I liked the premise of the book, though the story itself was not as interesting as I hoped it would be. The book began slowly, and I found myself wondering if there was going to be an actual plot, or if we would spend the whole book wandering aimlessly through the world. Cade traveled from one place to another, stopping along the way to get chased by dinosaurs, but most of these events were not relevant to the plot, nor did they help to move the story along. (I'm still not sure what the dinosaurs had to do with anything.) In the last quarter of the book, the story picked up, and the last few chapters are interesting. I would recommend the book to someone who likes dinosaurs and is interested in the idea of wandering a world inhabited by dinosaurs and Romans, but for readers who don't know about or care about dinosaurs, this book will not be interesting.

When is he? Where is he? This was one wild ride! Cade is at a reform school for a crime he didn't commit. He and some of his classmates get transported (somehow) to another planet (?) to compete in a deadly tournament. The story unfolds as it is happening...just as it would for the protagonist. The reader is completely in the dark as to why everything is happening, where the action is happening and why. I kind of liked that, but I can see why it would be frustrating for other readers. Not to worry...answers are provided as the book progresses, and quite cleverly I might add. I found this book intriguing with lots of action and good pacing.

Taran Matharu has one compelling series under his belt. His sophomore offering, The Chosen, is an equally compelling title with a unique premise. Readers quickly become immersed in the world of Cade, an adolescent wrongly convicted for theft, spending time in a juvenile detention residential school. Quietly “doing time” isn’t what is planned for Cade. He finds himself trying to navigate and stay alive in a hostile, unfamiliar, otherworldly environment. While Cade’s knowledge of history and trivia comes in handy, will it be enough to save his life and bring him home?

Cade is an outsider at reform school. He doesn’t belong there and his fellow students seem to know it. Unfortunately, he and his enemies are transported to another world where they learn that they will have work together to play a deadly game in order to save the planet.

The story was okay, but I was pretty confused early on. It seems like the author just jumps into the action without much explanation about the characters or what is happening. It all comes together through the book, but I would have enjoyed it more if I had understood from the beginning.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a copy in exchange for an unbiased review. I will be continuing the story when the sequel is released this summer.

This book wow. This book is fast paced and exciting, I was so immersed into the story plot I have to look over my shoulder the following few days to make sure everythings fine haha!

I’m not sure what I was expecting when I picked up this book, but it certainly wasn’t this! And that’s not a bad thing – this is a wild ride, a sort of mashup between The Hunger Games, Jurassic Park, and The Martian. In addition, this book is ownvoices – Cade is South Asian, as is the author – and has a diverse mix of supporting characters, including one who’s Deaf.

Framed for a crime at his last private school, Cade has been ordered to spend a year at a reform boarding school. He figures he’ll survive by keeping his head down. All that changes when he, along with several other boys from his school, are transported to an alien planet and forced to fight for their lives. With new dangers around every corner, Cade must figure out how – if – they can get home.

“In the past, he might have played it safe, but now he wasn’t so sure. Pleading guilty had been playing it safe … and he’d give anything to change that.
But here, now? This was his best hope of giving himself a fighting chance. He’d roll the dice.”


This is a sort of man-vs-wilderness book that reminds me a lot of The Martian, just with more action. Cade soon discovers that, yeah, his strength he’s developed at the reform school thanks to endless burpees is helpful, but it’s his brain that’s his biggest tool. Whether it’s something he picked up from his history professor father or the fact that he (gasp!) actually thinks before he acts, Cade’s preferred solution to any problem is to outwit rather than out-brawn. A large part of Cade’s character development comes from how his interactions with the other characters change as the book goes on. At the start, he’s almost a side character in his own story, passive and unwilling to do too much to call attention to himself. As the story progresses, he slowly realizes that his best chance at survival is to stand up for himself.

The worldbuilding, while a bit disjointed, is where the book really shines. There’s a fun bit of mystery – how did they get there? where are they? – and a bit of suspense added by the countdown clock courtesy of the Codex, a floating robot that follows Cade around and gives some background on the various things he finds. Those added historical details are fun. Want to know about suturing wounds without thread? We gotcha! What Romans used instead of toilet paper? Yup!

A lot of time is spent on world-building, so while we get some character development for Cade, there’s not much time spent on the secondary characters. The first few chapters alternate between the planet and flashbacks to Cade’s time at the school, which serve as introductions to the other boys, but besides that there’s not too much time spent on them which left me rather ambivalent about what would happen to them. And while everything leads up to a big climactic battle, the ending of the book was a bit of a letdown. Yes, we get some answers, but it felt more like a teaser for the next book than a resolution to this one.

Overall, I wanted a bit more from the story than was there, but I enjoyed it enough to give it 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for the next book in the series!

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

One minute Cade is on earth, the next minute he appears somewhere totally different. He is standing on a narrow ledge above a strange creature that is intent on dislodging him from his perch and eating him. This is only the start of a strange adventure where he soon encounters other classmates, remnants of Roman armies, dinosaurs, and much more. It turns out that he and his classmates are being forced into a fight for their lives, and they have no idea why. An entertaining read for fantasy fans who don't mind some fine people dead at the end.

After reading Taran Matharu's debut series, The Summoner Trilogy, I knew I have to read everything he writes. The Chosen follows Kade, a teenage boy sent to boarding school for a transgression he did not commit, and other teens that have been transported to another world that is littered with remnants of our world's past. Dinosaurs from prehistoric times, mysterious relics, decaying buildings and vehicles, even ancient peoples. With little information, except survive the game.

The Chosen definitely feels more sci-fi than fantasy to me, so I was thrown off at the start. I don't really understand with LitRPG is, but it was so much fun having characters run from dinosaurs, ferrying down a river on an OLD ship, and meeting people from ancient civilizations. I'm not usually a fan of Romans, but Quintis was pretty great. The characters were fun and engaging, I absolutely despised a few (best part), the friendship/lack of friendship dynamic reminded me a lot of what I loved about The Summoner Trilogy. I'll warn you now, don't expect all the characters to survive, of course my favorite did not, they never do, but oh is it worth it!

This new series definitely has more sci-fi them his other. Good fight scenes, but the ending was a bit much for me.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book, which I voluntarily chose to review.

I received a complimentary copy of this title from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed are my own.

This book was Maze Runner meets Hunger Games meets the Raven Cycle meets the Da Vinci Code.

There was a lot going on--constantly. It was a little overwhelming to follow at times, but the relatable narrator helped. I'm not familiar with the author's other series, so I'm not sure if that's just his style or this series. I think it needs a second/slower read to fully process and appreciate!

I must say...this is a good follow-up to the Summoner series. This book took me for a crazy ride! The characters were all hilarious, the world was insane, the game was adventurous. The writing was right on par for me as the Summoner series. Taran did a great job with this first book. A different world, different set of characters and a different vibe.

Cade is whisked away to an unknown world with some "friends" at his reform school. He's chosen as a contender to play a crazy game. Dropped off in the middle of a crazy land with many artifacts from history, he has to navigate this world and survive.

I ABSOLUTELY love Cade as a character. First, I love that he is half-Indian -- so cool! He's a smart kid that gets picked on and bullied. He's not the best with his hands, but he knows how to take care of himself when need be. He can be sarcastic and always finds a solution in such strange situations. Despite the world he was in he found a way to survive and keep moving. Cade was bomb and a true survivor!

I enjoyed the other characters as well. I felt like they each played a great role in the story. I'm sure the others will continue to play a greater role in the story, but I truthfully only cared for Cade a great deal. I will say, I hated Finch and Gobbler SOO much. They were the MOST annoying characters ever. I did love Eric, Spex, Amber and the twins (Bea and Trix) the most because they seemed to be more help to Cade and the solving the game than others. Scott was the most comedic character to me. When things got too crazy he always said something funny to break the ice. Yoshi was a mix for me, I like him, but still feel off. The same thing for Quintus.

I knew death had to happen, obviously, but I wasn't expecting the people who did die and the way they died -- that crushed me!!!

Now, that ending -- WHATTTTT!! Abaddon -- what the heck and why a little girl. All kinds of twisted!

I'm interested in seeing how this world and game continues to go for them all. In such a world where anything can possible occur you truly never know what to expect. This world defied all logic.

Totally recommend this baby!!

Cade came to standing on a shelf with a strange creature trying kill him. He had been in a juvenile boot camp for six months after being accused of stealing laptops from a private school. Now he and several others from his school are trapped in a strange place with misplaced objects that had disappeared from Earth ages ago. There are Roman artifacts, Olmec heads, and variety of dinosaurs not to mention people from a multitude of times. Cade and company needs to find out what is the game they are trapped in and how to win. Can they figure it out in time and survive?

The Summoner series was amazing so I was super excited to pick this one up. This book is super action packed and Cade is a super cool main character. It was a bit more middle grade than YA, which isnt something I am usually fond of but this book was seriously that enjoyable.

I enjoyed Matharu’s Summoner series but this new series doesn’t live up to it. The main character, Cade, is at a boarding school for “bad” kids after being framed for stealing laptops. Then he is transported to another world fighting for his life. He meets up with other boys from his school and they try to figure out what is happening. Along the way, the meet other people from other times, dinosaurs, and all sorts of other things. And all we know is that it is a “game” and Earth is in the balance if they lose. But that is the problem with this book, there is no reason for any of it, until the very end. While I’m all for mystery-esque type themes, this one gave nothing up to even theorize. The little (tiny) nuggets sprinkled throughout, and really not until much later in the book, just weren’t enough for me. The characters were also lacking if you ask me. This was all action for no reason and little depth.

This was such an interesting and fresh story! I will readily admit that I was not expecting all that happened when I first picked up this book. Sometimes I think the plot went a little too crazy and lost me a bit, but overall, I liked this one!

The characters were all so well-developed and strong in their own ways. I loved getting to know all of them and see their growth throughout the book. Even when the story lost me a bit, I still had a great time reading because of how much I enjoyed these characters. They really stood out for me.

As I said before, the plot was a little too crazy for me at times. Because this was such a different concept, I think a bit more world-building and backstory would have been helpful. Up until pretty much the end, I wasn't entirely sure what was going on and why the characters had been forced into all of the situations in this book. That made it hard for me to fully invest and believe what was happening.

But, despite my issues, I did still enjoy this book! It was fast-paced, full of great characters, and had a really unique plot. I'm interested to see what happens next!

Thank you to Macmillan Children's Publishing Group and NetGalley for a chance to read and review this book!

The pacing started off a little slow but I think that was the point. The author wanted the reader just as confused as the character. So this story rotated from past to future. The author did a great job at this. I was never confused since the start of ever change of timeline was stated at the beginning of the new chapter. This is such a fun read for all ages and is full of action and adventure.

3.5 Stars

'The Chosen' is the first book in a new young adult science fiction series that will have fans of the genre begging for more. I'm going to cut to the chase and it down for you:

Characters: Cade was an interesting main character and I liked getting to know him throughout the story. He was realistic and complex, had both flaws and strengths, and his evolution is evident by the end of the book. The secondary characters were also well rounded and I enjoyed getting to know each of them and watch how their relationships with Cade change during the story.

Plot: For me, this wasn't a new story line and it felt almost predictable in a way. When I started reading and realized what was going on, I got a very distinct vibe about another very popular series. (I'm sure you know which one I'm talking about.) It felt like it had been done before but the author tweaked a few things to make it their own and to help it stand out from others like it. I did enjoy reading the story and overall thought it was a good book, so I'll be watching for the next one to release.

Writing Style: A big component for me is always the author's writing style. It can literally make or break a book for me. The author chose to use the third person point of view from Cade's perspective. I personally love the first person POV because it allows the reader a deeper connection with the narrator. I have a feeling that my opinion of the book would've been a bit higher if the first person POV was used. Also, the alternating timelines between the present and the "unknown" was a bit confusing at first and kept the story from having a good flow. Once I got used to it though, it didn't bother me as much.

Overall, this is a well written book that fans of YA science fiction and fantasy will enjoy and I do recommend it. I know others readers are going to love this novel and not have the same issues as I did. These were my own personal opinions and thoughts and they obviously won't be exactly like anyone else's.

I enjoyed this book! While it didn't wow me, it was a fun, fast-paced thrill ride of a book. I am curious to see what will happen next.

The Chosen is unique! I've never read anything like this, it was refreshing! This was my first Taran Matharu book, his writing style is strong, there's is the classic video game voice to his writing. I enjoyed the characters but for me personally, the was a world story. The world was painted brightly, I could see everything from the creatures (Dinosaur, which I never read about but found I liked it in this book!) to all the different ancient buildings. There was a mix of ancient and modern technology, I'm always a fan of that. Back to the characters, Cade is a strong lead character. However, b the spotlight was stolen by Quintus. He was my favorite and joyed him fully was a character.

I'm not going to say one single thing about the ending but to blow one out of the water. This is an action-packed book that's mix with history and modern that will keep up wanting more!


Thanks to NetGalley for letting me review this book!

The first book in Taran Matharu’s Contender series introduces us to Cade, who finds himself in a boarding school after being wrongly accused. But shortly after he settles down, he and his classmates find themselves in another world filled with items and people from various mysteries throughout history. They’re forced into a game controlled by the Strategos as contenders, only knowing if they fail, there will be consequences.

The Chosen is a quick, action-packed read.
At least, in the beginning. Hold that thought for a moment. Matharu captured my attention from the first chapter as Cade finds himself having to fend for his life, not knowing his whereabouts. There’s a lot of action throughout that made me want to know more as Cade made discoveries and his moves.

But there’s nothing much going on.
I am all about characters running and fighting for their lives from pre-historic dinosaurs. The Chosen is practically a survival book, but about 60% through, I realized, there’s not actually anything going on. Cade, his classmates and eventually the people he meets who join the cause — they’re running around with a timer floating around them. (That timer is also a handy dandy floating Google, which is just plain cool if you ask me.)

Then about 90%, everything happens and Cade finds out more information about why they’re on the world. And he finds out both he and his companions got fucked over big time. It’s not a one-time battle, there’s more to come! A massive internal groan from Cade — just when you thought it was over, the entire universe laughs.

The Chosen is engaging, though.
Seriously, I appreciate a good, action-packed book that is engaging enough, I don’t notice the entire book is full of running until I’m in deep. By that time, I’m a little too invested – I want to know the end.

Despite being a somewhat huge cast, it was fun seeing most of them come together. It was also fun seeing the choices Cade makes and how creative he is in implementing them in the game they’ve been forced in. And call me evil, but I’m delighted with the end (we’ll even insert an evil laugh here) and want to see what Matharu will put the characters through in the second book.