Article contributed by Rosie Smith
So… What happens after the happy ending? After the heroes save the world and everyone is at peace? Find out in Chosen Ones, which is Veronica Roth’s first novel aimed at an adult audience. Building on themes found in her previous young adult works such as the Divergent series, Roth looks at the classic good versus evil and dark versus light trope with a whole new perspective.
Meet Sloane, Matt, Albie, Ines, and Esther, five individuals hand-picked by the government based on their superhuman abilities when they were just teenagers. Their mission: to save the world from the infamous ‘Dark One’, a mysterious mass murderer and disaster wreaker. But what happens after their success? After the world is saved and the government has no use for the Chosen Ones any more? What happens to the identity of superheroes when they are no longer needed? Follow the Chosen Ones as they reach adulthood and contend with new challenges such as PTSD, addiction, relationship problems, grief, and fame. And as if that’s not enough, it looks like the ‘Dark One’ might have once again returned to interrupt our heroes not-so-peaceful lives. Can they pull together and do the impossible, saving not just their own world, but also the parallel universe on a direct collision course with theirs.
Roth delves deeper into issues previously touched upon in her young adult fiction looking at how these affect characters in their 30’s, inviting an older audience to enjoy her work. The book is told from a singular perspective, that of Sloane, a Chosen One and begins by chronicling the effect of being a child-hero had on her life. Roth deals with mental health issues and trauma in a sensitive but realistic manner and gives the impression she has extensively researched the experiences of those with PTSD. Racked with nightly PTSD driven panic attacks, Sloane can never relax and is always looking for a way out. Coming across as standoffish and rude, Sloane keeps everyone at a distance, including her boyfriend and fellow Chosen One, Matt. Though Sloane and Matt’s difficulties, Roth takes into account the effect of trauma not only on the individual but on relationships as well. Taking this a little further, Roth also tackles the issue of trauma induced addiction with a sensitive but hard-hitting messages around looking out for one another and seeking help when we need it. Alongside all of this, Roth also manages to convey relatable and universal issues all young adults face post-school/university etc. such as confusion, directionless, and loneliness.
As well as Roth’s sensitive character building and development, Chosen Ones also contains in-depth and innovative world building, with particular focus on magic. Based in modern-day post apocalyptic Chicago, Roth keeps the world small but rich with vivid detail, from the 10th anniversary park memorial to Sloane’s late-night rooftop hopping, Roth offers clever and well thought out imagery, transporting the reader to her world. To compound this, as well as modern day Chicago, we are also introduced to parallel universe Chicago, when the five heroes realise the chinks of magic scattered throughout their world had actually exploded out from another universe, inexplicably linked to theirs by the ‘Dark One’. Chosen Ones looks at magic with a fresh perspective, focusing more on the effects of magic on society and magical versus non-magical society than the rules of the magic itself. Magic in Roth’s world is fuelled by true desire. There is a focus on the ethical questions raised by magic and the governments control of this as well as the old-as-time trope of good versus evil leading us to question our own values and desires.
A clever device used within Chosen Ones is the use of reports and newspaper cuttings throughout. This breaks up the narrative and offers perspectives other than our protagonists. As well as this, the articles offer explanations for information the reader needs to know but the main characters do not necessarily know yet; for instance, how magic works and what is happening in alternate universes. This leads to us becoming an omniscient reader at times who can see what is about to befall out heroes. This contributes to Roth’s detailed world-building, as does the way Roth also uses these articles to cleverly satirise her own world.
Overall, Roth offers the reader transportation to a rich, well thought out, magical world that also deals with more adult themes around mental health, death, and loss. Roth provides a completely new and alternative look at the dark vs. light theme with complex and fantastically developed characters. The storyline weaves throughout many shocking twists and turns right up until the last page, all of which I will omit discussing here so you will be as shocked and enthralled as I was when you read Chosen Ones.
Chosen Ones is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
The first novel written for an adult audience by the mega-selling author of the Divergent franchise: five twenty-something heroes famous for saving the world when they were teenagers must face even greater demons–and reconsider what it means to be a hero . . . by destiny or by choice.
A decade ago near Chicago, five teenagers defeated the otherworldly enemy known as the Dark One, whose reign of terror brought widespread destruction and death. The seemingly un-extraordinary teens—Sloane, Matt, Ines, Albie, and Esther—had been brought together by a clandestine government agency because one of them was fated to be the “Chosen One,” prophesized to save the world. With the goal achieved, humankind celebrated the victors and began to mourn their lost loved ones.
Ten years later, though the champions remain celebrities, the world has moved forward and a whole, younger generation doesn’t seem to recall the days of endless fear. But Sloane remembers. It’s impossible for her to forget when the paparazzi haunt her every step just as the Dark One still haunts her dreams. Unlike everyone else, she hasn’t moved on; she’s adrift—no direction, no goals, no purpose. On the eve of the Ten Year Celebration of Peace, a new trauma hits the Chosen: the death of one of their own. And when they gather for the funeral at the enshrined site of their triumph, they discover to their horror that the Dark One’s reign never really ended.
