Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Chosen Ones by Veronica Roth

19 reviews

sbcrra's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief and Murder

Moderate: Suicide

Minor: Torture, Vomit, and Addiction

nutm3g's review against another edition

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

rachelgronbach's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief

Minor: Addiction, Suicide, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, and Kidnapping

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

truthaurdare's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Violence, Gaslighting, Torture, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Mental illness, Grief, Genocide, and Death

jashanac's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

This book is quite different from anything else I've read - there were definitely times where the magic itself and the whole

different dimensions

thing didn't really make sense/click in my brain... but I just kind of went with it and accepted it. Ha! 

I just really enjoyed the exploration of what it means to be a "chosen one", once the Big Bad is defeated and what the effects of that could be. And then the exploration of good versus evil in general - I liked what Veronica Roth did with that. It felt like a fresh take on it for me. 

I am VERY curious about how things are going to pan out with the WILD ending... ! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Blood, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Grief, Kidnapping, Murder, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Cancer, Suicide, and Torture

thenovelmaura's review against another edition

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

iviarelle's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This is not a story for everyone, but if it clicks, it may click real hard.

I don't often find myself reading books I consider medium-paced, that nevertheless don't let my attention stray. I'd go a few days between reading, but I couldn't read less than 10% at a sitting and I had to tear myself away.  My biggest complaint is that the clippings from top secret documents and news articles threw me out of the story as often as they supplemented my feeling of knowledge about this story's background. Mostly, I just wanted to get back to the story I was increasingly invested in. That being said, the mysteries and twists are seeded wonderfully throughout the text, and the climax and resolution speak to me in a way very, very few stories do.

Which brings me to Sloane. Sloane is definitely way up there in my top 5 "relating way too hard to a character" characters.  She's all rough edges, sharp tongue, and stubbornness, and I love her like I would another self because in some ways I used to be her and still am to a great degree. She grows and learns over the course of the book, but she never stops being the jagged, marshmallow-free queen she begins the story as. She will definitely NOT be relatable to everyone, but oh boy am I glad to know her now. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Violence

Moderate: Addiction, Cancer, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Drug abuse, and Medical content

cakrolik's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, and Violence

Minor: Drug use, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, Torture, Cancer, Chronic illness, and Drug abuse