings and why did they choose these teens? Cade must prepare for battle . . . because hiding is not an option.

Hi everyone,

First up, I wanted to say thank you to Hodder for sending me a copy of this book, and its sequel The Challenger, to review. I’m planning to get to the next novel in the series fairly soon, so if people enjoy this review, make sure to check back for the next one. As always, I’ll be keeping it spoiler free for people who haven’t yet picked up a copy.

So the first thing I want to talk about with The Chosen is the cover. I’ll be honest and say that I don’t often come across YA with a male protagonist (well, I do but they tend to be multi-POV books with female protagonists too) so it’s kinda cool to see a YA book that will also clearly appeal to male readers of YA. I think as well the dinosaurs on the cover and the clear hint that the book will be action-packed will definitely appeal to MG readers who are beginning to explore YA novels too.

It was certainly a very quick and action-packed read. The beginning is really in media res, and it feels a little bit confusing, but that makes sense because the main character, Cade, is confused too. I enjoyed reading about his fight with the monster that was trying to get at him while he was stood on a ledge. I also liked that he didn’t just attack the monster or run away from it. Instead, he thinks things through and makes a decision that helps him survive the challenge.

The historical elements of the novel also proved truly entertaining. It was a little bizarre at times, since characters come from lots of different time periods and there’s all sorts of events and challenges the characters have to go through that sort of come from moments in history, but that only really added to the fun of the novel. It reminded me a little of Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park, but with a whole bunch of other historical stuff thrown in. It felt very unique, and I loved all of the additional information I learned along the way too. The book never feels like it’s lecturing you about history, but there’s a lot of facts woven in there that will make you feel like you’ve learned some new things.

Quintus was my favourite character, and I liked that the cast of characters in general were quite diverse. Quintus was funny and clever and loyal, and I kinda just wanted to celebrate him for a moment because I loved his character so much. He really goes above and beyond for Cade. Speaking of Cade, this is where the review begins to tip towards some of my less positive thoughts about the book. I initially quite liked Cade’s character, especially when he’s helping the others. However, the scenes in which he’s in the school made him a bit unlikeable in my eyes. He was pretty snobby about the other boys, and while his intellect helped the group in the mysterious world, and he does grow as a character along the way, he got a bit annoying at moments because he was so smart. It felt a little cliché that the smart, nerdy, quiet boy saves everyone with his brains, and I sort of wish there was another few layers to him to soften that aspect of him a bit. I think it also didn’t help that there were some other fairly caricature characters in there, including the school bully, Finch. I really didn’t like Finch, and I clearly wasn’t expected to because he was awful, but he and his friends were sort of just another Crabbe and Goyle group of cronies, who were quick to fight and weren’t very smart, and it just felt a bit underwhelming. I do appreciate the sentiment of clever beats bully, but it didn’t massively paint Cade in a great light either, and just made him seem a bit arrogant and judgemental.

I also wasn’t sure how I felt about the ending. There was a lot of tension leading up to the end, and that whole section of action was really well-written. However, the plot twist at the end was pretty weird, and I’m not sure how I feel about it, except that I didn’t love it. It’s hard to talk about having not yet picked up the next book, as it’s possible it could be leading down a really exciting path, but right now that twist just feels a little bizarre and again, a little cliché to me.

Overall, I’m giving The Chosen:

 

 

 

 

 

I think there was a lot to admire about this book, and I did absolutely fly through it. If you like fast-paced novels with a lot of action, I think this will be a good pick for you. And also, there were dinosaurs in the book, which absolutely made everything just a bit better.

Has anyone else read this book or is planning to? What did you think of it? Join the discussion by leaving a comment in the comment section down below <3