Title: Chosen Ones

Author: Veronica Roth

Series: Chosen Ones Series

Publisher: John Joseph Adams/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Publication Date: April 7th, 2020

Genres: Fantasy, Adult

A decade ago near Chicago, five teenagers defeated the otherworldly enemy known as the Dark One, whose reign of terror brought widespread destruction and death. The seemingly un-extraordinary teens—Sloane, Matt, Ines, Albie, and Esther—had been brought together by a clandestine government agency because one of them was fated to be the “Chosen One,” prophesized to save the world. With the goal achieved, humankind celebrated the victors and began to mourn their lost loved ones.

Ten years later, though the champions remain celebrities, the world has moved forward and a whole, younger generation doesn’t seem to recall the days of endless fear. But Sloane remembers. It’s impossible for her to forget when the paparazzi haunt her every step just as the Dark One still haunts her dreams. Unlike everyone else, she hasn’t moved on; she’s adrift—no direction, no goals, no purpose. On the eve of the Ten Year Celebration of Peace, a new trauma hits the Chosen: the death of one of their own. And when they gather for the funeral at the enshrined site of their triumph, they discover to their horror that the Dark One’s reign never really ended.

There have been a surprising number of traditionally YA-authors releasing their debut adult novels within the past several months. I was intrigued when I learned that Veronica Roth, one of my favorite authors from when I was in middle and high school, was going to be publishing an adult fantasy, but I was also somewhat apprehensive. The premise alone didn’t sound like anything special, and I wasn’t sure how adaptable her writing style would be for an adult audience. I was also mildly worried that there would be constant Divergent undertones and features that were more reminiscent of YA literature, but I decided to give this one a chance anyway.

One of my biggest complaints was the marketing of this book. Every article, author interview, and even the book summary repeatedly stress that this is Veronica Roth’s first foray into writing for an adult audience. But, after reading the book in its entirety, I completely disagree with its adult classification. The five protagonists are described to be in their thirties, but their decisions, behaviors, and speech suggest otherwise. Had there been no explicit references to age, I would have pegged all of these characters as teenagers who were no older than 16. Writing a book that centers on characters in their mid-thirties who can’t even act half their age DOESN’T earn it the classification as an adult novel. Throwing in the occasional curse word doesn’t either. If I pick up a book with “adult” practically stamped across the front cover, the expectation is that it will read like an adult book. Consequently, this misnomer was a large source of my frustration and disappointment while reading, making it a less than desirable experience. This comes across as primarily a marketing decision such that Roth and her writing could stay “relevant” with her original fanbase from the Divergent series.

The plot itself was lacking originality and riddled with tropes – the chosen one, the reluctant hero, a nondescript and mysterious “dark” one, and a final battle between good and evil. To make matters worse, the pacing was glacial, and I struggled to finish this one due to a disinterest in the plot and lack of connection to the characters. There were very few action-heavy scenes, and they were interspersed among a barrage of standing around, the occasional training session, and whining about how life wasn’t fair. Additionally, there was far too much telling rather than showing. Roth relied heavily on info-dumps to convey information, and these further interrupted the action and slowed down the pacing. This was likely a product of the book’s premise, in which the protagonists had defeated the Dark One a decade earlier and would casually reference information that they had learned or things that they had done years before. There was no sense of fear or danger in these recollections, which amounted to my general disinterest when reading about them.

To make matters worse, everything seemed a bit too convenient for the protagonists. For example, one of the characters is captured and imprisoned, yet manages to break out of their cell and escape within the span of an hour or two. No one catches them in the act or notices they’re missing within a reasonable span of time, despite the captors being described as incredibly powerful, intelligent, and almost all-knowing. Another example that readily comes to mind is the gullibility of all other characters in the book. Whenever it suits one of the protagonists’ needs, anything that they say will be unquestioningly accepted as fact by those around them, despite a very blatant lack of proof or evidence. One unverified source of information was sufficient to convince all of these individuals to completely overturn a conviction that they had previously held and firmly defended, which added yet another unrealistic layer to this book.

The third person narration certainly didn’t help the pacing, and the book certainly would’ve benefitted from first person narration. I felt little to no connection to each of the characters and had no preference about whether they made it out of the book alive. This disconnect from the characters contributed to my disinterest in the book overall, and it was difficult to feel invested in any of the storylines that were unfolding. First person narration certainly would have improved this and provided insights into each character’s opinions and rationales, potentially even evoking a little sympathy from readers.

The only redeeming component of the plot and pacing was the concluding twist, which added a shocking element to an otherwise bland narrative. I hadn’t foreseen it coming, although in retrospect, the groundwork leading up to this revelation was laid out very thoroughly. It was evident that this aspect of the book required significant planning to execute well, and I commend Roth for the time and effort that she dedicated to crafting this twist.

The fantasy components of the book were few and far between. There was a vaguely defined magic system that received minimal definition and expansion after it was first introduced. Based on the few details that readers received, there seemed to be no limit on the usage of magic. This is one of my biggest pet peeves within the genre – if there’s no need to conserve or use one’s magic strategically, the final “battle” should be initiated and concluded within the first 5 pages of the book. If there are no finite constraints on magic usage, a single powerful individual should be able to defeat their enemies in the blink of an eye, and it shouldn’t require a 400+ page book to recount this.

Furthermore, the romance was painful and unfounded to the point of being laughable. The complete lack of communication between the characters involved was reminiscent of far too many YA romances, and the characters’ childish and overly idealistic mindsets left me cringing. The only thing that could have made this worse would have been the introduction of a love triangle – I’m not holding my breath on this one, as I’m sure there will be plenty of time for one to be incorporated in later books in the series.

Overall, this book fell very flat for me. I was looking forward to reading a compelling adult fantasy from one of my favorite authors as I was growing up, but I was thoroughly. unimpressed by the characterization, world building, plot, and fantastical elements. There was nothing that compelled me to keep reading this one, and it was a struggle to complete in its entirety. I think it goes without saying that I won’t be continuing on with this series, and I’ll be hesitant to pick up any of Roth’s future books.

I received a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.