Young Adult | Paige's Page

(Above synopsis provided by the publisher.)

“Sometimes Sloan wondered if the world had been worth saving.”

Sloan’s character really was the redeeming factor for this novel. She was coated in an assortment of layers and I was never exactly sure what she would do next.

The storyline progressed like a herd of turtles. Once one thing was over the group of Chosen Ones would move on to something else while meandering about their day to day business. I wasn’t exactly sure the direction the story was going until after halfway through.

Part One (p.1-121): Since the beginning picks up in the aftermath of events that are (at this point) unknown to the reader, a lot of the beginning was a little confusing about exactly what had happened. You pick up pieces here and there throughout Part One about what happened to them 10 years when they defeated the Dark One. Other than trying to figure out what happened 10 years ago, it’s mainly about their lives and relationships with each other since defeating the Dark One a decade ago. Part 2 (p.123-284): Something happens, and it’s exciting. But halfway through, it gets back to that slow crawl again. Part 3 (p.285-419): Stays at a moderate pace until the twist. Can’t tell you the rest.

I was happy with the ending, which is set up nicely for a sequel. The ending did answer a lot of my questions. Things started to come together, but getting there in a reasonable and timely fashion was backbreaking.

Though marketed as an adult novel, this is a YA book through and through. I enjoy YA novels, but this one wasn’t for me. Without Sloan’s character, I would have thrown in the towel. While the characters are supposed to be adults, they talk and act like teenagers. This will still be popular with a certain YA crowd though.

Check out this EW article to read an excerpt from Chosen Ones.

Watch this video Veronica Roth has shared on her Facebook where she explains some of the research she did for the magic used in Chosen Ones.

Read The Nerd Daily’s review for Chosen Ones.

Veronica Roth is the author of the bestselling series Divergent. Visit her website to view more of her books.

Read Publisher’s Weekly interview with Veronica Roth.

Follow Veronica Roth on Instagram.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me an advance print copy. Opinions are my own.

|Purchase on Amazon| Goodreads Review |

Many know P.T. Barnum, but the voices that surrounded him have been lost and his exploitation of others is largely overlooked. Those closest to him, including his two daughters, are given the center stage in We Are All His Creatures. Living in the shadow of P.T. Barnum, this novel centers on his family and his performers who worker closely with him through a collection of stories.

I would describe this book as a boring take on what is often considered an exciting time with a group of interesting characters. The interlinked short stories were directionless. Some I would describe as pointless since I’m not sure what the end goal was.

Sadly, this book might cause teens and young readers to become disinterested in the subject because the stories are not captivating and the characters feel lifeless.

I was excited to read this, but after reading the first few stories I quickly lost that excitement and considered not finishing this many times.

I liked the photographs and quotes that were included before each story. And, though I really did not care for the book overall, I thought the portrayal of P.T. Barnum was refreshing. To see him through others eyes.

Visit Deborah Noyes website.

Read Publishers Weekly Review for We Are All His Creatures.

Deborah Noyes is also the author of Plague in the Mirror and Red Butterfly.