The Selected

Sharp North #2

by Patrick Cave

Cloning has become a way to ensure power for a select group of people, known as the Great Families. But with such an imbalanced society, unrest is inevitable. When Adeline, a flawed clone on a quest for truth, discovers a set of diaries from one of her forebearers, she realizes that she could be the savior the people have been waiting for….But will she have the courage and ingenuity to outwit the forces ranked against her?

From the mysterious murder in the prologue to its terrifying conclusion, The Selected is an accessible tale packed with action and atmosphere that readers will find irresistible.

Genres: Science Fiction, Dystopia, Teen, Young Adult

416 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Kelv · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good simple book - dystopian story that is an easy and somewhat light read. The book was interesting and had a good feel to the plot and characters. The author has kept the main plot well hidden to give some suspense which was well done. The present and then flashback to the diary was different but effective - it felt, for most of the book there were two locations, only for me to find out that one location was well in the past.

There is a competition where competitors fight; having seen the movie Hunger Games, this felt like someone may have stolen someones idea. This book was published 2005, Hunger Games 2009... Ohhh arrhhh... Fight scene did show Adeline's skills more clearly - which was critical to the story and ending.

The fact that this book was a sequel did not require me to read the first book - I was able to jump straight in and pick up specifics on characters and location with out any problems. Not real sure what a New Vision is except they hate Scroats, same with the Old Visions for that matter. Not sure about the relevance of 'Britain' being called 'Briton' in the future - too subtle of a hint if it was to imply you are in the future - in my opinion.

[Andrew · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book managed to somehow be even less interesting than the first book (Sharp North). It could have benefited from being much shorter and expanding on the survival aspect of the latter chapters of the book. The pacing was stilted and the plot meandering, while spending very little time developing established characters or introducing any new ones with depth.

[Angie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh, what a wasted opportunity and what a convoluted book. The dual storylines could have worked but were confusing and dull. I was bored by both of the stories really. And I really don't get the connection between the two main female characters...I won't spoil it but it was weird and unexplained and unexplainable. The "past" story was probably the worst offender but they were both pretty bad. This book really didn't do much to enhance the story started in Sharp North. It does explain how it all began but we could have done without it really...nothing was really necessary information. And the "present day" storyline does tie up some loose ends but really who cares at this point!?!@?!

[Brian Burriston · Rating 3 out of 5]

Initially I was confused but liked the two lead characters enough to press on and I wondered if it would fly as a "prequel" though written as sequel. I started to guess some key secrets somewhere and the "games", reminding me some of Hunger Games, picked up my pace as the excitement increased and i pushed to the end.

[Wisterious Woman · Rating 1 out of 5]

Started reading and realized that it sounded familiar at the beginning.
Perhaps it was because it is related to another book in a series. When I got it from the library the title was 'The Selected'.
It was a bit too weird for me--convoluted story line with two different scenarios. I decided to quit reading it.

[Eliza Harrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, it was a pretty good book. ti started out really confusingly, but then, about halfway through, it got really good and exciting!!!

[Jennifer Calhoun · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great follow up to Sharp North. Great national game like hunger games. Great preview into our future after global warming and the next ice age.

[Fi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sequel to Sharp North