Premise:

What happens to teenage heroes after they save the world? In Veronica Roth’s Chosen Ones, the aftermath isn’t all parades and accolades. Sure, they have the love of an entire planet, but also suffer PTSD from having to fight in a war where they were the last hope of all mankind. Ten years ago, five teens defeated a world-destroying being known as the Dark One. Brought together by the U.S. government guided by a prophecy as a last ditch effort to save the world, the teens defeated the Dark One using magic they barely understood or could control. Ten years later, they have had varying journeys dealing with success and trauma. The ten year anniversary brings all of them together again, but the sudden and tragic death of one of their own brings up issues they never expected to face as well as discover the Dark One’s true goal isn’t at all what they thought.

Review:

I will admit that I am an on-and-off fan of Victoria Roth’s works. I mildly enjoyed Divergent and Insurgent, but never got to finishing Allegiant once it was spoiled for me. I greatly enjoyed her Carved the Mark duology and thought it was a great sci-fi light space adventure. With that kind of a track record, I wasn’t sure about her first foray into adult fiction. With so many YA authors delving into adult fiction this year with mixed results, I was wary diving into Roth’s first attempt into the genre.

I have to say that this book was a mixed bag for me. It started out great. I love her use of newspaper clippings and declassified files to inform the reader of the past events and setting the stage for the main story. The Chosen Ones (Sloane, Ines, Esther, Albie, and Matt) are a seasoned group of fighters that have had to make the change from planet-saving heroes to celebrities with mixed success. The story focuses on Sloane’s point of view throughout the story with flashbacks to her missions for the government as a teenager and fighting the Dark One with the other Chosen Ones. I love this group of battle-worn young adults with their inside jokes and dark humor to survive this brave new world.

The plot ebbs and flows following Sloane’s journey of self-discovery and healing as well as majorly destructive and possibly worlds-ending events. It is bogged down by side quests and training sessions that are incredibly boring, but the action sequences are fun as well as the relationships that grow throughout the book. I do appreciate a misunderstood bad guy and lots of twists that turn the plot upside down, but I’m not sure if the ending was worth the journey.

And as for this being an adult fiction story, I’m sorry I just don’t see it. Throw in all the curse words you like, make it bloody all you like, but the characters were definitely in New Adult territory with letting go of childhood friendships, turning your back on the lies told to you to keep you in line, and forging new, more serious steps into the future. And starting a steamy scene then fade to black? Come on. This isn’t Twilight.

Will I be buying the planned sequel to this book? Probably, but I won’t be waiting with baited breath. The book ends with the majority of plot lines closed and no hint at needing a sequel, but maybe some of the minor plot lines left open could lead to something else.

3/5

3/5

Romance: mild

Violence: Moderate

Tropes: found family, alternate realities

Trigger warnings: PTSD