It had a lot of potential, but ultimately fell short for me. I couldn't connect to the characters.....................

Selected by Evelyn Lederman.
Destruction.... A show of force... And a warning...
Three isolated towns across the world have been destroyed in a show of force by alien invaders. It is a clear warning of what will occur if their demands are not fulfilled. The fulfillment: Human children between the ages of twelve through fifteen years.
Kara Harper is an unremarkable fourteen-year-old girl who is selected by the aliens. She will be physically and socially orientated during the six months it will take to arrive at the planet Zaratan. The girl who liked the safety of being invisible, cannot help but stand out.
A good read. Likeable story. 4*.

Three isolated towns across the world have been destroyed in a show of force by alien invaders. It is a clear warning of what will occur if their demands are not fulfilled. The fulfillment: Human children between the ages of twelve through fifteen years.

loved this book

Meh. This book had plenty of potential, but it fell short for me. Overall, I found the story rather predictable and boring. I like the world, but I didn't connect to any of the characters, which means I never cared about what happened to them. I mean, it wasn't terrible, but it just ended up feeling like a story I've read before and didn't stand out.

A good YA version of sci-fi and alien invasion. I think that most books that include alien invasions are for older audiences, so I was glad to see and read this very interesting novel and get a taste of YA fiction with an alien invasion. Definitely one to add to the shelves if you haven't already.

I honestly had a hard time connecting with the characters. The plot is good and has potential but I couldn't bring myself to finish this one. I usually enjoy reading scifi because it always fascinates me but this one did not touch my heart. What's interested in the story is living with aliens instead of the usual invading Earth. It is sad because I was really interested in this book when I read the premise but gives me disappointment and leads me to not finish it.

The characters were great, but unfortunately the plot and writing style were overly simplified even allowing for the plot having been written for teens.

This is a frustrating book. The premise and social commentary opportunities should have made it amazing. And yet it wasn't.
There are sooo many errors throughout this book it's painful. Between basic typos and punctuation issues to sections that jump around for no reason to statements or descriptions that immediately contradict each other; it's just annoying to read. (I checked the published text and it has the same typos and problems as my copy).The concept and idea is good. Some of the writing near the beginning is alright but it's like Evelyn Lederman only had moments of brilliance surrounded by poor writing the majority of the time.

It feels like characters in Selected only have emotions of indifference or anger. Considering the children are ripped from their homes and taken away on an alien spaceship; everyone seems to be relatively okay with things. Yes there are moments of crying and attempted sadness but never once did I feel anything for these characters except major frustration that they weren't MORE upset.

The romance is awkwardly handled and feels like we're in an 8-12 year old book. Chaste kisses, lame comments about how pretty someone is and a lack of desire really turned me off. When I was 14 years old I know if I liked any boy(s) I was much more obsessive about it and certainly didn't think about how I was too young or have thoughts about how it was inappropriate. Apparently the heroine Kara is a 14-year old prude.

If you want to read about kids being selected for possibly horrific futures just re-read Hunger Games. Trust me there is nothing here worth any amount of time (unless you want to edit or re-write Selected).

Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review. Don't believe me? Check out the other books I've had eARCs for that I gave great reviews to. I always give my opinion whether good or bad. ;)

Lederman writes a compelling tale that leave the reader on the edge of his seat. I can't wait to find out what happens to these children next.

As mentioned in the summary, this book is about an alien invasion.
Quickly learning, they've come to Earth on a mission to collect children between the ages
of twelve - fifteen.
Not everyone gets selected.
The children must be tested for specific requirements before they can journey to the
planet of Zaratan.

We meet the main character, Kara Harper, before the selection process and follow her
journey to Zaratan. Naturally, said journey isn't drama free.
There are further trials and challenges aboard the spaceship.


I enjoyed this story and found it a quick read.

While the book is labeled as “young adult”, I thought it might be better suited for a
younger audience.

Most of the characters were likable.
Although, I didn't find myself connecting to a certain one.
(probably because I'm outside the target age)

There were a few issues I would like to have seen resolved.
Perhaps in future books?

Personally, I would have liked to read more world and character building.

One thing I found to be odd, there wasn't any mention of the families and how they
moved on with the lose of their child.

Overall, I found this to be an enjoyable read.

Would I recommend? - Yes to middle grade and up.
There's a few kissing scenes, otherwise clean.
No foul language.

I received this electronic book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this opportunity!

The world has been invaded by aliens, and they demand one thing, children in their young teen years. The world must comply or be destroyed. Kara is one of the selected children to be taken, along with her is her neighbour and long time crush, Matt. Together, they are thrown into a new world of aliens and hard testing that could very well be deadly. As they fight to survive, they bond with the other children around them and with each other, and Kara is singled out by their captor aliens for unknown reasons.
Not bad, not bad at all. The story telling in Selected was engaging and action packed enough to captivate the readers. Kara and Matt were pretty developed characters and they were refreshing in how honourable and kind they were. They personified a lot of the best traits in humans, and were quite easy to like. My only problems with this novel is that a) humans are naturally rebellious, and there was little to no rebellion of any sort in this novel and b) there was not a true resolution to this novel that could leave the readers with any sort of lesson or moral. Overall, I enjoyed Selected and give it the rating of THREE AND A HALF STARS OUT OF FIVE!!!

I'm disappointed to say that this one is a DNF for me but I just could not get along with the writing. The lack of contractions and forced nature of it made the little I did read a slog.

Three towns are destroyed to show how advances the aliens are. The aliens have issued a demand that children between ages twelve through fifteen years must be deliver to them. The children are tested first on alien machines. Those who pass go with the aliens and those who don't get to stay on earth. Kara Harper and Matt Sparks have known each other since childhood as they lives next to each other. Kara and Matt become team leaders on the team they are assigned to. The teams must go through physical tests that are not only physical but also mental. The team must learn to work as a team. Their " rewards" are getting different levels of Zaratan air to breathe. As they travel, Kara and Matt will experience challenges that are experiences they can't believe.

This science fiction novel is so smoothly written that I was immersed in the experiences that happened from the beginning to the end. At times, it is action-packed and I held my breath wondering if Kara and Matt will survive learning to be part of Zaratan's society. I never found the story to be slow. There is a little romance in the novel which is appropriate in that it is nothing more than a kiss or two. Though the book is geared for young adults, I think anyone of any age would enjoy this novel. I can't wait to read the next one!