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Saturday 2 June 2012

Review: Chosen Ones - Tiffany Truitt

Author: Tiffany Truitt
Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian
Release Date: June 12th 2012
Publisher: Entangled
Pages: 400
Source: ARC (provided by the publisher)

What if you were mankind’s last chance at survival?

Sixteen-year-old Tess lives in a compound in what was once the Western United States, now decimated after a devastating fourth World War. But long before that, life as we knew it had been irrevocably changed, as women mysteriously lost the ability to bring forth life. Faced with the extinction of the human race, the government began the Council of Creators, meant to search out alternative methods of creating life. The resulting artificial human beings, or Chosen Ones, were extraordinarily beautiful, unbelievably strong, and unabashedly deadly.

Life is bleak, but uncomplicated for Tess as she follows the rigid rules of her dystopian society, until the day she begins work at Templeton, the training facility for newly created Chosen Ones. There, she meets James, a Chosen One whose odd love of music and reading rivals only her own. The attraction between the two is immediate in its intensity—and overwhelming in its danger.

But there is more to the goings-on at Templeton than Tess ever knew, and as the veil is lifted from her eyes, she uncovers a dark underground movement bent not on taking down the Chosen Ones, but the Council itself. Will Tess be able to stand up to those who would oppress her, even if it means giving up the only happiness in her life?
So, that was totally unexpected! This book totally surprised me in a lot of ways, both good and bad.

I LOVED the plot. One of the most original and riveting dystopian stories out there right now, and I really appreciated the underlying philosophical and ethical themes to the CHOSEN ONES. I couldn't wait to discover all the secrets along with the characters, and that was what kept me reading even though I found the main characters unlikeable. I thought the idea of the Chosen Ones and the Naturals were oh so fucking immense. The world building, and the writing was exceptional to say the least.

What really let me down was the characters. I've said time and time again that I can forgive a weak plot but with very engaging and interesting characters, but I can't do it the other way around. I NEED to like the characters. I NEED to be able to connect with them, and root for them. Sadly, this was not the case for the characters in here. I thought Emma was a bit too weird and cynical - which I totally understand, if I was in her position, I would be like that, too, but sometimes it was just a bit TOO much - and that James (the love interest) was too perfect, too bland, and quite frankly, too boring. I also felt like we didn't really get to know the characters very well even though the book was average-length and there was a lot of scenes with them.

I had really high expectations for this book. And while I was disheartened by the characters, I was blown away by the plot and the overall idea. If you enjoy thrilling dystopians, with beautiful writing and a heart-stopping plot, then I think you'll love CHOSEN ONES :) 


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