The Chosen Ones
Veronica Roth, 2020
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH Books)
432 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780358164081
Summary
Fifteen years ago, five ordinary teenagers were singled out by a prophecy to take down an impossibly powerful entity wreaking havoc across North America.
He was known as the Dark One, and his weapon of choice—catastrophic events known as Drains—leveled cities and claimed thousands of lives.
Chosen Ones, as the teens were known, gave everything they had to defeat him.
After the Dark One fell, the world went back to normal … for everyone but them. After all, what do you do when you’re the most famous people on Earth, your only education was in magical destruction, and your purpose in life is now fulfilled?
Of the five, Sloane has had the hardest time adjusting. Everyone else blames the PTSD—and her huge attitude problem—but really, she’s hiding secrets from them … secrets that keep her tied to the past and alienate her from the only four people in the world who understand her.
On the tenth anniversary of the Dark One’s defeat, something unthinkable happens: one of the Chosen Ones dies.
When the others gather for the funeral, they discover the Dark One’s ultimate goal was much bigger than they, the government, or even prophecy could have foretold—bigger than the world itself.
And this time, fighting back might take more than Sloane has to give. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—August 19, 1988
• Where—New York City, New York, USA
• Raised—Barrington, Illinois
• Education—B.A., Northwest University
• Currently—lives in Chicago, Illinois
Veronica Roth (born ) is an American novelist and short story writer known for her debut New York Times bestselling Divergent trilogy.
Roth, the youngest of three children, was born in New York City and raised primarily in Barrington, Illinois. Her parents divorced when she was five years old. Roth's maternal grandparents were Polish concentration camp survivors during World War II. Their religious convictions pushed Roth's mother away from religion, but Veronica attended a Christian Bible study during her high school years, and has remained a Christain.
Roth graduated from Barrington High School. After attending a year of college at Carleton College, she transferred to Northwestern University for its creative writing program and wrote her first book, Divergent, while on winter break in her senior year. She married photographer Nelson Fitch in 2011. They reside in the Chicago area.
Career
Roth is best known for her trilogy of novels: Divergent (2011), Insurgent (2012), and Allegiant (2013).
She is the recipient of the Goodreads 2011 Choice Award and the Best of 2012 in the category Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction and also Best Goodreads Author in 2012. Her career took off rapidly with the success of her first novel, with the movie rights sold before she graduated from college. (Adapted from Wikipedia. Retrieved 7/5/2014.)
Book Reviews
[A] successful adult debut.… Roth handles heavy topics, including mental health and racism, with great care, and once the story picks up, readers will be delighted by both the magical adventure and the diverse cast. This is a thoughtful, well-crafted twist on a genre staple.
Publishers Weekly
[The] novel is driven by Sloane,who… doesn’t truly understand her full power until the shocking ending. Those who like twisty power plays and very detailed worldbuilding will appreciate this… [The Chosen Ones] features magic, lots of sarcasm, and a hint of romance.
Booklist
(Starred review) [I]t makes sense that [Roth] can so expertly deconstruct [YA] tropes for adult audiences. There’s a lot of magic and action to make for a propulsive plot, but much more impressive are the character studies…. Roth makes a bold entrance to adult fantasy.
Kirkus Reviews
Discussion Questions
We'll add publisher questions if and when they're available; in the meantime, use our LitLovers talking points to help start a discussion for THE CHOSEN ONES … then take off on your own:
1. Start with Sloan: she's not particularly likable. How did that affect your experience reading the novel given that she is the its central character? Does likeability matter? Can you admire someone you don't like? What other traits might be equally, perhaps more, important?
2. Talk about the psychological and emotional burdens of coping with past trauma—and triumph. How have those previous events, as well as current fame, shaped Sloan's life as an adult?
3. What about the others: Matthew Weekes, Esther Park, and Albert Summers. How have each of them fared over the past 10 years? What are the tolls they've paid—Albert, especially?
4. Why does seem Matt unwilling to deny that there's been any lasting impact on the group?
5.The author seems to be asking: how can anyone push through past pain and learn to make contributions to the betterment of the world? What would you say to the Chosen Ones now living as adults? What has your own experience been coping with trauma?
6. What were the drains?
7. In what ways does Sloan challenge the so-called norms of feminine behavior? To be a success, either in fantasies or in real life, do women have to push the boundaries of "acceptable" female behavior… or not? Come to think of it, what is acceptable female behavior?
8. What is the role of prophecy in The Chosen Ones? How does it work to create a sense of dread? To what extent do prophecies mean that we have little control over our lives? (In this novel, however, the prophecy was not the one that was expected, was it?)
9. Who are the Dark One's fanatical followers and why are they so devoted?
10. What does Sloane discover while reading through the information she obtains under the Freedom of Information Act?
11. What does it say, perhaps symbolically, that adults turned to the young, tasking them with ridding the world of the Dark One?
12. This is Veronica Roth's first adult novel. If you're a devoted fan and have read her YA works, how does this book compare—are there differences… similarities? Is it as magical? Is it plot driven? Character driven? Why is it marketed as an "adult" rather than a YA novel?
(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online and off, with attribution. Thanks.)