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Selected

Barb Han (Goodreads Author)

3.96 · Rating details · 26 ratings · 19 reviews

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.

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ebook, 400 pages

Published February 3rd 2020 by Entangled: Teen

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Jan 26, 2020 Jessica rated it really liked it

Shelves: arc-1st-ng, ty-dystopia

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 ...more

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Feb 04, 2020 Kathleen Baldwin rated it it was amazing

A promising YA novel from USA Today bestselling author, Barb Han. Just when I thought High School in 2040 seemed pretty much like it does today, Han flipped the white board, and I found myself in a suspense-filled ride at a twisty turn-y school where nothing is as it should be. Han puts the reader into a chilling new world where nothing is as it seems and survival depends on sheer daring and true friendships.
--Review based on an arc provided by the publisher--

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Jan 25, 2020 Kristi rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2020release, arc, dystopia, entangled-teen, mystery, netgalley, suspense, ya-dystopian, young-adult

“2040. Country of Maine, COA – Countries of America”

Future New Maine, formerly Maine but now its own separate country along with the rest of the states is the setting for Selected by Barb Han. Selected is a Young Adult Dystopian with elements of mystery, suspense, and romance.

When Tori is selected to attend the elite prep school, Easton, she thinks her prayers have been answered. Her family will now be provided with food and shelter and she’ll get the education that will allow her to go to ...more

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Jan 26, 2020 Breanne Mast rated it liked it

Shelves: recently-read, ya-fiction

Thank you Entangled Teen, NetGalley and Barb Han for an ARC of Selected in exchange for an honest review.

Selected is set in Maine during the Year 2040. Faced with the threat of civil war, the United States divided each state into their own country, becoming the Countries of America. The main character, Tori Aldridge is selected to attend a prestigious school, Easton based on her incredible talent for dancing. In return, Tori’s mother and brother receive food, housing and clothes, all of which ...more

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Jan 27, 2020 Shelley rated it liked it

Shelves: 2020-release, young-adult-dystopian, arc-netgalley

*Source* Publisher
*Genre* Young Adult / Dystopian
*Rating* 3.5

*Thoughts*

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 ...more

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Feb 06, 2020 Leelynn (Sometimes Leelynn Reads) ❤ rated it really liked it

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 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.

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Feb 06, 2020 Jodie "Bookish" Cook rated it liked it

Shelves: favorites, reviewed

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Book Review
Title: Selected
Author: Barb Han
Genre: YA/Dystopian
Rating: ***
Review: 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 Book Review
Title: Selected
Author: Barb Han
Genre: YA/Dystopian
Rating: ***
Review: 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. ...more

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Feb 06, 2020 Lauren rated it it was ok

Shelves: for-blog

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. 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.

I was sent a copy of Selected through netGalley for honest review. ...more

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Feb 01, 2020 Yolanda rated it it was ok

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 ...more

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Feb 16, 2020 Morgan (youarethelibrarian) rated it liked it

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 ...more

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Jan 30, 2020 Olivia rated it liked it

Shelves: netgalley-reviews

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 ...more

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Jan 29, 2020 Nancy (The Avid Reader) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-2020, read-january-2020, young-adult

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 aine.

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 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 aine.

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. ...more

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Feb 03, 2020 Meghan rated it it was amazing

Shelves: library

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 ...more

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Feb 12, 2020 Jaime rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I truly loved this book. I have been a reader of Ms. Han for years. Her Harlequin series are some of the best shorter stories out there. For a long time I have wanted Ms. Han to write something a bit longer, as I loved all of her characters so much, I wanted to know more about them and their journeys.
The author has not disappointed me. This book is YA and more sci-fi than what she has written before and she knocked it out of the park! While the book is a type of dystopian teen drama, there is ...more

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Feb 06, 2020 Nina Defendi rated it it was amazing

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jan 29, 2020 Francesca rated it it was ok

Shelves: netgalley

*Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free copy in exchange of an honest review.*

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.

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Feb 14, 2020 Destiny Bridwell rated it really liked it

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. ...more

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Feb 03, 2020 Kathy Ivan rated it it was amazing

I love Selected! I've read a lot of Barb Han's books, and this is first foray into a new genre and I have to say I am majorly impressed. I loved the story, the characters, and Tori's growth arc throughout. There was a realism to this book, where it could see it visually playing out in my head as I read it. If you're looking for a great new young adult story, I definitely recommended Selected.

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Jan 22, 2020 Isabelle | Nine Tale Vixen added it

Shelves: arcs-review-copies, 2-review-soon

I received an advance review copy through YA Bound Book Tours; all opinions are my own and honest.

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About Barb Han

Barb Han

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USA TODAY Bestselling Author Barb Han lives in Texas-her true north-with her adventurous family, a spunky golden retriever/poodle mix, and too many books (if there is such a thing). She loves romance novels, thriller movies, and cooking. Her favorite hobbies include hiking, swimming and skiing.

Sign up for Barb's newsletter or to receive a postcard for her new releases at www.BarbHan.com.