Author: Marit Wiesenberg
Series: Select #1
Age: Young Adult
Genres: Fantasy
Publication Date: October 3, 2017
Publisher: Charlesbridge Publishing
Source: eBook
Purchase: Hardcover | Paperback | Kindle | B&N | Kobo | iBooks
Synopsis:
Coming from a race of highly-evolved humans, Julia Jaynes has the perfect life. The perfect family. The perfect destiny. But there’s something rotten beneath the surface—dangerous secrets her father is keeping; abilities she was never meant to have; and an elite society of people determined to keep their talents hidden and who care nothing for the rest of humanity. So when Julia accidentally disrupts the Jaynes’ delicate anonymity, she’s banished to the one place meant to make her feel inferior: public high school.
Julia’s goal is to lay low and blend in. Then she meets him—John Ford, tennis prodigy, all-around good guy. When Julia discovers a knack for reading his mind, and also manipulating his life, school suddenly becomes a temporary escape from the cold grip of her manipulative father. But as Julia’s powers over John grow, so do her feelings. For the first time in her life, Julia begins to develop a sense of self, to question her restrictive upbringing and her family prejudices. She must decide: can a perfect love be worth more than a perfect life?
My Rating:
Quote(s) I Like:
"Defiance felt so much better than shame." - Julia
"Mistakes are one things. But I think you can't consider someone good when they hurt other people. On purpose. Repeatedly." - John
"No one wants to believe what seems impossible. People don't like to question their reality. It scares them. And they definitely would not like knowing there's someone better out there. We were discovered once and almost annihilated." - Julia
My Thoughts:
This was a very interesting fantasy romance novel. I enjoyed the premise of the story, but wish there was more to it. As a first book it left me with me with questions about the world and society. I enjoyed the characters and got the basis of the society, but wish there was more to it.
Julia is the first-born of Novak, the current leader of her tribe. She's treated with contempt by her stepmother and her father keeps her away from her emotionally. She deals with so much family drama and tribe business. She is a half-breed because of who her mother was. She doesn't fit in with her people and neither does she fit in with the outsiders. Julia is different and for the better. She bold, inquisitive and rebellious. I enjoyed everything about her. She is definitely stronger than everyone else in her tribe. I hope she takes over from her father soon.
Angus is the bad-boy and is part of the Lost Kids. He is the crush of Julia and tends to play with her emotions a lot. I can't say that I cared much for him. He played too many games for my liking. However, his role as the bad-boy seemed to be a cover up for his emotions. At the end of the novel his true self was revealed. He seems like he could be a sweet guy, so I'm hoping to see more of his kindness and heart in the sequel.
John is an outsider, but he's very inquisitive. He has a pull towards Julia that he can't explain. I loved his shyness when it came to Julia. He was a sweet guy that had such a pure heart. I loved the way his mind worked, but hated how he was hard on himself. John is not a regular outside, so I'm interested in seeing more of his development as a character and even some background history on his family.
The romance was absolutely cute. At first I was all for Julia and Angus, but with Angus playing games I thought he was just a douche-bag. However, when it comes to John and Julia I was all for it. They had an instant connection, but they didn't just jump on that connection. They let it all simmer and marinate before taking action on their feelings. I loved it!
Novak is the worse father and leader ever. His decision to separate the kids was terrible. The way he treated Lati was even worse. Novak has no emotion or care for his people. He only sees and wants power. He's too power hungry. I hope he has a major downfall! His interaction with Julia was despicable. Liv was a whiny little girl. She irritated me with how she treated Julia. She was ungrateful and such a snob. I didn't care for her.
The Lost Kids were the true ones, so I don't get what Novak was really up to. I'm glad that Julia and Angus didn't conform and that the Lost Kids tried to learn as much as they could about their abilities. The idea of lost souls among outsiders was quiet intriguing, especially with what took place towards the end. I didn't expect that, but that cliff-hanger killed me.
Though the first book was an okay read, I plan to continue on with the series and find out what happens next for Julia, John and Angus in the sequel.
Have you read this book?