Book Review: Chosen Ones
Published by Entangled Publishing
Release Date: June 12, 2012
Genre: YA dystopian
400 pages
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Source: I own it
I have had this book on my to-read list for several months. I'm not sure why I am just now getting around to picking it up- the cover is gorgeous, the premise promising, and I've had it waiting patiently for me. I am glad I finally gave it my attention.
I struggled with this one for the first half of the book, mainly because I had a hard time connecting with the main character, Tess. Even in her internal monologue, she is hardened, negative, depressed. She has every right to be all of these things- she has lived a nearly unbearable life, with only more horrors to face. I just had a really hard time finding any common ground with her. I would have appreciated a few scenes early on that allowed her to just be a kid.
Once I was in the second half of the book, the reading became much easier. One of the reasons is that another character, James, encourages Tess to feed her hunger for music and literature. She enjoys the beauty of fine art, and shares it with another. I could finally connect with her.
I thought the premise of a dystopian society in which humans have been genetically engineered for the purpose of fighting war was original and intriguing. The fact that the natural humans become overtaken by their creations makes it all the more interesting.
I am interested to see how this writer develops as she produces more work.
Source: I own it
I have had this book on my to-read list for several months. I'm not sure why I am just now getting around to picking it up- the cover is gorgeous, the premise promising, and I've had it waiting patiently for me. I am glad I finally gave it my attention.
I struggled with this one for the first half of the book, mainly because I had a hard time connecting with the main character, Tess. Even in her internal monologue, she is hardened, negative, depressed. She has every right to be all of these things- she has lived a nearly unbearable life, with only more horrors to face. I just had a really hard time finding any common ground with her. I would have appreciated a few scenes early on that allowed her to just be a kid.
Once I was in the second half of the book, the reading became much easier. One of the reasons is that another character, James, encourages Tess to feed her hunger for music and literature. She enjoys the beauty of fine art, and shares it with another. I could finally connect with her.
I thought the premise of a dystopian society in which humans have been genetically engineered for the purpose of fighting war was original and intriguing. The fact that the natural humans become overtaken by their creations makes it all the more interesting.
I am interested to see how this writer develops as she produces more work.
Summary from GoodReads:
Life is bleak but uncomplicated for sixteen-year-old Tess, living in a not-too-distant future where the government, faced with humanity's extinction, created the Chosen Ones, artificial beings who are extraordinarily beautiful, unbelievably strong, and unabashedly deadly.
When Tess begins work at Templeton, a Chosen Ones training facility, she meets James, and the attraction is immediate in its intensity, overwhelming in its danger. But there is more to Templeton than Tess ever knew. Can she stand against her oppressors, even if it means giving up the only happiness in her life?
Life is bleak but uncomplicated for sixteen-year-old Tess, living in a not-too-distant future where the government, faced with humanity's extinction, created the Chosen Ones, artificial beings who are extraordinarily beautiful, unbelievably strong, and unabashedly deadly.
When Tess begins work at Templeton, a Chosen Ones training facility, she meets James, and the attraction is immediate in its intensity, overwhelming in its danger. But there is more to Templeton than Tess ever knew. Can she stand against her oppressors, even if it means giving up the only happiness in her life?
Well, I have not heard much about this but it does sound interesting. Definitely love dystopia though I have not read much of it since a long time.
ReplyDeleteLOVED your review, Paula
So adding this to my TBR
Your reader,
Soma
http://insomnia-of-books.blogspot.com/
Hi Soma- always great to hear from you!
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