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Coming from a race of highly-evolved humans, Julia Jaynes has the perfect life. The perfect family. The perfect destiny. But there’s something rotten beneath the surface—dangerous secrets her father is keeping; abilities she was never meant to have; and an elite society of people determined to keep their talents hidden and who care nothing for the rest of humanity. So when Julia accidentally disrupts the Jaynes’ delicate anonymity, she’s banished to the one place meant to make her feel inferior: public high school.
Julia’s goal is to lay low and blend in. Then she meets him—John Ford, tennis prodigy, all-around good guy. When Julia discovers a knack for reading his mind, and also manipulating his life, school suddenly becomes a temporary escape from the cold grip of her manipulative father. But as Julia’s powers over John grow, so do her feelings. For the first time in her life, Julia begins to develop a sense of self, to question her restrictive upbringing and her family prejudices. She must decide: can a perfect love be worth more than a perfect life?
Julia’s goal is to lay low and blend in. Then she meets him—John Ford, tennis prodigy, all-around good guy. When Julia discovers a knack for reading his mind, and also manipulating his life, school suddenly becomes a temporary escape from the cold grip of her manipulative father. But as Julia’s powers over John grow, so do her feelings. For the first time in her life, Julia begins to develop a sense of self, to question her restrictive upbringing and her family prejudices. She must decide: can a perfect love be worth more than a perfect life?
352 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 3, 2017
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February 17, 2018
Review available at Under the Pages.
September 21, 2017
See this review and more like it on www.bookbastion.net!
___________
Marketing itself as a YA SFF, the synopsis for Select promises genetically enhanced humans with unnatural abilities, elite societies and a strong female character who actively works to subvert her upbringing and create her own destiny.
Sounds great, right?
Unfortunately, Select barely lives up to its premise, casting aside all of that interesting stuff that drew me to it in favor of a plodding and poorly developed romance that I just couldn't get into. Fans of Contemporary Romance might actually find something to appreciate in this book, but as I'm not a fan and really came for the SFF elements, I was sorely let down.
Allow me to break it down:
THE SCI FI:
What is Julia and her group, exactly? I read this entire thing and I still don't have half a clue. You'd think that a first-person narrative would allow this sort of information to be conveyed clearly and concisely early on so that I wasn't scratching my head for half the book. Are they evolved humans?
Aliens? Magical creatures? Who knows. All that was clear before 50% was that Julia and by extension, her people, were special.
Then, when the author finally tries to clear up their lineage via an infodumped news-article about them around halfway through, it just gets more confusing!
They're meant to be evolved humans, but Julia then follows that up by clearly stating that they're not human at all, but rather a different species and the result of... inbreeding? No, seriously, Julia admits at one point that she and her people are the result of geographic isolation and inbreeding.
Except in this world, all these inbred humans become gorgeous, intelligent, powerful and successful millionaires and celebrities. Julia describes the boys in her group in the following quote, and then her first boyfriend in the second.
If Julia and her clan were truly descendants of inbreeding, they probably should have ended up looking a little less like this:
And a little more like this:
THE PLOT:
Like I said, I was drawn to this book because of all the SFF elements in the synopsis, so when I was reading I kept waiting for all the cool sci-fi action to kick in. Well, not only does that not happen, but the sci-fi elements barely even propel the plot. Julia belongs to this super special society in which they have abilities. The group is split into 2 smaller groups of teenagers. One group is more powerful and reckless than the other. When Julia saves her sister from drowning at a lake, she is punished for potentially exposing them and given the unenviable task of being cast out of private school and having to attend a public high school.
It's made even worse when Julia's inner monologue constantly reminds the reader how special her kind is. They are reckless and constantly risk exposure in thrill seeking. They are billionaires and millionaires and literal celebrities. They all look similar due to their shared genetics/inbreeding, and have to relocate every few years because all these things put them at constant risk of exposure. Hence why Julia being cast out in the first place is just not compelling. Like at all.
THE ROMANCE
Full disclosure, contemporary romance is not my jam, though I might not have minded it featuring so heavily here if it hadn't felt so cliche. I swear that this book had to have been written as a straight Contemporary romance in an early draft, but was re-worked into SFF in a later draft when someone pointed out that the dynamic between Julia and John is just too perfect. From the moment they meet, they're connected on a spiritual, emotional and even a telepathic level. Julia knows what John is thinking - but only when it serves the plot, otherwise that power comes and goes.
Every single little moment is designed to get them alone together and advance their romance. There's less plot in this book than there is romance. And it doesn't even feel like it develops naturally. John is fascinated by Julia because she's a super special snowflake and beautiful. Julia is interested in John because... it served the plot to have her connect with a human man. Seriously, that's the only reason.
They have nothing in common, and fight as much as they kiss, but they always make their way back to each other thanks to moments like this:
THE BACKSTORY
This book commits a few cardinal sins when it comes to delivering backstory about the characters and the plot. As a first person narrator, Julia has the perfect opportunity to just tell us what she knows about events, but instead she has to read full articles (which we readers read through her) about her own father and her own people in order to figure out what exactly is going on with their powers.
Similarly, when information about a character needs to be conveyed in conversation, it sort of happens like this:
Why are these characters, who are totally familiar with this character, having this conversation about what happened to him over the last year?
NAMING CONVENTIONS
This is a minor pet peeve of mine, but it features heavily enough in the story that I had to mention it. Julia always refers to her dad in her monologue by his name, Novak, rather than just calling him "dad." At first I thought she had some sort of issue with her dad and refused to call him dad, but nope - she does during conversations with and about him. The narration just refers to him by his name so we never ever forget it, but it just doesn't feel like a voice coming from a real teenage girl.
I hate to rant, but I was really hoping for more from this. Again, if you like contemporary romances, you just might find something worthwhile here. If you're a fan of sci-fi and fantasy elements impacting the plot, keep looking because this one wasn't worth the effort.
★✯ = 1.5 stars out of 5, rounded up for Goodreads
__________
Thank you to Netgalley and Charlesbridge Teen for an ARC of this book!
Quotes used in review may well be changed for final published copy of the book.
___________
Marketing itself as a YA SFF, the synopsis for Select promises genetically enhanced humans with unnatural abilities, elite societies and a strong female character who actively works to subvert her upbringing and create her own destiny.
Sounds great, right?
Unfortunately, Select barely lives up to its premise, casting aside all of that interesting stuff that drew me to it in favor of a plodding and poorly developed romance that I just couldn't get into. Fans of Contemporary Romance might actually find something to appreciate in this book, but as I'm not a fan and really came for the SFF elements, I was sorely let down.
Allow me to break it down:
THE SCI FI:
What is Julia and her group, exactly? I read this entire thing and I still don't have half a clue. You'd think that a first-person narrative would allow this sort of information to be conveyed clearly and concisely early on so that I wasn't scratching my head for half the book. Are they evolved humans?
Aliens? Magical creatures? Who knows. All that was clear before 50% was that Julia and by extension, her people, were special.
Then, when the author finally tries to clear up their lineage via an infodumped news-article about them around halfway through, it just gets more confusing!
They're meant to be evolved humans, but Julia then follows that up by clearly stating that they're not human at all, but rather a different species and the result of... inbreeding? No, seriously, Julia admits at one point that she and her people are the result of geographic isolation and inbreeding.
Except in this world, all these inbred humans become gorgeous, intelligent, powerful and successful millionaires and celebrities. Julia describes the boys in her group in the following quote, and then her first boyfriend in the second.
"They were deeply attractive, but they appeared hardened now with their abundance of tattoos and scars."
"He definitely looked like an angel gone bad, with his curls and fierce gaze in his icy blue eyes. Actually, he looked a lot like my dad."
If Julia and her clan were truly descendants of inbreeding, they probably should have ended up looking a little less like this:
And a little more like this:
THE PLOT:
Like I said, I was drawn to this book because of all the SFF elements in the synopsis, so when I was reading I kept waiting for all the cool sci-fi action to kick in. Well, not only does that not happen, but the sci-fi elements barely even propel the plot. Julia belongs to this super special society in which they have abilities. The group is split into 2 smaller groups of teenagers. One group is more powerful and reckless than the other. When Julia saves her sister from drowning at a lake, she is punished for potentially exposing them and given the unenviable task of being cast out of private school and having to attend a public high school.
It's made even worse when Julia's inner monologue constantly reminds the reader how special her kind is. They are reckless and constantly risk exposure in thrill seeking. They are billionaires and millionaires and literal celebrities. They all look similar due to their shared genetics/inbreeding, and have to relocate every few years because all these things put them at constant risk of exposure. Hence why Julia being cast out in the first place is just not compelling. Like at all.
THE ROMANCE
Full disclosure, contemporary romance is not my jam, though I might not have minded it featuring so heavily here if it hadn't felt so cliche. I swear that this book had to have been written as a straight Contemporary romance in an early draft, but was re-worked into SFF in a later draft when someone pointed out that the dynamic between Julia and John is just too perfect. From the moment they meet, they're connected on a spiritual, emotional and even a telepathic level. Julia knows what John is thinking - but only when it serves the plot, otherwise that power comes and goes.
Every single little moment is designed to get them alone together and advance their romance. There's less plot in this book than there is romance. And it doesn't even feel like it develops naturally. John is fascinated by Julia because she's a super special snowflake and beautiful. Julia is interested in John because... it served the plot to have her connect with a human man. Seriously, that's the only reason.
They have nothing in common, and fight as much as they kiss, but they always make their way back to each other thanks to moments like this:
"For one microsecond we paused the way you do when you have a crush on someone or something unspoken between you. I turned and began to walk away slowly, tuned into his thoughts, knowing how he was thinking how startlingly blue my eyes were."
THE BACKSTORY
This book commits a few cardinal sins when it comes to delivering backstory about the characters and the plot. As a first person narrator, Julia has the perfect opportunity to just tell us what she knows about events, but instead she has to read full articles (which we readers read through her) about her own father and her own people in order to figure out what exactly is going on with their powers.
Similarly, when information about a character needs to be conveyed in conversation, it sort of happens like this:
A: This year's been really hard on him.
B: Oh, that's right. But how did he get to this point again?
A: Remember, he had that thing happen to him before the story started and came home.
B: Oh, that's right! But he was a straight A student with a promising sports career before he got injured!
A: Yeah. It's really sad.
Why are these characters, who are totally familiar with this character, having this conversation about what happened to him over the last year?
NAMING CONVENTIONS
This is a minor pet peeve of mine, but it features heavily enough in the story that I had to mention it. Julia always refers to her dad in her monologue by his name, Novak, rather than just calling him "dad." At first I thought she had some sort of issue with her dad and refused to call him dad, but nope - she does during conversations with and about him. The narration just refers to him by his name so we never ever forget it, but it just doesn't feel like a voice coming from a real teenage girl.
I hate to rant, but I was really hoping for more from this. Again, if you like contemporary romances, you just might find something worthwhile here. If you're a fan of sci-fi and fantasy elements impacting the plot, keep looking because this one wasn't worth the effort.
★✯ = 1.5 stars out of 5, rounded up for Goodreads
__________
Thank you to Netgalley and Charlesbridge Teen for an ARC of this book!
Quotes used in review may well be changed for final published copy of the book.
June 11, 2019
Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
https://www.beckiebookworm.com
🌟🌟🌟1/2 Stars
Select was such a delightful read. I was so happy to have wished for this on NetGalley and to have that wish granted was fabulous.
So Select is the first book in a new Young Adult paranormal series.
It revolves around Julia Jaynes who Comes from a race of highly-evolved humans,
This group hide in plain sight amongst the general populace who they refer to as outsiders.
Julia seems to have it all, The perfect family and lifestyle at least this is what it appears outwardly to others.
After an incident that gets this elite family group noticed Jayne is made an example of and sent to the local public high school with the outsiders and ordered to lie low, suppress and also tamp down her emerging extraordinary abilities.
Here she re-meets John Ford and the two overtime become friendly.
Now there is a lot more to this Young Adult debut novel than meets the eye, you need to look deeper beneath the layers and unravel the perfect illusion that is Julia's life.
Most of the characters that claim to care for our young Julia are toxic to her.
Her father Novak is a big old douche, manipulative, cold and cruel but with a strange ability that compels others to gravitate towards him, giving him their faith and trust, in fact, It seems to have at times an almost cultish element to some of the family's interactions.
Victoria her step-mother is a first class bitch, despite practically raising Julia from the age of Two she treats her like a second-class citizen, putting her own daughter Liv over Julia in everything.
Then there's the younger sister Liv herself, self-centred, over-entitled, little princess, I really don't like her and really wish Julia would stop making excuses for the spoilt little madam.
The bestie Angus, well I was divided in my opinion of him I'm going to see how he behaves in future as I'm pretty sure we haven't seen the last of him.
I have my eye on you boyo.
Oh, and Angus and the Lost Boys dropped poor Julia like a bad disease when she was on the out and these are meant to be her friends.
So where was I, Oh yes Julia and Ford, well these two start a fledgeling relationship filled with the usual teenage angst.
I will also say that I wasn't overly fond of the methods employed by Julia initially of reading John's mind, but gave her a temporary free pass because she's young and still learning.
In herself, Julia was a show of extremes so grown up in some ways and then so irritatingly naive and selfish in others, I myself think her privileged upbringing played a big part in shaping Julia.
And am hoping she will evolve so much more going forward.
As for John himself well he seems a very solid lad, A touch rebellious but he definitely seems to have his head screwed on right, he comes across as more grounded than Julia and more adult also.
As you can imagine this tale is not plain sailing and when its time to get out of dodge, things around Julia start to collapse like a pack of cards, decisions need making and secrets are finally revealed and on this note, I will leave it.
Select leaves us with more questions than answers.
it sets itself up for the next in this series nicely, which I will definitely be reading as I now feel so invested in this story and its many diverse characters.
This may be a Young Adult Novel but I would definitely recommend to all ages it kept my attention and I'm forty-four.
It's well written and a definite page turner, pulling the reader in.
Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for providing me with a free arc of Select by Marit Wiesenberg, it was lovely of you to grant my wish.
This is my own personal unbiased opinion.
Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
https://www.beckiebookworm.com/
https://www.facebook.com/beckiebookworm/
https://www.beckiebookworm.com
🌟🌟🌟1/2 Stars
Select was such a delightful read. I was so happy to have wished for this on NetGalley and to have that wish granted was fabulous.
So Select is the first book in a new Young Adult paranormal series.
It revolves around Julia Jaynes who Comes from a race of highly-evolved humans,
This group hide in plain sight amongst the general populace who they refer to as outsiders.
Julia seems to have it all, The perfect family and lifestyle at least this is what it appears outwardly to others.
After an incident that gets this elite family group noticed Jayne is made an example of and sent to the local public high school with the outsiders and ordered to lie low, suppress and also tamp down her emerging extraordinary abilities.
Here she re-meets John Ford and the two overtime become friendly.
Now there is a lot more to this Young Adult debut novel than meets the eye, you need to look deeper beneath the layers and unravel the perfect illusion that is Julia's life.
Most of the characters that claim to care for our young Julia are toxic to her.
Her father Novak is a big old douche, manipulative, cold and cruel but with a strange ability that compels others to gravitate towards him, giving him their faith and trust, in fact, It seems to have at times an almost cultish element to some of the family's interactions.
Victoria her step-mother is a first class bitch, despite practically raising Julia from the age of Two she treats her like a second-class citizen, putting her own daughter Liv over Julia in everything.
Then there's the younger sister Liv herself, self-centred, over-entitled, little princess, I really don't like her and really wish Julia would stop making excuses for the spoilt little madam.
The bestie Angus, well I was divided in my opinion of him I'm going to see how he behaves in future as I'm pretty sure we haven't seen the last of him.
I have my eye on you boyo.
Oh, and Angus and the Lost Boys dropped poor Julia like a bad disease when she was on the out and these are meant to be her friends.
So where was I, Oh yes Julia and Ford, well these two start a fledgeling relationship filled with the usual teenage angst.
I will also say that I wasn't overly fond of the methods employed by Julia initially of reading John's mind, but gave her a temporary free pass because she's young and still learning.
In herself, Julia was a show of extremes so grown up in some ways and then so irritatingly naive and selfish in others, I myself think her privileged upbringing played a big part in shaping Julia.
And am hoping she will evolve so much more going forward.
As for John himself well he seems a very solid lad, A touch rebellious but he definitely seems to have his head screwed on right, he comes across as more grounded than Julia and more adult also.
As you can imagine this tale is not plain sailing and when its time to get out of dodge, things around Julia start to collapse like a pack of cards, decisions need making and secrets are finally revealed and on this note, I will leave it.
Select leaves us with more questions than answers.
it sets itself up for the next in this series nicely, which I will definitely be reading as I now feel so invested in this story and its many diverse characters.
This may be a Young Adult Novel but I would definitely recommend to all ages it kept my attention and I'm forty-four.
It's well written and a definite page turner, pulling the reader in.
Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for providing me with a free arc of Select by Marit Wiesenberg, it was lovely of you to grant my wish.
This is my own personal unbiased opinion.
Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
https://www.beckiebookworm.com/
https://www.facebook.com/beckiebookworm/
March 25, 2017
Select was a wish come true for me , not only because my wish for an advanced copy was granted on NetGalley , but also because I was growing tired of shallow YA novels and I needed something to renew my faith in this genre. Select is exactly was I was looking for: the perfect combination between sci-fi and YA literature. What makes this novel really outstanding is that even if you removed the sci-fi part, it would still be a very interesting book to read on real life situations which many young adults can relate to.
We are all special in one way or another, Julia Jaynes is special in many ways. However, the things that make her an appealing character are not her unusual abilities but her human flaws. She longs for being part of a loving family instead of an isolated member of an apparently perfect one.She longs for love and for friendship. John Ford is her wish come true, a strong male character who loves her the way she truly is. With John she learns that there is a world of possibilities away from her life in a golden cage. They both feel strongly attracted to each other but it is not insta-love but something deeper that has to do with human evolution .
This novel is mainly about the choices we all have to make: accepting who we really are ,who we want to be with, deciding how far we are willing to go in order to survive and coming to terms with the idea that we just cannot have it all and that we may have to let go of some people on the way .
Marit Wiesenberg has written a gripping novel that will attract many readers. I just cannot wait for more . I strongly recommend this books to all fans of YA novels, you won't regret reading it!
Thanks to NetGalley for this amazing book!
www.theleisurediaries.blogspot.com
We are all special in one way or another, Julia Jaynes is special in many ways. However, the things that make her an appealing character are not her unusual abilities but her human flaws. She longs for being part of a loving family instead of an isolated member of an apparently perfect one.She longs for love and for friendship. John Ford is her wish come true, a strong male character who loves her the way she truly is. With John she learns that there is a world of possibilities away from her life in a golden cage. They both feel strongly attracted to each other but it is not insta-love but something deeper that has to do with human evolution .
This novel is mainly about the choices we all have to make: accepting who we really are ,who we want to be with, deciding how far we are willing to go in order to survive and coming to terms with the idea that we just cannot have it all and that we may have to let go of some people on the way .
Marit Wiesenberg has written a gripping novel that will attract many readers. I just cannot wait for more . I strongly recommend this books to all fans of YA novels, you won't regret reading it!
Thanks to NetGalley for this amazing book!
www.theleisurediaries.blogspot.com
September 17, 2020
I was just so bored. The characters don't really have enough dimension for my liking, the character has random burst of emotions that don't really flow, and the ending really didn't make a full circle.
June 8, 2017
5 Conditional Stars
I really loved this plot. It's a little bit spooky. The tension runs high and I was always worried something horrible was going to happen.
The blurb is spot on. It basically summarizes the plot. I think the only thing it doesn't cover is how difficult it is for Julia and her people to be out in public. They have to be constantly on guard holding back their natural abilities so that they don't end up on the wrong end of a microscope. Going to public school is, in fact, a very difficult thing for her to do.
I desperately wanted Julia to think and be smart and SEE what was going on around her. But I completely understood her point of view. Given her age and her sheltered existence, breaking out of a particular mindset was extremely difficult.
Everything was difficult for Julia. Her family dynamics, her frienships, even her self-doubt had her tiptoeing on eggshells through life.
Yes, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Brilliant plot.
I read an ARC of this book. Some ARCs are ready for publication, others are not quite that close. This one was sent out long before publication date and it's obvious that it is still in need of formatting and editing. My five stars are wholly dependent on those things being cleared up before publication.
Review ARC graciously provided by Charlesbridge Teen via NetGalley
I really loved this plot. It's a little bit spooky. The tension runs high and I was always worried something horrible was going to happen.
The blurb is spot on. It basically summarizes the plot. I think the only thing it doesn't cover is how difficult it is for Julia and her people to be out in public. They have to be constantly on guard holding back their natural abilities so that they don't end up on the wrong end of a microscope. Going to public school is, in fact, a very difficult thing for her to do.
I desperately wanted Julia to think and be smart and SEE what was going on around her. But I completely understood her point of view. Given her age and her sheltered existence, breaking out of a particular mindset was extremely difficult.
Everything was difficult for Julia. Her family dynamics, her frienships, even her self-doubt had her tiptoeing on eggshells through life.
Yes, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Brilliant plot.
I read an ARC of this book. Some ARCs are ready for publication, others are not quite that close. This one was sent out long before publication date and it's obvious that it is still in need of formatting and editing. My five stars are wholly dependent on those things being cleared up before publication.
Review ARC graciously provided by Charlesbridge Teen via NetGalley
August 4, 2018
Second time read. First time review.
Select was interesting. I feel like I liked it a heck of lot more the first time I read it.. but since I never actually wrote a review back in April - I felt like I should dive back into it beforehand. So like I said earlier.. it was interesting enough to keep me turning the pages BUT I did also find myself getting bored with it.
The characters were just okay. I did like Julia and John together though and I really hope that their characters grow a lot more in the next book. Liv, Julia's half-sister, was an okay kind of character but there were definitely times where she kind of rubbed the wrong way. I completely hated their parents Victoria and Novak. They just felt so creepy and I didn't really feel the love between them.
Besides the whole creepy family dynamic, I guess this book sort of had a "love triangle"? Angus - Liv - Julia because Julia had a crush on Angus for like EVER.. yet Angus and Liv dated. Then John came into the picture and everything was good for Julia. Well, until things sort of hit the fan. Liv and Angus broke up and he got jealous that Julia was with John. In the end, I didn't like that little shit head for ruining things and I still hope that Julia and John are still together in the next book.
Other than the whole romance, this book gave hints about this new world/place for them to move to. Think of it as like a cult ... but for special people with special abilities. The adults only care about getting more kids for their family line (which was creepy) and the kids were sort of separated into groups (like divergent - I guess) and forced to adapt. Again, it was a weird book and I'm probably the worst person to describe this world right now because I just want to go to sleep.
Overall, I honestly can't say anything other than it being interesting. I really hope that the second book is bit more entertaining and can hold my interest longer than 10 seconds. Here's to hoping!
Select was interesting. I feel like I liked it a heck of lot more the first time I read it.. but since I never actually wrote a review back in April - I felt like I should dive back into it beforehand. So like I said earlier.. it was interesting enough to keep me turning the pages BUT I did also find myself getting bored with it.
The characters were just okay. I did like Julia and John together though and I really hope that their characters grow a lot more in the next book. Liv, Julia's half-sister, was an okay kind of character but there were definitely times where she kind of rubbed the wrong way. I completely hated their parents Victoria and Novak. They just felt so creepy and I didn't really feel the love between them.
Besides the whole creepy family dynamic, I guess this book sort of had a "love triangle"? Angus - Liv - Julia because Julia had a crush on Angus for like EVER.. yet Angus and Liv dated. Then John came into the picture and everything was good for Julia. Well, until things sort of hit the fan. Liv and Angus broke up and he got jealous that Julia was with John. In the end, I didn't like that little shit head for ruining things and I still hope that Julia and John are still together in the next book.
Other than the whole romance, this book gave hints about this new world/place for them to move to. Think of it as like a cult ... but for special people with special abilities. The adults only care about getting more kids for their family line (which was creepy) and the kids were sort of separated into groups (like divergent - I guess) and forced to adapt. Again, it was a weird book and I'm probably the worst person to describe this world right now because I just want to go to sleep.
Overall, I honestly can't say anything other than it being interesting. I really hope that the second book is bit more entertaining and can hold my interest longer than 10 seconds. Here's to hoping!
December 13, 2017
This could have been an entertaining novel, but too many things went wrong for me. One, the storytelling made this so boring! There were a lot of descriptive paragraphs that did nothing for the story or the character development. Many times I wanted to yell, who cares! Action scenes didn't feel like action. Two, I felt nothing emotionally. I didn't care about any of the characters and I didn't feel like I was given a reason to. Three, the pacing was so slow! I got so impatient that I started skimming. If this is on your TBR, I'd skip this one.
April 11, 2017
I really enjoyed this book and really hope it's a series with that dun-dun-duuuun cliffhanger.
The book, and its characters, opened up like an onion. It would appear slow, but it was written with the slight paranoia that the characters lived with. Never revealing too much too quickly. I would say more but I want to sit on my thoughts for a bit.
(Thanks to the publisher for the copy in exchange for an honest opinion)
The book, and its characters, opened up like an onion. It would appear slow, but it was written with the slight paranoia that the characters lived with. Never revealing too much too quickly. I would say more but I want to sit on my thoughts for a bit.
(Thanks to the publisher for the copy in exchange for an honest opinion)
June 5, 2018
This is not a bad book so much as to say that's not great. The premise is interesting (albeit a bit overdone perhaps), the characters are okay and while plot was missing for the first half of the book it turned up later on. I didn't hate every minute of reading Select but I can easily pick it apart to some degree. There are three major things I didn't like about Select that heavily influenced my three star rating:
1) The Info Dump
2) Where's the Plot
3) Specialist of all Special Snowflakes
Let's chat about these three things:
1) The Info Dump
I often wonder how some authors manage to bring readers into complex, magical fantasy realms without the 'info dump'. Sometimes it seems that dialogue about situations going on helps, other times it's a first person musing in a characters mind, and other times I'm baffled that I learned so much for a non-info dump start. It's clearly a talent and one that, unfortunately, Marit Wiesenberg has not yet mastered.
I wish I could provide solid advice on what to change here or how to get away from the info dump; all I know is really great books don't do this.
2) Where's the Plot
I feel like a broken record on this point. If you believe Twilight has plot before the 300 page mark then you have failed to understand what plot is. As this is a continuing issue in stories lately let's talk about what is not plot.
Plot IS NOT:
- two people liking each other
- someone moving somewhere
- an existence of a world
What Plot IS:
- a mystery to be solved
- a situation to be resolved
- a catalyst of some sort (and the catalyst cannot be lust/love!)
The difference is that plot is a tangible thing. Unfortunately, Select has no plot until we get to at least halfway and realize that there is something afoot with our lead gal's father's "relocation plan". Prior to that we just have our lead gal lusting after a boy (insta-love warning!), her struggling to attend school everyday, her whining, etc. All things but not things that equal plot.
3) Specialist of all Special Snowflakes
So once we get some plot going (halfway point at best) we realize that perhaps part of the plot is that there is a search happening for a certain 'type' of person. Our lead gal and her family are members of a 'Select' group of people already. Okay cool. However to then infer that your lead character may be even more special is like adding too much icing on a cake. There is such a thing! Maybe I'm just tired of the specialist of all snowflake stories but this grated my nerves and felt like a cheap ploy to keep me reading (yes it worked but that doesn't mean I liked it).
Overall
Once you reach the point at which there is a mystery or issue to be resolved in Select it gets much better. Unfortunately it's too little too late for me. I finished the book if only because the writing was pretty good and I liked the characters (despite their annoying insta-love connection and 'selectness'). I will probably read the second book because the ending of Select sets up a very interesting circumstance I'm intrigued by. There's a lot going for Select it's just that Wiesenberg happened to hit on some of my major irritations with YA fiction lately.
Be forewarned (like all YA books lately...) this is not a stand-alone book and you may be frustrated by the ending as it's a resolution of sorts; but certainly not an ending. I've already put book 2 on hold at my library (as I was declined for an ARC, sad face).
My final note is that Wiesenberg probably has a successful career ahead of her if she can work on a few aspects of her stories. Writing is solid and characters are well developed. Just some tweaks here and there plus some plot and she is likely to be someone you will be hearing about in the future.
For this and more of my reviews please visit my blog at: Epic Reading
Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.
1) The Info Dump
2) Where's the Plot
3) Specialist of all Special Snowflakes
Let's chat about these three things:
1) The Info Dump
I often wonder how some authors manage to bring readers into complex, magical fantasy realms without the 'info dump'. Sometimes it seems that dialogue about situations going on helps, other times it's a first person musing in a characters mind, and other times I'm baffled that I learned so much for a non-info dump start. It's clearly a talent and one that, unfortunately, Marit Wiesenberg has not yet mastered.
I wish I could provide solid advice on what to change here or how to get away from the info dump; all I know is really great books don't do this.
2) Where's the Plot
I feel like a broken record on this point. If you believe Twilight has plot before the 300 page mark then you have failed to understand what plot is. As this is a continuing issue in stories lately let's talk about what is not plot.
Plot IS NOT:
- two people liking each other
- someone moving somewhere
- an existence of a world
What Plot IS:
- a mystery to be solved
- a situation to be resolved
- a catalyst of some sort (and the catalyst cannot be lust/love!)
The difference is that plot is a tangible thing. Unfortunately, Select has no plot until we get to at least halfway and realize that there is something afoot with our lead gal's father's "relocation plan". Prior to that we just have our lead gal lusting after a boy (insta-love warning!), her struggling to attend school everyday, her whining, etc. All things but not things that equal plot.
3) Specialist of all Special Snowflakes
So once we get some plot going (halfway point at best) we realize that perhaps part of the plot is that there is a search happening for a certain 'type' of person. Our lead gal and her family are members of a 'Select' group of people already. Okay cool. However to then infer that your lead character may be even more special is like adding too much icing on a cake. There is such a thing! Maybe I'm just tired of the specialist of all snowflake stories but this grated my nerves and felt like a cheap ploy to keep me reading (yes it worked but that doesn't mean I liked it).
Overall
Once you reach the point at which there is a mystery or issue to be resolved in Select it gets much better. Unfortunately it's too little too late for me. I finished the book if only because the writing was pretty good and I liked the characters (despite their annoying insta-love connection and 'selectness'). I will probably read the second book because the ending of Select sets up a very interesting circumstance I'm intrigued by. There's a lot going for Select it's just that Wiesenberg happened to hit on some of my major irritations with YA fiction lately.
Be forewarned (like all YA books lately...) this is not a stand-alone book and you may be frustrated by the ending as it's a resolution of sorts; but certainly not an ending. I've already put book 2 on hold at my library (as I was declined for an ARC, sad face).
My final note is that Wiesenberg probably has a successful career ahead of her if she can work on a few aspects of her stories. Writing is solid and characters are well developed. Just some tweaks here and there plus some plot and she is likely to be someone you will be hearing about in the future.
For this and more of my reviews please visit my blog at: Epic Reading
Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.
April 3, 2017
Eh it was a good book but not with the anticipated hype I had for it. I will read the second book though, since I want to know what will happen.
April 24, 2017
Ahoy there me mateys! I received this young adult sci-fi eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. So here be me honest musings . . .
This was a book I stumbled across that had a fascinating premise and I was excited to have me wish granted. A group of biologically different humans lives in Austin, TX. Julia, is one of these “select” people but has always had trouble fitting in. Forced to keep a low profile and told to hide her gifts, she makes a mistake and finds herself forced to go to ::gasp:: a public high school with “normal” humans. What will she do?
Apparently she will have insta-lust and waffle a lot. Now this was a fast read and only took a couple of hours. I did finish it, which was good. But seriously for a group of special people trying to hide their gifts, they seem to go out of their way to flaunt themselves. The leader (Julia’s dad) is a billionaire investor. The whole group lives in mansions, wears designer clothes, and drives expensive cars. I have known teens who drive BMWs and such. They do NOT blend.
The other kids in the “select” group are daredevils and troublemakers and yet none of them have ever been caught or truly punished. Mommy and Daddy just get the lawyers to bail them out. So the premise that Julia blows their cover and has to be punished seemed unbelievable. And Julia being forced to go to public school for punishment did not lead to anything other than fodder for the insta-love relationship. Julia skates through school with no real consequences for anything really. Though she learns to control her powers by using them in stupid ways. Bland.
The relationship itself was kinda creepy and self-serving, especially in the beginning. Julia and John have instant chemistry but her method of learning about him is to read his mind without permission and then use that knowledge to encourage him. Just because she is bored. I would rather they had a better relationship than one built on lies and some flashes of exposed leg. Oh add in some non-appealing pseudo love triangle junk and shake not stir.
Even the powers of Julia and the “select” left something to be desired. Instead of rooting for them, all of the people in her family group felt like a cult. The powers, like telekinesis or enhanced stamina, were barely used at all and when they were, it felt more like whiny magic people throwing temper tantrums. If that is what it meant to be one of the “select” then I will gladly pass.
I would have loved for this to have been a deeper look into different branches of human evolution living alongside each other. I would have loved the “select” to have used their intelligence and powers for something other than money and solitude. I would have loved for all of the characters to have more depth. I would have loved for Julia’s golden cage to have actually been appealing so that she had a better reason for her inner conflict.
Overall the premise did not live up to its promise. Sigh.
So lastly . . .
Thank you Charlesbridge Teen!
Check out me other reviews on https://thecaptainsquartersblog.wordp...
This was a book I stumbled across that had a fascinating premise and I was excited to have me wish granted. A group of biologically different humans lives in Austin, TX. Julia, is one of these “select” people but has always had trouble fitting in. Forced to keep a low profile and told to hide her gifts, she makes a mistake and finds herself forced to go to ::gasp:: a public high school with “normal” humans. What will she do?
Apparently she will have insta-lust and waffle a lot. Now this was a fast read and only took a couple of hours. I did finish it, which was good. But seriously for a group of special people trying to hide their gifts, they seem to go out of their way to flaunt themselves. The leader (Julia’s dad) is a billionaire investor. The whole group lives in mansions, wears designer clothes, and drives expensive cars. I have known teens who drive BMWs and such. They do NOT blend.
The other kids in the “select” group are daredevils and troublemakers and yet none of them have ever been caught or truly punished. Mommy and Daddy just get the lawyers to bail them out. So the premise that Julia blows their cover and has to be punished seemed unbelievable. And Julia being forced to go to public school for punishment did not lead to anything other than fodder for the insta-love relationship. Julia skates through school with no real consequences for anything really. Though she learns to control her powers by using them in stupid ways. Bland.
The relationship itself was kinda creepy and self-serving, especially in the beginning. Julia and John have instant chemistry but her method of learning about him is to read his mind without permission and then use that knowledge to encourage him. Just because she is bored. I would rather they had a better relationship than one built on lies and some flashes of exposed leg. Oh add in some non-appealing pseudo love triangle junk and shake not stir.
Even the powers of Julia and the “select” left something to be desired. Instead of rooting for them, all of the people in her family group felt like a cult. The powers, like telekinesis or enhanced stamina, were barely used at all and when they were, it felt more like whiny magic people throwing temper tantrums. If that is what it meant to be one of the “select” then I will gladly pass.
I would have loved for this to have been a deeper look into different branches of human evolution living alongside each other. I would have loved the “select” to have used their intelligence and powers for something other than money and solitude. I would have loved for all of the characters to have more depth. I would have loved for Julia’s golden cage to have actually been appealing so that she had a better reason for her inner conflict.
Overall the premise did not live up to its promise. Sigh.
So lastly . . .
Thank you Charlesbridge Teen!
Check out me other reviews on https://thecaptainsquartersblog.wordp...
October 3, 2017
Select by Marit Wiesenberg
Select… it’s been a few days now, and I am still struggling with all the words for this story. Out of all the beautiful poetical words I got nothing but one word. Seriously the one word that describes my experience is WEIRD! This book is weird, and I do like me some weird… but this is so … weird. In a strongly good way. I know weird right.
I don’t even know how to explain this book, like I really enjoyed it because I read it all in one day. Select has that twilight feel, kind of maybe a love triangle but not really. Well kind of im unsure to be honest I was just going with the flow. Kind of like this review to everyone it’s just going to look weird, but to me till make perfect sense, and I think for everyone to understand this story and to understand the weirdness of this review and the story again you should buy yourself a copy!
I like LOVE the cover, and when it comes available I wants, nope I needs it on my book shelf!
Julia has special abilities, her whole family really does well her whole group…cult…peoples did. Honestly her dads a douche her stepmom is a b*tch and her sister is no better, her dad runs the show and something bad happens and they single out Julie more than they already have and send her to like the other side, like where the normal people go to school I guess but they don’t know that there are special gifted humans like Julia out there, apart from the hot dude John!
John is awesome, I really like his character. I like all the characters apart from the mean humans. Julia and John are meant to be,but they cannot be together but that doesn't last and if Julia's cult people find out that they are together it will just be bad for everyone involved.
I can see this review is already long and so very weird, gah! I do try I promise that if you pick it up you should like it if you enjoy the twilight or like anything Young adulty. I found the writing had this great flow and kept me interested and invested in everything that was happening.
So many twist and turns and OMG moments, it was a pacing back and forwards type of setting, wondering holy cow batman is this happening! I think this book is mainly about the choices you must make for yourself and how they could impact on others and how you accept who you are, and deciding is what you want for yourself is the right choice like if you were at a crossroad would you go left or right…
Marit has written a very good book that will I think attract a lot of readers, I am looking forward to more, but I hope she doesn’t ruin what has already happened with Julia and John!
I found it to be believable, and what I thought I wouldn’t enjoy there was no insta love and I love me some insta fluff there was none of that. Select read at a good pace and I loved the plot of it all.
Solid 4 out of 5 stars
Arc received by the publishers, as wishes do come true!
Select… it’s been a few days now, and I am still struggling with all the words for this story. Out of all the beautiful poetical words I got nothing but one word. Seriously the one word that describes my experience is WEIRD! This book is weird, and I do like me some weird… but this is so … weird. In a strongly good way. I know weird right.
I don’t even know how to explain this book, like I really enjoyed it because I read it all in one day. Select has that twilight feel, kind of maybe a love triangle but not really. Well kind of im unsure to be honest I was just going with the flow. Kind of like this review to everyone it’s just going to look weird, but to me till make perfect sense, and I think for everyone to understand this story and to understand the weirdness of this review and the story again you should buy yourself a copy!
I like LOVE the cover, and when it comes available I wants, nope I needs it on my book shelf!
Julia has special abilities, her whole family really does well her whole group…cult…peoples did. Honestly her dads a douche her stepmom is a b*tch and her sister is no better, her dad runs the show and something bad happens and they single out Julie more than they already have and send her to like the other side, like where the normal people go to school I guess but they don’t know that there are special gifted humans like Julia out there, apart from the hot dude John!
John is awesome, I really like his character. I like all the characters apart from the mean humans. Julia and John are meant to be,but they cannot be together but that doesn't last and if Julia's cult people find out that they are together it will just be bad for everyone involved.
I can see this review is already long and so very weird, gah! I do try I promise that if you pick it up you should like it if you enjoy the twilight or like anything Young adulty. I found the writing had this great flow and kept me interested and invested in everything that was happening.
So many twist and turns and OMG moments, it was a pacing back and forwards type of setting, wondering holy cow batman is this happening! I think this book is mainly about the choices you must make for yourself and how they could impact on others and how you accept who you are, and deciding is what you want for yourself is the right choice like if you were at a crossroad would you go left or right…
Marit has written a very good book that will I think attract a lot of readers, I am looking forward to more, but I hope she doesn’t ruin what has already happened with Julia and John!
I found it to be believable, and what I thought I wouldn’t enjoy there was no insta love and I love me some insta fluff there was none of that. Select read at a good pace and I loved the plot of it all.
Solid 4 out of 5 stars
Arc received by the publishers, as wishes do come true!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 17, 2018
Coming from a race of highly-evolved humans, Julia Jaynes has the perfect life. The perfect family. The perfect destiny. But there’s something rotten beneath the surface—dangerous secrets her father is keeping; abilities she was never meant to have; and an elite society of people determined to keep their talents hidden and who care nothing for the rest of humanity. So when Julia accidentally disrupts the Jaynes’ delicate anonymity, she’s banished to the one place meant to make her feel inferior: public high school.
Julia’s goal is to lay low and blend in. Then she meets him—John Ford, tennis prodigy, all-around good guy. When Julia discovers a knack for reading his mind, and also manipulating his life, school suddenly becomes a temporary escape from the cold grip of her manipulative father. But as Julia’s powers over John grow, so do her feelings. For the first time in her life, Julia begins to develop a sense of self, to question her restrictive upbringing and her family prejudices. She must decide: can a perfect love be worth more than a perfect life?
Select it was something different. It was a good idea though and I enjoyed a lot reading the story of Julia and John.
On the first pages I couldn't say that I was so excited about the story but as I kept reading the book and the story bacame more clear I started to want to know everything.
As I finished the book the only thing that was bother me was that I didn't have the second book... which I die to read it and I believe that it will be much better than first.
3,5 super selecting stars
Julia’s goal is to lay low and blend in. Then she meets him—John Ford, tennis prodigy, all-around good guy. When Julia discovers a knack for reading his mind, and also manipulating his life, school suddenly becomes a temporary escape from the cold grip of her manipulative father. But as Julia’s powers over John grow, so do her feelings. For the first time in her life, Julia begins to develop a sense of self, to question her restrictive upbringing and her family prejudices. She must decide: can a perfect love be worth more than a perfect life?
Select it was something different. It was a good idea though and I enjoyed a lot reading the story of Julia and John.
On the first pages I couldn't say that I was so excited about the story but as I kept reading the book and the story bacame more clear I started to want to know everything.
As I finished the book the only thing that was bother me was that I didn't have the second book... which I die to read it and I believe that it will be much better than first.
3,5 super selecting stars
March 19, 2017
Select is a paranormal romance about Julia, a girl who’s banished to public high school for nearly blowing her family’s cover, and John, a broken tennis prodigy whose soul calls to hers.
I absolutely adored this book. The romance itself was sweet and yet still believable. And despite an immediate connection, there was no instalove. The progression felt natural and right. Adding in the supernatural complications only made this harder to put down.
I also welcomed the complexity of many of the supporting characters. Angus, Liv, Novak, and even John’s brother, all surprised me to one degree or another. I’d have them figured out and then they’d do something unexpected, but still in character. I think the author did a great job giving them unique voices.
Still, this was light enough of a read to be enjoyable without having to work for it.
So overall, I loved this book. I’d highly recommend this to fans of YA and paranormal romance. Young love, a bit of magic (sort of), and plenty of drama make this quite a read.
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley.
I absolutely adored this book. The romance itself was sweet and yet still believable. And despite an immediate connection, there was no instalove. The progression felt natural and right. Adding in the supernatural complications only made this harder to put down.
I also welcomed the complexity of many of the supporting characters. Angus, Liv, Novak, and even John’s brother, all surprised me to one degree or another. I’d have them figured out and then they’d do something unexpected, but still in character. I think the author did a great job giving them unique voices.
Still, this was light enough of a read to be enjoyable without having to work for it.
So overall, I loved this book. I’d highly recommend this to fans of YA and paranormal romance. Young love, a bit of magic (sort of), and plenty of drama make this quite a read.
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley.
August 15, 2018
4 stars - English Ebook - I have dyslexia - when all you think is true it is not 🍀😀🍀😀🌺🦋
September 18, 2017
I’m so pleasantly surprised by this book. The story about a group of highly evolved humans was so much better than the story that was described in the description of the book. I expected a totally different book and I was a bit scared that it would be a bad high school romance book. I’m so glad it turned out to be so much more!
I really liked the story line and the cliff hanger at the end! If there is going to be a second book I will definitely read it! I liked the main character a lot. She wasn’t too happy but also not too depressed. The story line was written in a very convincing way. There were no conversation that seemed highly unlikely to occur in real life (Given the fantasy setting of course). The relationships and romances were just present enough for my liking. So for me this was a really good book.
The only thing that I didn’t really like was that there were 2 (!!) love triangles. I just feel like I’ve read to many YA books with love triangles. But other than that this book gets a very solid 5 stars.
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I really liked the story line and the cliff hanger at the end! If there is going to be a second book I will definitely read it! I liked the main character a lot. She wasn’t too happy but also not too depressed. The story line was written in a very convincing way. There were no conversation that seemed highly unlikely to occur in real life (Given the fantasy setting of course). The relationships and romances were just present enough for my liking. So for me this was a really good book.
The only thing that I didn’t really like was that there were 2 (!!) love triangles. I just feel like I’ve read to many YA books with love triangles. But other than that this book gets a very solid 5 stars.
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May 12, 2017
I was given this to read by Netgalley in return for an honest review.I really enjoyed this book. I love Julia and johns story and cant wait to read more ...please give me more!!!
July 7, 2017
Excellent - 5 stars! I was stunned to find out after I read this book that it was a debut novel. The publisher granted a wish that allowed me to read it before publication. It's both a sci-fi and YA novel about a group of genetically superior people who have to hide what they really are from normal humans. Those in this group have enhanced abilities and live longer than the normal life span. They have to be careful in order not to be detected.
The book centers around Julia, who is the only one in this special group whose mother was not one of the group. When she finds some things about this special group make her uncomfortable, she starts to look for answers. Julia becomes ostracized from the group and sent to a public high school where she meets John and a relationship begins.
The end left me with a lot of questions and I hear there may be a sequel to this story - I'll look forward to it.
Thanks to Marit Wiesenberg and Charlesbridge through Netgalley for granting my wish and providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
The book centers around Julia, who is the only one in this special group whose mother was not one of the group. When she finds some things about this special group make her uncomfortable, she starts to look for answers. Julia becomes ostracized from the group and sent to a public high school where she meets John and a relationship begins.
The end left me with a lot of questions and I hear there may be a sequel to this story - I'll look forward to it.
Thanks to Marit Wiesenberg and Charlesbridge through Netgalley for granting my wish and providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
March 16, 2017
**Book provided via NetGalley for an honest review.
I honestly was not expecting for my wish to be granted to read this book. Still I had to requested because it sounded amazing and it was something that didn't sound like anything I've read before.
And it was fantastic, when my wish was granted I was super excited and I dived right into it! The plot was fantastic, the whole idea of being different in a group of differents was a refreshing idea and it was done right. There was a chance for this story to be completely wrong and go south, but Weisenberg did it right.
I love every single part of the story, the twists and turns and I hated a lot of characters, but Novak was the worst of them all, I seriously hated that guy from the moment he was introduced. I honestly don't know how the story is going to continue because it has the worst cliffhanger. When I first read the last line I honestly thought I was missing a few pages or something, but no. There was no more lines and I honestly died a little. I need to know what happens next!!!
Love the story, love the book, cannot wait for book two, because there has to be a book number two.
I honestly was not expecting for my wish to be granted to read this book. Still I had to requested because it sounded amazing and it was something that didn't sound like anything I've read before.
And it was fantastic, when my wish was granted I was super excited and I dived right into it! The plot was fantastic, the whole idea of being different in a group of differents was a refreshing idea and it was done right. There was a chance for this story to be completely wrong and go south, but Weisenberg did it right.
I love every single part of the story, the twists and turns and I hated a lot of characters, but Novak was the worst of them all, I seriously hated that guy from the moment he was introduced. I honestly don't know how the story is going to continue because it has the worst cliffhanger. When I first read the last line I honestly thought I was missing a few pages or something, but no. There was no more lines and I honestly died a little. I need to know what happens next!!!
Love the story, love the book, cannot wait for book two, because there has to be a book number two.
December 20, 2017
“Select” is one of those books that sounded so good and then failed to live up to the hype, in my opinion. The plot is a very slow burn. It seemed to take forever for something, anything, to happen. On top of that, I just did not care for the characters or the love interests at all. It wasn’t awful, but it wasn’t good, either. If it sounds interesting to you, give it a try, but I can’t recommend it.
This unbiased review is based upon a complimentary copy provided by the publisher.
This unbiased review is based upon a complimentary copy provided by the publisher.
October 23, 2023
DNF at 40%.
I went in to this with an open mind, and although the opening was vague on the worldbuilding, the characters seemed solid.
Unfortunately as I read on the writing just got worse. Small, sometimes inconsequential things, but said in a weird way. Or vaguely. Deliberately leaving information out and forcing me to puzzle it together. Barely two words said between characters on screen, but off screen they 'fall into a routine' where they talk for ages... About what?
Having her be the only special one at the school smacks of Ebony Dark'ness Dementia Raven Way levels of fanfiction. She's soooo pretty and special but she thinks she's plain. Le gasp when the hot guy she's manipulating think she's attractive.
My cracking point is 3 characters standing around, and one suddenly says "What happened?" And the super-strength character has crushed a glass bottle and is bleeding without even knowing it. No tactile descriptions. No sound descriptions. Everyone is way too calm for a petite girl standing there bleeding because she broke a glass bottle with her bare hands.
I just don't have the patience to force myself to read something I'm no longer enjoying.
It's 2023 and I am reviewing an ARC of this book I received from Netgalley in 2017 in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. It's been a long time coming, with other review books getting prioritised over this one, the actions of which I regret. I'm working through my old ARCs because I feel bad for never getting to them.
I went in to this with an open mind, and although the opening was vague on the worldbuilding, the characters seemed solid.
Unfortunately as I read on the writing just got worse. Small, sometimes inconsequential things, but said in a weird way. Or vaguely. Deliberately leaving information out and forcing me to puzzle it together. Barely two words said between characters on screen, but off screen they 'fall into a routine' where they talk for ages... About what?
Having her be the only special one at the school smacks of Ebony Dark'ness Dementia Raven Way levels of fanfiction. She's soooo pretty and special but she thinks she's plain. Le gasp when the hot guy she's manipulating think she's attractive.
My cracking point is 3 characters standing around, and one suddenly says "What happened?" And the super-strength character has crushed a glass bottle and is bleeding without even knowing it. No tactile descriptions. No sound descriptions. Everyone is way too calm for a petite girl standing there bleeding because she broke a glass bottle with her bare hands.
I just don't have the patience to force myself to read something I'm no longer enjoying.
It's 2023 and I am reviewing an ARC of this book I received from Netgalley in 2017 in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. It's been a long time coming, with other review books getting prioritised over this one, the actions of which I regret. I'm working through my old ARCs because I feel bad for never getting to them.
May 6, 2017
NetGalley granted my wish for this book. Here is my honest review!
I loved this. I'm not going to sugar coat this at all. The book stuck to the blurb. There were never any dull moments in this story. There is some internal conflicts going on with Julia. But don't we all have those moments where we rethink things we've done or said. Wondered what other outcome might have happened?
This is a great debut YA novel. The story is unique from what is going around right now. This isn't some woe is me female lead. I LOVE that! This is a girl discovering what she wants in life and how she will either take charge of her life. Or let her family suppress her and her abilities.
I loved this. I'm not going to sugar coat this at all. The book stuck to the blurb. There were never any dull moments in this story. There is some internal conflicts going on with Julia. But don't we all have those moments where we rethink things we've done or said. Wondered what other outcome might have happened?
This is a great debut YA novel. The story is unique from what is going around right now. This isn't some woe is me female lead. I LOVE that! This is a girl discovering what she wants in life and how she will either take charge of her life. Or let her family suppress her and her abilities.
February 7, 2018
2 stars might seem a little harsh to some people, especially considering that the lowest review so far is 3 stars. This time I'm following the Goodreads' rating system: it was ok.
It was ok, and it could have been awesome.
What intrigued me was the synopsis: extra-evolved, almost superhuman people laying low surrounded by regular, everyday humans, basically. It could've went in so many directions, and before cracking it open (or clicking on the title on my Kindle), I was so excited! Lately I've been reading Vampire books -- House of Night, Morganville Vamps, Vampire Kisses...So. Much. Undead. And then I tried out the Fallen series, by Lauren Kate. Ugh. Never again, even though the covers scream 'love me, love me!' I was excited to read something different, thrilled about the possibilities about where this book could go.
And then, twenty percent in, when all that happened was a trip to the local watering hole/beach/pool/river, and our MC, Julia, ogles John for pages upon pages...I knew I was in trouble. It's not that I don't like romances--I love them! I love star-crossed lovers, but they need to have substance, not just insta-lust. I don't care if there's an explanation for their instant attraction at the end (or the fact that they're hormonal, horny teenagers). I want the romance to sizzle. I want to feel the couple's connection. I want witty dialogue that makes me believe that these two people could indeed be a couple. This part of the book reminded me too much of the Fallen series. Such length, whereas not much happens.
The writing is all right, but sometimes it can come off as stilted, which made it a little hard to get into the story.
I wanted so much to like this book, to get me out of my rut with insta-loves and multiple-book series that honestly shouldn't have been made so long (ahem, House of Night, I'm looking at you). The cover is beautiful, though, and you know I'm always a slut for a good book cover. That's the reason I bought Lauren Kate's books before reading them or their reviews. *sighs* When will I learn? Probably never.
If you don't mind insta-love, and you don't mind books where the romance overwhelms every other aspect of the story, then give this a go. You might like it more than I did.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers, who provided me with a free copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
It was ok, and it could have been awesome.
What intrigued me was the synopsis: extra-evolved, almost superhuman people laying low surrounded by regular, everyday humans, basically. It could've went in so many directions, and before cracking it open (or clicking on the title on my Kindle), I was so excited! Lately I've been reading Vampire books -- House of Night, Morganville Vamps, Vampire Kisses...So. Much. Undead. And then I tried out the Fallen series, by Lauren Kate. Ugh. Never again, even though the covers scream 'love me, love me!' I was excited to read something different, thrilled about the possibilities about where this book could go.
And then, twenty percent in, when all that happened was a trip to the local watering hole/beach/pool/river, and our MC, Julia, ogles John for pages upon pages...I knew I was in trouble. It's not that I don't like romances--I love them! I love star-crossed lovers, but they need to have substance, not just insta-lust. I don't care if there's an explanation for their instant attraction at the end (or the fact that they're hormonal, horny teenagers). I want the romance to sizzle. I want to feel the couple's connection. I want witty dialogue that makes me believe that these two people could indeed be a couple. This part of the book reminded me too much of the Fallen series. Such length, whereas not much happens.
The writing is all right, but sometimes it can come off as stilted, which made it a little hard to get into the story.
I wanted so much to like this book, to get me out of my rut with insta-loves and multiple-book series that honestly shouldn't have been made so long (ahem, House of Night, I'm looking at you). The cover is beautiful, though, and you know I'm always a slut for a good book cover. That's the reason I bought Lauren Kate's books before reading them or their reviews. *sighs* When will I learn? Probably never.
If you don't mind insta-love, and you don't mind books where the romance overwhelms every other aspect of the story, then give this a go. You might like it more than I did.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers, who provided me with a free copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
May 22, 2017
Highly-evolved humans, descendants of a long-forgotten tribe, but they are playing a dangerous game.
Julia has ignored her father's warnings to not use her talents but, for reasons she can't explain, she doesn't reveal all her skills to her father. Unfortunately, when a trip to a local pool ends badly an outsider is drawn into this tangled situation.
As punishment Julia is ostracised from her family and sent to public high school. She tries to hide her nature, but not very hard. Inevitably she ends up in a relationship with him.
Alongside this rather unlikely relationship we watch Julia's father try to move on his people. Rather more of a cult than I think we were led to believe, and this had real potential but just didn't quite get there for me.
Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for my thoughts.
Julia has ignored her father's warnings to not use her talents but, for reasons she can't explain, she doesn't reveal all her skills to her father. Unfortunately, when a trip to a local pool ends badly an outsider is drawn into this tangled situation.
As punishment Julia is ostracised from her family and sent to public high school. She tries to hide her nature, but not very hard. Inevitably she ends up in a relationship with him.
Alongside this rather unlikely relationship we watch Julia's father try to move on his people. Rather more of a cult than I think we were led to believe, and this had real potential but just didn't quite get there for me.
Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for my thoughts.
August 24, 2017
Rating: 4/5
Genre: YA Fantasy
Recommended Age: 14+ (language, a mature sexual scene, trigger warnings for death and suicide-like behavior)
I received a copy of the e-book version of this book for free from NetGalley as provided by the publisher and then I won a free copy of the print arc in a giveaway. Neither of these events changed my opinion of the book.
Coming from a race of highly-evolved humans, Julia Jaynes has the perfect life. The perfect family. The perfect destiny. But there’s something rotten beneath the surface–dangerous secrets her father is keeping; abilities she was never meant to have; and an elite society of people determined to keep their talents hidden and who care nothing for the rest of humanity. So when Julia accidentally disrupts the Jaynes’ delicate anonymity, she’s banished to the one place meant to make her feel inferior: public high school.
Julia’s goal is to lay low and blend in. Then she meets him–John Ford, tennis prodigy, all-around good guy. When Julia discovers a knack for reading his mind, and also manipulating his life, school suddenly becomes a temporary escape from the cold grip of her manipulative father. But as Julia’s powers over John grow, so do her feelings. For the first time in her life, Julia begins to develop a sense of self, to question her restrictive upbringing and her family prejudices. She must decide: can a perfect love be worth more than a perfect life? – Amazon.com
Ever thought that you were different? Julia sure has and she’s already in a selective group of people! She’s a part of this culture of people who have extraordinary abilities and no we’re not talking about X-Men although it’s clear she should join them. Regardless of my stance on that topic, I believed this book will be the underdog to look out for come October. It’s a decent Halloween-type book and a good book for any YA lover. The character development is amazingly written as we learn about two characters simultaneously through Julia’s inner connection to John and all of the main and important side characters have a distinct personality. The plot is also very well done. The writer does not spend time on minute details about the mundane activities of public high school and the reader becomes involved in the core topic of the book fairly early on. The book is also very well written and it’s proving to be a very easy read. While the book is 350+ pages, I flew through the book faster than any other book I’ve ever read this year not counting Illuminae.
However, I did find some very prominent issues in the book. For starters, the whole identity of Julia and her people are not explained until very late in the book and even then there are small questions the reader is left with that are never really fully explored. The book is also paced a bit weird. The book jumps forward in time quite a bit and without warning, so the reader must remain alert throughout the book in order to avoid confusion. And there is a bit of a quasi-love triangle/square, so fair warning if you absolutely hate those.
Verdict: Overall, I thought this was an incredible book. This was definitely one of my favorite reads of 2017 and I was hooked from the get-go. I think that the book was incredibly inspirational for anyone who’s ever felt different or unwanted or has been ostracized for one reason or another. As someone who has felt that way before and still struggles with it I felt empowered by Julia and I cheered for her every difficult step of the way. I hope you feel the same towards her because I strongly urge anyone who likes YA Fantasy to take a few days to read this book.
Genre: YA Fantasy
Recommended Age: 14+ (language, a mature sexual scene, trigger warnings for death and suicide-like behavior)
I received a copy of the e-book version of this book for free from NetGalley as provided by the publisher and then I won a free copy of the print arc in a giveaway. Neither of these events changed my opinion of the book.
Coming from a race of highly-evolved humans, Julia Jaynes has the perfect life. The perfect family. The perfect destiny. But there’s something rotten beneath the surface–dangerous secrets her father is keeping; abilities she was never meant to have; and an elite society of people determined to keep their talents hidden and who care nothing for the rest of humanity. So when Julia accidentally disrupts the Jaynes’ delicate anonymity, she’s banished to the one place meant to make her feel inferior: public high school.
Julia’s goal is to lay low and blend in. Then she meets him–John Ford, tennis prodigy, all-around good guy. When Julia discovers a knack for reading his mind, and also manipulating his life, school suddenly becomes a temporary escape from the cold grip of her manipulative father. But as Julia’s powers over John grow, so do her feelings. For the first time in her life, Julia begins to develop a sense of self, to question her restrictive upbringing and her family prejudices. She must decide: can a perfect love be worth more than a perfect life? – Amazon.com
Ever thought that you were different? Julia sure has and she’s already in a selective group of people! She’s a part of this culture of people who have extraordinary abilities and no we’re not talking about X-Men although it’s clear she should join them. Regardless of my stance on that topic, I believed this book will be the underdog to look out for come October. It’s a decent Halloween-type book and a good book for any YA lover. The character development is amazingly written as we learn about two characters simultaneously through Julia’s inner connection to John and all of the main and important side characters have a distinct personality. The plot is also very well done. The writer does not spend time on minute details about the mundane activities of public high school and the reader becomes involved in the core topic of the book fairly early on. The book is also very well written and it’s proving to be a very easy read. While the book is 350+ pages, I flew through the book faster than any other book I’ve ever read this year not counting Illuminae.
However, I did find some very prominent issues in the book. For starters, the whole identity of Julia and her people are not explained until very late in the book and even then there are small questions the reader is left with that are never really fully explored. The book is also paced a bit weird. The book jumps forward in time quite a bit and without warning, so the reader must remain alert throughout the book in order to avoid confusion. And there is a bit of a quasi-love triangle/square, so fair warning if you absolutely hate those.
Verdict: Overall, I thought this was an incredible book. This was definitely one of my favorite reads of 2017 and I was hooked from the get-go. I think that the book was incredibly inspirational for anyone who’s ever felt different or unwanted or has been ostracized for one reason or another. As someone who has felt that way before and still struggles with it I felt empowered by Julia and I cheered for her every difficult step of the way. I hope you feel the same towards her because I strongly urge anyone who likes YA Fantasy to take a few days to read this book.
September 30, 2017
*I received this ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*
Overall, ‘Select’ was a solid book with an interesting concept and story. We follow our main character Julia as she struggles to fit into her controlling and seemingly perfect family.
I enjoyed the concept and the setting of the book, and found the idea of highly evolved people with enhanced intelligence an skills trying to blend into society really interesting and allowed the plot to go in many directions.
The story line was very clear from start to finish, as we focus on Julia, the daughter of the ‘leader’ of the group of enhanced people. We see her struggle to fit into her family, due to her father’s cold and distant parenting style and the clear favoritism her stepmother demonstrates towards her half sister. Julia is the outsider within her family, and is friends with the outsiders of their community-the teenagers that are forced to hide their abilities and be ‘average’. After the investigation into these ‘abnormal’ people begins to heat up, the plans for relocation start to emerge, and after an incident that involved the cops and bought their abilities to light, Julia is exiled from the family and her friends and forced to attend a normal school to prove she can blend in. It is there she meets John, and once their feelings grow for each other, things become a whole lot more complicated. The story was well paced, however I did not like the ending as it felt too open ended and did not flow with the rest of the book. It clearly sets up for a sequel/series, and I felt that this book would have been fine as a standalone.
The characters were well conceived, though I would have liked to learn more about the secondary, characters, particularly the rest of Julia’s friends and her sister. I enjoyed Julia’s character, and I grew to like her more as the story progressed. She becomes more confident in herself and stands up for what she wants in her future and for the just treatment of her friends. There was also a little too much romance for my liking, and I was craving more exploration into the supernatural aspect of the book-the supernatural/magical abilities these people possess, the rumors that are rampant within the town regarding this strange group of people, and more of the history of their existence-though this may be further explored in the next book in the series.
Overall, Select is an interesting read and easy to read for hours. I found the story to be very well constructed, however the ending felt rushed and I would have liked if it had either been a standalone, or the set up for the second book was not as obvious and fit into the tone of the book.
Overall, ‘Select’ was a solid book with an interesting concept and story. We follow our main character Julia as she struggles to fit into her controlling and seemingly perfect family.
I enjoyed the concept and the setting of the book, and found the idea of highly evolved people with enhanced intelligence an skills trying to blend into society really interesting and allowed the plot to go in many directions.
The story line was very clear from start to finish, as we focus on Julia, the daughter of the ‘leader’ of the group of enhanced people. We see her struggle to fit into her family, due to her father’s cold and distant parenting style and the clear favoritism her stepmother demonstrates towards her half sister. Julia is the outsider within her family, and is friends with the outsiders of their community-the teenagers that are forced to hide their abilities and be ‘average’. After the investigation into these ‘abnormal’ people begins to heat up, the plans for relocation start to emerge, and after an incident that involved the cops and bought their abilities to light, Julia is exiled from the family and her friends and forced to attend a normal school to prove she can blend in. It is there she meets John, and once their feelings grow for each other, things become a whole lot more complicated. The story was well paced, however I did not like the ending as it felt too open ended and did not flow with the rest of the book. It clearly sets up for a sequel/series, and I felt that this book would have been fine as a standalone.
The characters were well conceived, though I would have liked to learn more about the secondary, characters, particularly the rest of Julia’s friends and her sister. I enjoyed Julia’s character, and I grew to like her more as the story progressed. She becomes more confident in herself and stands up for what she wants in her future and for the just treatment of her friends. There was also a little too much romance for my liking, and I was craving more exploration into the supernatural aspect of the book-the supernatural/magical abilities these people possess, the rumors that are rampant within the town regarding this strange group of people, and more of the history of their existence-though this may be further explored in the next book in the series.
Overall, Select is an interesting read and easy to read for hours. I found the story to be very well constructed, however the ending felt rushed and I would have liked if it had either been a standalone, or the set up for the second book was not as obvious and fit into the tone of the book.
March 7, 2017
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest opinion.
I loved this book!!!! I can't wait to read the second book in the series. I realize I'm jumping the gun here, but I can't wait!!! Even though, I will clearly have to. I didn't realize this was a "young adult" book when I requested it, but I don't care! It was written so well. What a great story, characters, and overall creativity. I finished it in two nights! I highly recommend this and look forward to reading Book 2.
I loved this book!!!! I can't wait to read the second book in the series. I realize I'm jumping the gun here, but I can't wait!!! Even though, I will clearly have to. I didn't realize this was a "young adult" book when I requested it, but I don't care! It was written so well. What a great story, characters, and overall creativity. I finished it in two nights! I highly recommend this and look forward to reading Book 2.
September 20, 2016
Loved it. Need more.
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