Member Reviews
I really enjoyed this book! It isn't something I thought I would like, but the writing style drew me in and converted me!
Thought I was going to love this but the writing style was not for me. I couldn't finish it
Charlesbridge Teen and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of Select. I was under no obligation to review this book and my opinion is freely given.
Julia Jaynes is one of the select, a secret society of humans with preternatural abilities. When their leader, who happens to be her dad, announces that the teens in their group should be split up for appearances sake, Julia has to pretend to be normal while her sister does not. Along with the Lost Kids, Julia secretly practices her skills in the hopes of being able to go public in the future. Already feeling like an outsider in her family, especially given the rocky relationship she has with her stepmother, will an unexpected move alienate Julia further? Will a chance encounter with a normal teenager have implications more far reaching than Julia could ever imagine?
I liked the premise for this novel more than the book itself, in part because of the characters. Between the stereotypical indecisiveness of the teenagers and the over-the-top cult like personality of her manipulative father, I found it hard to find someone to root for. The holes in the plot and the unlikely nature of the investigation against the group did not help me to become engaged in the outcome. I am hopeful that the characters will find their footing in the next book, so I am willing to give the series another chance. Select is a quick read and one that YA fantasy and romance readers may find to their liking.
Despite the premise, this book is about insta-love, controlling father, horrible step-mother, and a girl who you won't like until she is forced to live in the normal world...that means her friends are not her friends, and she has to fit in with others. Also not to mention the only thing we learn about Julia's people are that they are "special" due to inbreeding....like human but not human?
This was just overall meh. I was tired of the characters and the plot was super lacking. I just want to read a good book, please
My lasting impression – this is an absolutely beautiful book. I love the book's cover which, at first glance, appears beautiful in it's simplicity . . . yet after reading the book, the cover is beautifully simple in it's complexity of concept in relation to the story.
A story of an ancient, forgotten tribe of exceptionally physically beautiful people who possess many almost unbelievable abilities.
This is the story of how they have survived over a century after the rest of the world believed their tribe was annihilated.
When you are a member of a small “select” group of people with unusual abilities, both physical and psychic , how do you hide in plain sight in today's general population? What happens if people discover that your entire group possess these exceptional abilities? What happens if you fall in love with a person outside your group? And it was forbidden . . .
What do you do, as a member of the group, when you discover the leader of this “select” group (who just happens to be your own father) has singled out the most gifted of the children, to prevent them from developing their unique and powerful abilities?
I enjoyed reading this book and please, please, please, - let there be a sequel, a series... more, more more.
This book would be an excellent addition to any High School Library. Although the book is suggested for Young Adults, I would recommend it to anyone 14 and older.
Thank you Netgalley and author Merit Weisenberg for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Julia Jaynes has always lived a sheltered life with her perfect family and the rest of their group. They are more than human and must hide their special abilities from the rest of the world. When she gets in trouble and is sent to a public school with regular humans, she finds out that they are people too and she becomes more than friends with a boy named John, whose mind she can read when he is thinking about her. This is a fun to read paranormal romance and I look forward to the next book in the series!
it is a good read for teens. it contains young love, difficulties, happiness and a littel bit of unsual behavoiur.
SELECT by Marit Weisenberg is a fast-paced, young adult fantasy.
When Julia is sent to a public high school, she tries to blend in. However she soon finds herself in a forbidden relationship that will impact her family and beyond.
Librarians will find fans of paranormal romance attracted to the love story, while fantasy lovers will enjoy the idea of the select community. The final twist will make readers wonder when the sequel will be released.
Published by Charlesbridge Teen on October 3, 2017. ARC courtesy of the publisher.
I was confused from the get go with this book. There were so many characters mentioned from the beginning and then no good explanation about what was going on I couldn’t follow it well. I felt like I had missed a book or something. I was confused about the general plot and what was going on. A few chapters in it was no more clear. I gave up. There were so many elements and I felt like I just started to understand one and something new came into the mix and I was confused again.
I received a digital copy of this book from netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.
I originally got this book for my daughter (she is 12). She found the book very confusing and only read a few chapters before she put it down. I thought that she was too young for the book, so I read the book. I also found the book very confusing, I read about 1/2 the book before putting it down and not finishing. I will give it another try later, so that I can do another review.
It's possible I wasn't able to catch some details because I took so long to read it. I found myself picking up other books after I started this one. It didn't grab my attention. I would've DNF'd if I personally allowed myself to do that. I felt like there was too much that went unanswered throughout the story and at the end only some of them were resolved for me.
*I received this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*
DNF @ 7%
By 7% we should know what species or whatever the main character is and who the "outside world" means. Yet, I'm still so confused by these big ticket items, while I know little details for sure... since they've been repeated. Family issues, Mean step-mother, and "special" girl who is an outcast -- these things I understand, but I know nothing else.
Also, setting. Yes, the book takes place in Texas, but is it OUR reality? is this in the future?
I know 7% is too early to give up on a book, but there was ample opportunity to explain something about the book. Honestly, the whole first scene took place in mist in my mind, because I had no idea why they were where they were or anything else.
While I am one who likes minimal description usually, this is just no description, replaced with empty words.
“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 book has me hooked from start to finished and I can't wait for the sequel!
I really enjoyed the premise of this book and liked how you always sort of questioned the relationship between Julia and John because of Julia's powers.
I still want to know more about the group and think another book delving into the history of how they got to where they were or even what happens after they leave Julia behind. I definitely think there is more story to tell there.
Julia and her family, and the other Select are hiding in plain sight. But they know they don't have long before they have to move once more. In the past, this people was in hiding as tribes in the Amazon jungle, or far away from civilization. Now, they live in the city, but in the best part of it. Only, Julia's father, their leader, has started to make some changes. These changes involves Julia and other youths not having the right to use their abilities. Julia even has to change schools so she won't interact too much with the others.
After the first few chapters of this book, I unfortunately began to get some serious Twilight vibes. Think about it for a moment: a perfect, beautiful family that keeps to itself; a mind-reading teenager who is set slightly apart from everyone else; angst and unpredictable behaviour; a public show of strength that draws too much attention to the family; instant attraction between the protagonist and the love interest, etc.
I guess if you are looking for a Twilight-type of love story (and we all know how popular Twilight was), feel free to pick up this book. However, it resembled Stephenie Meyer's books too much for me to enjoy this one; I just kept drawing comparisons to the vampires.
It was cute, but not enough for me to recommend it or to give it more than two stars. The writing fell flat and was at times tacky ("I put my hands on his chest, my touch giving him a heart attack." - quote found at 47% of the book) so I didn't really enjoy the complete product.
Thanks to Charlesbridge Teen and Netgalley for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I tried reading it a couple months back but never fully got into it like I wanted too.,