Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
Author: Taran Mathara
Released: June 4^th, 2019
Received: NetGalley
Rating:

I received a copy of The Chosen through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The Chosen is the first novel in a new trilogy by Taran Mathara. This novel is full of action, intrigue, human nature, and science fiction elements. It makes for a great and fast-paced novel, to say the least.

Cade is just a kid who has had a serious case of ‘wrong time, wrong place’. First, he took the blame for a crime he didn’t commit. Then he got sent to reform school. And now he’s on an alien planet full of monsters that want to kill him? When will it all end?

If you’re looking for a novel that blends science fiction with young adult, and of course some action and adventure – then this is the novel for you.

The Chosen has to be one of the most fast-paced and chaotic novels I’ve read in quite some time. It seems like every chapter brought about a new adventure (or threat) for Cade and his classmates. There was hardly a moments rest, but I certainly appreciated all of the action and adventure that occurred within these pages.

I’m not entirely sure what I expected when I picked up The Chosen – but I know that I got something much bigger than I would have guessed. The situation that Cade and crew were thrown into…it was insane, intense, and highly entertaining.

The pacing, as I mentioned above, was very speedy. There was never a dull moment, with something always happening, or something mystery to solve. It sort of reminded me of a serial story, where every segment something had to be happening. But I’m saying that in a good way.

The characters in this novel were all very different, and I enjoyed taking the time to get to know them. We got to know Cade best of course, but there were a dozen other people to learn about as well. I think they all balanced each other out quite nicely. I wouldn’t have minded learning a bit more about them all actually. And I’d love to know who didn’t make it past the first test (I’m trying to be a bit vague here, but it’s hard, sorry).

There was a stronger science fiction grounding than I expected. What with them all being transported to an alien planet (what else could it possibly be?). And let’s not forget about the implication of Romans and dinosaurs being around at the same time.

The ending was…intense. To be honest, I’m still processing it. I don’t know how I feel about it. On the one hand, I want to see what happens next. On the other, I’m a bit happy for the break between novels so I can think more about what happened and what was revealed.