This isn't typically my type of book but the synopsis intrigued me. Unfortunately I struggled through the book. I think for people that gravitate towards books like this it's a great read it just wasn't for me.

I have heard of Barb Han in the past, although Selected will be my first read from this particular author, so I am very excited to see what this book has in store for me. The opening to Selected was interesting, to say the least. We are introduced to Tori, who attends Easton prep school, however, she is one of the lowest ranks of student as a Sponsored student. Along with her friend Adalynn, they must study hard in order to avoid being kicked out of the school, through Adalynn we learn that Tori was admitted for her dance abilities but when an elite student, Caius takes an interest in her she immediately begins wondering why someone like him would want to bother with someone like her but she agrees to meet him later on, hopefully, to find out.


I wasn’t sure what I was expecting from Selected, but the first quarter of the book is really slow. So far, we have been introduced to what I assume is the main cast of characters and their daily routines. In the case of Tori, we also get some background on her reasons for attending Easton. We also see her beginning to form a relationship with Caius after she misjudges him and despite the fact they seem a little too into each other given the fact they have only just started to interact I was enjoying the story, but I did want something to happen. The only thing of note to happen so far is Jax has disappeared after being sent to the Headmaster, he could have been kicked out, but we don’t know. Tori does seem worried about him, but she isn’t really doing anything to find out what has happened to her best friend. It turns out nothing sinister has happened to Jax, he was just being punished for his infraction. He isn’t happy with the fact that Tori is dating Caius however, and the pair briefly don’t talk but they are soon friends again. Tori is worried about the dinner with her sponsors over the weekend, but she is even more worried about her twin brother Trevor who she hasn’t personally heard from in three years although her mother makes excuses for him.

As we approach the halfway mark in the novel, nothing seems to be happening but there are things that seem a little off and we don’t understand why we just know that they don’t seem quite right. The first thing that threw me off was the dinner Tori has with her sponsors as they ask questions about her family specifically her brother that they have never asked before. All of a sudden things start to happen as Tori is arrested on the day of her competition and ask about something called Plankton which is a sort of code word she and Trevor used when they were children and she knows that he might have got himself into trouble and wants to help him but she can’t without giving her future at the school. Even though she passes the lie detector test the school has and is allowed to compete she shockingly comes 7th when she is used to coming first. This is only the beginning as her room has been turned over and the stuffed bunny Caius gave to her has been gutted. There are also rumours floating around the school which leads Rhys to start tormenting Tori telling her she isn’t going to be there much longer and even Adalynn, her best friend is keeping her distance.

Tori seems just about ready to flee the school and find her brother when Caius manages to talk some sense into her, telling her it will only look even more suspicious if she leaves and if they are trying to find Trevor then she might lead them straight to him. There is also a big love confession here that I saw coming from a mile away and honestly, I didn’t enjoy it. Tori and Caius have spent hardly any time together due to their positions within the school and the eyes always watching them, so the confession here just didn’t feel right and personally, I felt this should have come much later in the novel. Things do start to get somewhat interesting when Tori is paranoid about being kicked out and is wondering if Trevor’s message meant something more than she can remember. However, after her finals, she is informed that her mother and brother are dead and that her brother is the prime suspect in a murder investigation. For being over 50% into the novel, virtually nothing has happened except teen angst and I am hoping the story picks up soon otherwise I may have to DNF this book.

I have to rescind my statement about DNFing this book as it really picks up after the halfway mark. After the supposed death of her family, Tori is convinced her brother is still alive and needs her help and Caius is all too eager to help her. However, Tori has her own problems as Rhys takes his harassment to a whole new level often leaving Tori bloodied and bruised. With Jax once again on her side, they plan to dig a little deeper into her family’s death and see if anything strange or unusual crops up. As Tori wonders more about her family as well as Caius being withdrawn from school and seemingly cutting himself off from Tori she plans to leave the school as it is no longer safe there without him. However, the night she is leaving we learn that the school has been trying to perfect genetic modification and I think that the Selection Program might be involved with this. Caius does make a reappearance and Tori tells him she is leaving to find her family and while he wants to go with, he can’t. However, something feels off as he claims Jax gave him to technology to deal with the drones but as Tori mentioned earlier, Jax and Caius haven’t been alone together as they can’t stand each other and the only time they are civil to each other is when Tori is there. I suddenly have the sinking feeling that Caius might betray Tori, but I will have to wait and see what the final section of the novel has in store for me.

As expected not everything goes according to plan and things get very interesting when Tori begins to learn the truth about the program and her role within it. Everything seems helpless but help in the form of her history teachers gives her the escape she has been looking for, but this is only the beginning for Tori and Caius as they seek to unravel to program and reclaim what has been taken from her. The ending of Selected was brilliant and sets up the sequel so well and I honestly can’t wait to read it. For all my doubts with this book I really enjoyed, however, the first half was very slow and a little boring but If you can get through it the emotional payoff is worth it.

This was my first book by this author, It was pretty enjoyable. I would give this book a 3.5 star rating! It was a pretty Quick and easy read!

Thank you NetGalley for a complimentary copy. I voluntarily reviewed this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

Selected
By: Barb Han

REVIEW ☆☆☆
While I love dystopian fiction, especially of the darker variety, I think it is becoming too much of a good thing. Selected was a good story, but it needed to be great. The characters were not memorable, and the story was just formulaic enough to blend in with so many others. That stand out wow factor was missing here. Unfortunately, I didn't love this book.

The idea behind Selected really had my interested and I was excited to dive into it. Sadly I had a really hard time trying to connected with the connect with the characters.

Following along the vein of recent successes of female-lead, dark dystopian novels, Barb Han has crafted a daunting future around Tori who believes that her intelligence and dance ability is enough to grant her access to an elite prep school. But Tori soon learns that she is at the mercy of a system that only values her when she follows their rules. When rumors start spreading about Tori's twin brother, she starts to uncover truths about Easton that will put everything in jeopardy.
Selected was well written but lacked much in the way of novel themes in an over-saturated genre.

I had a hard time getting into this story. It just didn't capture my interest and I was glad when it was over.

After a polarized nation was broken by the threat of civil war, States have now become countries. And in New Maine, things have gotten worse.

Giving my family a better life is everything. And my selection to attend an elite prep school suddenly offers my family a dramatically different life—food on the table, a roof over their heads, and a fighting chance at a future.

Everything is going great until some of my friends begin ghosting me, and then disappear. Soon it becomes clear this “chance of a lifetime” isn’t the Holy Grail I was promised. And the attention from one of Easton’s elite has me questioning why a boy with a golden future wants to risk it by being seen with me.

But when I find out why I’m really at this school, I may have to trust him if I want to live.

Selected, Barb Han
February 3rd, 2020

The worldbuilding really pulled me into Selected, but the struggle of the characters kept me engaged. In the future, the United States are no longer united nor states. They are fifty separate countries. We watch the story unfold in New Maine.

Much like it has always been, high school is made up of labels: Cerebrals, Athletes, Tech Nerds, Legacies, and the Sponsored. And everyone is competing for the best scores to get into college. Victoria, Tori to her friends, is a Sponsored student. She was admitted to Easton because of her special skills in dancing. While she is a student her family will have food and housing, but she has a very strict set of rules to follow otherwise she’ll lose that status and her family won’t be cared for.

She tries hard to stay in line but it’s not long before she realizes students are disappearing. Determined to find out where they’ve gone, Tori enlists the help of her boyfriend Caius, a Legacy. Slipping out at night risks Tori’s sponsorship, and her family’s well being.

I hope there are more books planned because the world left me wanting more (in a good way). This system, these new countries, and the history are all incredibly intriguing.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I find myself disappointed with this book, because the premise sounded like something right up my alley, and the cover is gorgeous. However, the plot and characters needed more fleshing out. The timeline and pacing in this book was very hard to follow, as there didn’t seem to be clear delineations. It seemed Caius and Victoria were boyfriend and girlfriend after two times of hanging out together, and it was very much insta-love since there was a lack of development there. It was like the development between them happened after they were already together. There was never a good explanation for why Caius fell for Tori, which even she questioned at first but then doesn’t bring it up again later in the book.

Councilwoman Snyder is a stock character villain that I don’t care about one way or the other, and the “villainy” is not explained well, either. The best part of this book for me was Mrs. Randol, and she didn’t have much of a part until the last chapters of the story. I am not rating this book lower because I think the series has the potential to get better, but I really wish this first book had been polished more. I don’t really understand the program Easton was using Tori for (it was very vague when it was “revealed”), and I think by the end it should have been crystal clear.

I received a copy of this book for a fair and honest review. This is the first book I have read by Barb Han. It was an interesting story that was told, but I wanted more then just romance. I think the whole selection process and what it does for their family is a great concept in the world that they live in. There was a little mystery and intriguing. I thought I was going to understand the elite prep school scene but I was thrown off by all of it.

The United States is no longer The United States as it has been torn apart by the threat of civil war. The threat has caused each state to split off from each other and have each became their own country. Selected is set in the future in what is now known as New Maine formerly known as the state of Maine.

Selected tells the story of kids attending an elite school with different groups of students. There are five groups at Easton the most competitive high school in the country. The five groups are the Cerebrals, Athletes, Tech Nerds, Legacy Kids and the Sponsored. Everyone who attends Easton compete against one another for the best or highest score so they can get into college.

Selected tells the story of Victoria Faith Aldridge known to her friends as Tori who is one of the Sponsored students meaning she was selected to attend Easton because of her special talent, dancing. As a Sponsored student Tori’s family will get fed and housed for as long as she attends school at Easton. She has a very strict set of rules that she must follow or she will lose her status and her family will no long reap of the benefits.

Tori is trying very hard to follow all the rules in order to keep her family fed and taken care of and so she can go to college. It’s not long before Tori starts to notice that something is not quite right at Easton. Some of the students are disappearing. Where have all the students gone? What has happened to them?

Tori has no idea but she sure plans on finding out with the help of her new boyfriend Caius Fitch a Legacy Kid. Caius and Tori start slipping out at night so they can be together but if they are caught they could be thrown out of school and Tori’s family would lose everything.

Selected is a very engrossing read with wonderful characters and an engaging plot. I really hope to see more of the world created for Selected in future books. I would love to see more of how the system in Selected works and how it came to be. I would also like to see how this system works in the outside world or what kind of regime the outside world has to follow. I would also like to get to know more about Tori’s brother Trevor.

I highly recommend Selected to all dystopian fans.

Easton Academy is a prep school for the elite of the elite in New Maine, the kind of school where Legacy students from old money families go to make connections before heading off to college and whatever their parents expect of them. Victoria Aldridge is not old money. Is not nouveau riche. Is not typical of the students that walk Easton’s hallowed halls. She’s part of the new Selected program, lower class students with high IQs or brilliant athletic performance backed by rich patron families. As long as she does as well as expected, as long as she is the best, her family has food and a safe place to sleep and she has a shot at a bright future. At least that’s what she has been telling herself for the last three years. When one of her friends is caught passing her a mysterious note everything in her life at Easton starts to crack. If she wants to figure out what’s going on she’ll have to learn to trust the Legacy boy who’s started showing interest in her out of the blue. If she cannot, she might not make it out of Easton alive.

Barb Han’s Selected is a book that feels very much like it knows that it is the first in a series and so does not bother telling a compelling or complete story on its own. Which is a shame because the premise is really interesting. The nation is split in fifty countries and Maine has developed a rich/poor divide that would make a cyber punk dystopia salivate. Our protagonist has to be the best of the best at the fancy school she’s been selected to attend so that her family can have a better life, even as she’s the target of resentment from many of her classmates. But then the most attractive boy in school shows up and we toss that right out the window until the final third or so of the book. Let’s start there.

I feel like this is a case of the author having solid ideas but either not enough of them to give the story substance or she just really wanted to write a romance story and slotted the dystopian ideas around it. A fair amount of that is down to the protagonist, Tori. The reader is introduced to her in her Junior year of high school at Easton Academy and despite, as we are told her having a really high IQ and breaking the curve for all of her tests, she is desperately worried that she has not done well enough on a recent test. Fair enough, her family relies on her Selected status for a better life, but we never really see her struggle with her classes or her dancing in any meaningful way. Classes are easy, she’s brilliant. Tests are easy, she’s brilliant. Dancing is easy, she’s been doing it all her life.

Maybe the book was meant to focus more on her social struggles, her friends disappearing, but so much of the text focuses on her relationship with school golden boy Caius that her friends fade into the back ground. There wasn’t really time put into making the reader care about her friends or friendships, so when things started to go wrong it had no impact. Tori’s friends are, in fact, consistently pushed to the side either in favor of more focus on the romance aspect or because Tori just can’t talk to them about her feelings and what’s going on, they would never understand. Similarly, so much focus was put on her relationship with Caius that it both seemed to swallow up everything else and left me hoping that something would happen just to get him off the page for a little while. Plus, there were enough moments of Caius talking about his feelings for Tori that just felt super uncomfortable and manipulative, not liking her having a male friend, repeated angry moments early on about her thinking a Legacy like him would have an easier life than her, and other more minor stuff. It made it really hard to buy in to the romance to start with.

If the romance was cut out of Selected it feels like all but around a third of the book would be gone. This remaining third or so of the book, much like the setting, has some solid ideas and could have made for a really awesome book. Unfortunately, it takes half or more of the book for the plot to really get going and by that time I had long sense stopped caring about the characters or what happened to them. There are some moments from early on that, in retrospect, were setting up elements for a reveal later but they fell flat because the intervening text failed to support any of Tori’s friendships enough for the characters to feel like proper characters. It is frustrating. It is frustrating because there are so many ideas here that could have been good with a little more work, really good if some of the focus on that work was moved to letting the other characters be more rounded.

That is about all that I can say about Selected. There was a lot of potential in both the setting and the ideas behind the plot. But it got sacrificed for a frankly bland instant romance that had a lot of red flags early on. I will not be there for the next book in this series or, likely, the next several books Barb Han writes. Selected shows that she has solid ideas, but the writing lets them down badly. It earns a two out of five from me.

Disclaimer: I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Fantastic Flying Book Club, Netgalley, and Entangled Publishing for this free copy. All quotes in this review are taken from the Advanced Reader Copy and may change in final publication.

Already from the beginning of this novel, even before we hear Tori speak and even know her name, I was already getting a feeling that something bad was going to happen. She was just way too anxious about her grade in a test, and the punishment for getting a bad grade did not even match what a normal punishment would be. It was bad, guys. Bad. I also didn’t end up reading the synopsis for this one so I kept forgetting what it was about until shit got real.

I mean shiz got real. Hopefully my review still goes through with this one.

I was reminded of Ever Wong from Loveboat, Taipei when I was reading about Tori with her love of dancing. I was reminded of Day from the Legend trilogy when she talked about how her mother and brother would end up homeless on the streets if she failed out of school. It was weird how I came up with those similarities in this novel, and while I know that there’s nothing wrong with that, it did make it a little bit difficult to keep Tori separate.

However, I will say that the premise of this story was unique enough for me that I was able to enjoy it still. Tori was her own person, despite the similarities that I found. They were more surface similarities I guess, in the end.

I was also really intrigued at the premise of the United States being separated into their own countries. Basically all the states became countries and the US became the Countries of America. So I’m so glad that I got another dystopian novel to read, because I noticed that I haven’t been reading them lately. They always interest me because I like to know what kind of messed up worlds authors will create when it’s the end of the world as we know it.

I was really upset with some of the things that happened in this novel, and I hated how Tori felt like a prisoner in what is supposed to be such a prestigious school to the point that she hasn’t even been able to go home and see her family. It just sucks for her though, and then everything else that ended up happening in that school and I just want to hug her. Ugh, man.

Barb Han's Selected is a young adult, Dystopian, with elements of mystery and suspense thrown in. What you need to know: The year is 2040, the USA no longer exists due to diabolical author shenanigans which has separated states into individual countries called COA, countries of America. Maine used to be a state until the USA became too big, too polarized. Nothing got done and civil unrest was on the rise. In order to avoid another civil war, the federal government was phased out, and control moved back to each state.

Tori was selected to attend a private elite school called Easton. Easton is separated into (5) groups of students: Cerebrals, Athletes, Tech Nerds, Legacy Kids, and Sponsored. Toni is a sponsored student who has been given the opportunity to prove she's worth the time and effort the Council has chosen to reap on her and her family. Tori, who was selected for dance, is at the top of her class. Selected students are required to attend therapy sessions, have regimented food, maintain high grades, and dance well in competitions. Oh, and they are monitored 24/7/365 with security and drones.

Tori's only real friends are Adalynn Waters, and Jaxon Donovan a so called tech nerd. Tori is sponsored at Easton by a couple named Chaffee. They pretty much control her life here at Easton while showing too much interest in her brother Trevor. But, things aren't so perfect at the school. Students tend to disappear, Jax and Adalynn suddenly get cold towards Tori, while Caius Fitch, a Legacy, takes a keen interest in her which causes bullies to target her. Her dance performance goes wrong after she learns her brother may have killed someone, and now she suddenly has leprosy.

Tori goes on a mission to find out what really happened to her brother, and the missing sponsored as well. The villains of this story are right in front of your face. From the couple who sponsors her, to the Councilwoman Synder who has an agenda when it comes to Tori, to the bullies in the school who don't believe she belongs in their elite school. Tori's only allies are definitely Caius who goes through his own living hell at the expense of the villains, but a very interesting group of rebels who have seen the dark side, and they don't much care to stick around and follow protocols.

As a wrap-up, Tori is a very intelligent, complex, artistic, creative young woman who is put into a very bad situation by very twisted and villainous people. This shouldn't come to a surprise to anyone, but this isn't anything new in this genre. This is a clean romance novel. There's a connect between Tori and Caius, but nothing goes horizontally. This is a dark book which surprises me considering it's geared to Teens and Young Adult.

This is also not a standalone although you won't find any information on the author's web page about future installments. How do I know? Because there is a brief appearance by Tori's twin brother Trevor in the Epilogue. Why would you introduce Trevor if this were a standalone? I would ask the publisher to please, please, please follow up on this and enlighten future readers to any and all sequels which are sure to come. Thank you.

This book was received as an ARC from Entangled Publishing, LLC - Entangled: Teen in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

When I read the first page of this book, my mind immediately went to Divergent and Hunger Games and I was immediately hooked. All Tori ever wanted was a life for her and her family. A roof over their head, food on the table, and the chance of a future is all everyone ever wants but when Tori gets accepted into this elite school that can provide all of that and then some, little did she know there would be a big catch. Everyone she meets at the school is ghosting her and then disappearing and Tori is seen as one to be unseen with. Then she meets one of the most elite students at the school who happens to be the "goldenboy" and all he wants to do is be with Tori and be seen with her. The truth does set Tori free but it may not be what she is expecting and he is her only chance at surviving. My heart was racing to the max and I could not stop reading this book. This will be a potential pick for our teen book club that will generate a huge discussion.

We will consider adding this title to our YA collection at the library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.
"

This book didn't quite do it for me. Now, I appreciated the idea of the dystopian-type setting, but overall, there wasn't enough imagery to build it up and this book relied more on telling instead of showing. The relationship between Tori and Caius escalated too quickly and was too cliche for me--to the point where it didn't seem genuine at all right from the beginning. The idea seemed cool, but the execution did not do. I'd give it a 2.5/5.

Thank you to Entangled Teen and NetGalley for giving me a chance to read this eARC.

Selected is set in a future America where the states are now countries. Tori goes to a private school where the rich kids still rule the school. Tori is smart, gifted and she gets to go to the school because she is sponsored. She falls in love with a boy, Caius who is from a wealthy family and happens to be the hottest guy at school. But while Tori is away at school, her brother Trevor gets into some trouble and she has to find out what it is.

What I Liked:

*The idea of a future America divided into countries was what intrigued me about this story. Unfortunately we don’t get a lot of world-building in that aspect. But the book cover is great.

*I like a high school story where you have the usual hot boy/strange girl hook-up so this was it for the story for a good chunk of it until we get to the part of the story where Trevor (Tori’s brother) gets involved.

*Tori is an intriguing character, she’s being sponsored to go to the school and has a high IQ. She dances and seems like a really good kid.

Things That Made Me Go Hmm:

*This book held my attention until I thought it was about Caius and Tori falling in love and nothing else because that’s what most of the beginning of the book is about. By the time Trevor is in the story I lost interest as to what he would be involved in.

*The story was lacking something…suspense? A thrill? Not even the romance between Caius and Tori made my heart melt. I felt nothing! It’s a light dystopian read but maybe I wanted more because most dystopians I read are fast paced and filled with danger.

Final Thoughts:

This one was not for me but I think if you like a light dystopian young adult book, there will be others who will enjoy this better than I did.

SELECTED follows Victoria (Tori) who attends an elite private school amongst the wealthiest in her country/state (states are now countries). She was chosen for her dance abilities and intelligence, and she is one of the first Sponsored students in the school. She must keep up her grades and competitive wins to stay in the school- and keep her family fed. The wealthy people who Sponsored her could pull their support and her family's home and food if she does not live up to their expectations.

As a junior, she is getting really for college, which she hopes to attend with her best (and only) friends, Jax and Adalynn. One of the legacies (read: rich and got in for money), Caius- also the hottest and most popular guy in school, is also taking an interest in Tori, but she is suspicious of his advances.

This book is highly readable, and it was easy to get lost in the pages. However, I found the romance to be a bit caricatured and the history to be a bit lacking. It was hard to really understand how this world diverted from our own and the consequences of that. Some of them are just stated outright, but it did not really follow so smoothly. I would have liked a bit more background and maybe some twists (characters seemed a bit black-and-white/one-dimensional). However, I really enjoyed reading it overall, as it had a pretty light and fast-paced feel. I would recommend for people who like simple romance and basic dystopian plots.

Please note that I received an ARC from the publisher through netgalley. All opinions are my own,

You know when you eat a cake that not only has badly mixed and cheap ingredients, but it is also unleavened? That's like reading this book.
It's 2020 guys: are we still doing insta-love? Still? With two main characters who are as bland as off brand white bread? The plot is flimsy at best, the characters poorly sketched, only the core idea is good but incredibly underdeveloped.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Tori and her family believe her high IQ, intelligence, and flawless dance skill secured her spot as a Selected in one of Maine's elite prep schools. They're right; but there's so much more going on here. This is a clean YA novel, but it's a very dark dystopia. Darker than the average YA dystopia. Our girl goes through a lot. It's great that she's resilient and resourceful, but I wish she didn't have to be. Her life is far from charmed and this book may drag down some readers who are already struggling with unrealistic goals and pressure.