Review Detail

Reader reviewed by Beth Revis

THE CHOSEN ONE is a gripping account of a young girl whose life in a cult-like religion takes a sour turn when she's chosen to be the husband of a man she doesn't love. The best part of the book is the insight it provides into the cult-like religion and society. Although no specific cult is referenced, you can fill in any of the recent cults in the news for comparison. Instead of seeing it through the eyes of newscasters, though, you're giving a dynamic view from a member of the cult who both loves it for the sense of family and security and hates it for the sense of forced obedience and lack of freedom.

The main character is well drawn throughout the novel, with key insights to her character revealed through the books she illegally (according to her society) takes from the book mobile. Overall a quick read, THE CHOSEN ONE is gripping, and I couldn't put it down.

My only quibbles with the book come at the end. Elements of the end seemed a bit random to me--there was no foreshadow for the role of one character at the end, and while I enjoyed that not everything was neatly tied with a bow at the conclusion, I would have been happier with a more realistic and gritty outcome.