Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

Chosen Ones by Veronica Roth

12 reviews

ellamc's review

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

A very interesting plot, I enjoyed that they did not seem to just have worked everything out just because they were the Chosen Ones. However the ending was very rushed, I'm unsure if Roth plans to write a sequel or not but even still the

meshing of the worlds and the group reuniting with Inez and then splitting up happened way too quickly

I would have preferred a few extra chapters fleshing out the end rather than just cutting it off.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Body horror, Mental illness, Death, and Grief

Moderate: Violence, Addiction, Cancer, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, Abandonment, Drug use, Drug abuse, Suicide, Terminal illness, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Racism

Minor: Medical content, Gore, and Death of parent

christinereads1823's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Thoroughly engrossing, full of twists and an interesting take on magic systems. Roth's flawed characters with sharp edges and unresolved trauma sing, exploring the complexities of being a hero after your adventure ends - and then what happens when you're asked to do it again.

I did guess the character-based plot twists (I felt they were pretty obvious) but not the worldbuilding-based ones.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Mental illness, Blood, Murder, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

Moderate: Suicide, Kidnapping, Addiction, and Drug use

loop_laurens's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

A unique and gripping read that confronts the reality and aftermath of being a teenage chosen one. 

Chosen Ones forces the reader to view the familiar trope in a new light, exploring the trauma and aftermath of being, in essence, groomed to fight an evil. The combination of a flawed, complicated antihero, realistic depictions of how different people cope with trauma, an engaging plot, and the well paced snippets of backstory in the format of reports and articles made this a difficult to put down, thouroughly immersive read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Drug use, Suicide, and Drug abuse

lottielat's review

adventurous dark sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I loved the first part of the book, I thought Sloane’s character was wonderfully written and i loved the rest of the characters apart from Matt but maybe others disagree. However the second part just felt a little bit of a let down compared to the first. If it had stayed at the same standard and remained as interesting and exciting as it did before it absolutely would’ve been a five star. I loved the plot, it’s definitely unique. Maybe i’m biased towards the genre (fantasy and sci-fi) but I would definitely reread and recommend if that’s what you like to read. I’m not going to add any spoilers but god did parts of it make me cry.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Suicide and Drug use

elle_dee's review

adventurous dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Body horror, Addiction, Racism, Self harm, Alcohol, Blood, Cancer, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Death, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Sexual harassment, Abandonment, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Terminal illness, and Torture

nutm3g's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Chosen Ones was an enjoyable read, and it felt as if Veronica Roth as grown as a writer since her Divergent series days. I personally MUCH preferred this book to that series as a whole. Chosen Ones plays around with the idea of what exactly is a "chosen one" and the idea that it truly is not set in stone as a single person (or group of persons), but rather on who simply succeeds when the time comes. Basically, it subverts the chosen one trope while also bringing up the idea of what happens next. This book explored how these kids were affected and the trauma they carried into their adult lives as a result of risking their lives as children for the sake of the world. Chosen Ones also touched on the idea that a savior truly has to be morally grey in order to survive. I also enjoyed how the 3 Parts of the novel were split in very distinct ways to the setting, which is all I can say without spoiling anything. I am not sure if Veronica will decide to actually turn this into a series, and it truthfully works perfectly as a standalone novel.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and War

Moderate: Abandonment, Drug use, Dysphoria, Gore, Grief, Mental illness, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Eating disorder, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Genocide, Addiction, Child abuse, Confinement, Death of parent, and Drug abuse

Minor: Domestic abuse, Racism, and Religious bigotry

wiktoria88's review

adventurous emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Drug use, Cursing, and Suicide

foreverinastory's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Torture

thenovelmaura's review

adventurous dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

This was a hard review to write because I loved the concept of this book but found the execution to be lacking. I'm so glad I read it with the Bad Bitch Book Club fantasy group, because I had a lot to talk about during our discussion. Veronica Roth is also the author of the hit Divergent series, which follows the typical YA chosen one narrative. Because of this, I was excited to see Roth was writing about the aftermath of teens having to save the world. This book dealt heavily with PTSD, trauma, drug use, and suicide, all things you would expect from children (now adults) who were taken from their parents and forced to fight for their lives. In a unique twist, there are five "chosen ones" in this story, since the government sought out any child who fit the criteria of a prophecy about a person could bring down the villain known as the Dark One. I know this sounds terribly dark and depressing, but I was interested in an adult spin on this YA fantasy concept!

Unfortunately, the five chosen ones didn't really pan out because Roth had zero interest in writing about anyone who wasn't Sloane, who was basically described as a white supermodel. Despite the fact that we were given a slate of diverse heroes, including implied Black, Asian, and Latina (yes, implied, because this was never explicitly stated in the text) chosen ones, they were all given reasons to conveniently disappear from the narrative. I don't have a problem with Sloane being the main character, I just don't understand why this attempt at diversity was made when there was no follow-through.

It's hard to talk about the plot without spoilers, but I'll say it was slow at times. However, I was intrigued enough by the world-building that I didn't mind too much when the characters weren't actively progressing the story. I really enjoyed the ending and I think Roth did an excellent job tying all the threads of the narrative into a satisfying conclusion.

The way that parallel universes were incorporated into this story and the ways that the events in one universe would influence another was super cool.

While I can't whole-heartedly recommend this book, I think I would have enjoyed it more if I hadn't been expecting five leads, so hopefully this review will help someone else who's thinking about picking it up!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Death, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, and Gore

Moderate: Torture, Drug use, and Addiction

the_wendybirb's review

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

What I liked- The premise of "What does a Chosen One do after saving the world?", the magic system, Alternate Universe Chicago/Earth, short chapters, imperfect hero, processing trauma, articles and excerpts between chapters to flesh out the world, the details from 10 years ago that we get glimpses of (but fill in the gaps ourselves)

What I didn't like- The Twist (and how easily the hero accepts it.), The Prophecy and how muddled it got, The Motel Scene (unnecessary mention of sexy times at a dumb point in the plot), the Big Bad's memory reveal that doesn't mesh with what we know of the universe (I really hope we get more explanation in future books), supporting characters that are more props than people, a white/cis/(assumed) straight hero whose diverse friend group doesn't get a chance to shine (I'd like someone non-white/straight to be a kick-ass hero. [Also for the gay character to casually give someone a smooch.])

I'll seek out future books in the series, but I'm not expecting them to knock my socks off. I hope I'm proven wrong, because I love the worlds I've been introduced to.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Kidnapping and Suicide

Minor: Drug use and Body horror

Rants I just need to get out:

Why was the gay lady left behind?! Why was the Big Bad suddenly reveled as practically immortal in the final pages?! Can we get more info on why he needed to manipulate so many folks into hating him? Cause he sucked from the beginning. And how are our heroes going to reunite in another country in a month? The world is in chaos. I expect either dangerous apocalyptic gangs or increased border security to quell the chaos.