Book Review
Title: Selected
Author: Barb Han
Genre: YA/Dystopian
Rating: ***
Review: I have heard of Barb Han in the past, although Selected will be my first read from this particular author, so I am very excited to see what this book has in store for me. The opening to Selected was interesting, to say the least. We are introduced to Tori, who attends Easton prep school, however, she is one of the lowest ranks of student as a Sponsored student. Along with her friend Adalynn, they must study hard in order to avoid being kicked out of the school, through Adalynn we learn that Tori was admitted for her dance abilities but when an elite student, Caius takes an interest in her she immediately begins wondering why someone like him would want to bother with someone like her but she agrees to meet him later on, hopefully, to find out.
I wasn’t sure what I was expecting from Selected, but the first quarter of the book is really slow. So far, we have been introduced to what I assume is the main cast of characters and their daily routines. In the case of Tori, we also get some background on her reasons for attending Easton. We also see her beginning to form a relationship with Caius after she misjudges him and despite the fact they seem a little too into each other given the fact they have only just started to interact I was enjoying the story, but I did want something to happen. The only thing of note to happen so far is Jax has disappeared after being sent to the Headmaster, he could have been kicked out, but we don’t know. Tori does seem worried about him, but she isn’t really doing anything to find out what has happened to her best friend. It turns out nothing sinister has happened to Jax, he was just being punished for his infraction. He isn’t happy with the fact that Tori is dating Caius however, and the pair briefly don’t talk but they are soon friends again. Tori is worried about the dinner with her sponsors over the weekend, but she is even more worried about her twin brother Trevor who she hasn’t personally heard from in three years although her mother makes excuses for him.
As we approach the halfway mark in the novel, nothing seems to be happening but there are things that seem a little off and we don’t understand why we just know that they don’t seem quite right. The first thing that threw me off was the dinner Tori has with her sponsors as they ask questions about her family specifically her brother that they have never asked before. All of a sudden things start to happen as Tori is arrested on the day of her competition and ask about something called Plankton which is a sort of code word she and Trevor used when they were children and she knows that he might have got himself into trouble and wants to help him but she can’t without giving her future at the school. Even though she passes the lie detector test the school has and is allowed to compete she shockingly comes 7th when she is used to coming first. This is only the beginning as her room has been turned over and the stuffed bunny Caius gave to her has been gutted. There are also rumours floating around the school which leads Rhys to start tormenting Tori telling her she isn’t going to be there much longer and even Adalynn, her best friend is keeping her distance.
Tori seems just about ready to flee the school and find her brother when Caius manages to talk some sense into her, telling her it will only look even more suspicious if she leaves and if they are trying to find Trevor then she might lead them straight to him. There is also a big love confession here that I saw coming from a mile away and honestly, I didn’t enjoy it. Tori and Caius have spent hardly any time together due to their positions within the school and the eyes always watching them, so the confession here just didn’t feel right and personally I felt this should have come much later in the novel. Things do start to get somewhat interesting when Tori is paranoid about being kicked out and is wondering if Trevor’s message meant something more than she can remember. However, after her finals, she is informed that her mother and brother are dead and that her brother is the prime suspect in a murder investigation. For being over 50% into the novel, virtually nothing has happened except teen angst and I am hoping the story picks up soon otherwise I may have to DNF this book.
I have to rescind my statement about DNFing this book as it really picks up after the halfway mark. After the supposed death of her family, Tori is convinced her brother is still alive and needs her help and Caius is all too eager to help her. However, Tori has her own problems as Rhys takes his harassment to a whole new level often leaving Tori bloodied and bruised. With Jax once again on her side, they plan to dig a little deeper into her family’s death and see if anything strange or unusual crops up. As Tori wonders more about her family as well as Caius being withdrawn from school and seemingly cutting himself off from Tori she plans to leave the school as it is no longer safe there without him. However, the night she is leaving we learn that the school has been trying to perfect genetic modification and I think that the Selection Program might be involved with this. Caius does make a reappearance and Tori tells him she is leaving to find her family and while he wants to go with, he can’t. However, something feels off as he claims Jax gave him to technology to deal with the drones but as Tori mentioned earlier, Jax and Caius haven’t been alone together as they can’t stand each other and the only time they are civil to each other is when Tori is there. I suddenly have the sinking feeling that Caius might betray Tori, but I will have to wait and see what the final section of the novel has in store for me.
As expected not everything goes according to plan and things get very interesting when Tori begins to learn the truth about the program and her role within it. Everything seems helpless but help in the form of her history teachers gives her the escape she has been looking for, but this is only the beginning for Tori and Caius as they seek to unravel to program and reclaim what has been taken from her. The ending of Selected was brilliant and sets up the sequel so well and I honestly can’t wait to read it. For all my doubts with this book I really enjoyed, however, the first half was very slow and a little boring but If you can get through it the emotional payoff is worth it.
Buy it here:
Paperback/Hardcover: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
Kindle Edition: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
I received this review copy for consideration from YA Bound Book Tours
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