Packed with action, adventure, and - of course - magic, The Chosen Ones is an immersive children's fantasy novel. This is the second book of the Worldquake Sequence series, and even though I haven't read the first in the series, I still found it highly interesting and engaging.

The Chosen Ones is exactly the type of book I would have loved as a child. It is fun and clever, yet also descriptive and full of exciting characters. The world-building is done superbly and it avoids being cliche or unoriginal. Although this is a fantasy book with plenty of magic, what's interesting is that it also has its groundings in the real world. Places we recognise today are referenced by name, adding a dystopian twist to the plot.

The writing itself is witty and engaging. The author does not shy away from using complex vocabulary which may be unfamiliar to younger readers, and the result is a more natural style of prose which feels very organic. I imagine that much of the character and world-building was established in the first book of the series. While this is not an issue, it did leave me wanting to know more about certain characters and events such as the Worldquake itself! If anything, though, that's just a great incentive for me to go back and read Dragon's Green (book one).

The main character, Effie, is brave and intelligent. She's courageous beyond her years and is lucky enough to have a circle of loyal friends around her. Each of the friendship group has his or her own unique abilities and magical powers. From talking to animals to travelling to the mysterious Underworld, there is certainly never a dull moment with these characters!

The Chosen Ones is an outstanding fantasy novel for young readers and not-so-young readers too - I can't wait to read book three!

This is the second book in Scarlett Thomas's Worldquake series of children's books, following the adventures of Effie and her friends at the Tusitala School for the Gifted, Troubled and Strange. Their world is like ours - yet changed, in a way that is never quite described, by the Worldquake itself, which happened several years before at the same time that Effie's mother vanished. The effects of the Quake leave electricity scarce, the Internet flaky and a mysterious (and seemingly hostile) Guild in charge of magic.

And yes, there is magic here. There are journeys to other dimensions - the Otherworld and the Underworld. There is the (to a bookworm) entrancing idea that if you are the Last Reader of a particular book, you can be taken into it, experience the story, and return with "boons" - magical gifts that bestow abilities or confer protection.

This world was introduced in Dragon's Green, together with the idea that "Dageri" - book eaters (the horror!) - are preparing a bid for power. Effie and her mates defeated that plot, but the risk hasn't gone away. When copies of The Chosen Ones, the bestselling story of magical children written by Raven's mum, Laurel Wilde, begin to be bought up by the publisher, and Effie is the subject of a scary prophecy, it looks as though something's up again.

The Chosen Ones introduces us to wider aspects of this world - I don't think it was clear before that it was Earth: the action took place in a vaguely placed and unnamed town with no further details, but in this book we visit London and hear about other countries. Effie's group also encounter another school (in the course of a tennis tournament) - the pupils of Blessed Bartolo's are unpleasant to put it mildly, with "compulsory classes in fencing, stockbroking, dressage and advanced music competition". And they are pretty ruthless at tennis, giving Thomas a good chance to describe the play - it's clearly something she knows well (as with Raven's horse riding across the moor near her mother's house).

As well as exploring their world, in this story, Effie and the others begin to find out more about themselves too and how they fit in with the magic around them. This is partly through the advice in a book called The Repertory of Kharakter, Art and Shade (I want a copy!) which applies a system that reminded me of a roleplaying game: we already knew that Effie was a True Hero, now we discover what the other possible "Kharakter" types are and also that one has a secondary class, an "Art". It's a neat way to represent the experience we all have of wondering who we really are and what we are meant to be - not least because Thomas then throws some doubt over the who idea: there are traps as Effie tries to pin things down, and people who try to exploit her even as she searches for herself.

All this depth doesn't prevent The Chosen Ones being an exciting story, fast paced where it needs to be but also happy to ramble a bit, to give all of the kids adventures of their own even if these don't directly relate to the main story (or not yet: "Terence clearly had no idea how dangerous librarians can be, but that is a story for another time...") which contributes to the sense of this world as a rich, many-layered place.

Thomas has some fun in this book with the world of publishing. Not only are the magic-using children in Wilde's The Chosen Ones born that way (unlike the kids in Thomas's world where magic is scarce, but anyone can learn, if they try) but "they were all white... The Chosen Ones was set a very long time ago when people... spent their summer holidays being locked in the cabins of ships or kidnapped by gypsies." Laurel's publisher, Skylurian Midzhar, is a bit frightening as is children's author Terrence Deer-Hart who actually hates children and wants to write for adults. ("His books were far more distressing, complex and violent than Laurel Wilde's, though, and one of his books for older children had over a hundred swear-words in it.") The Matchstick Press logo is a matchstick propping an eyelid open. We are told that "the thing any author hates more than anything... is... other authors.

I enjoyed The Chosen Ones a lot. It picks up the threads of Dragon's Green and moves things on pretty sharply, letting us know a little more about the mystery surrounding Effie and the rest (but I'm sure there is plenty more to be revealed) and making sure the challenges they face are serious enough that they can't simply be brushed away by the abilities gained in the earlier story. In short, it feels real, challenging and interesting.

I would recommend.

This is a children's book where Harry Potter meets Alice in Wonderland in a Hitchhiker's Guide to Galaxy way. Full of witty character names - take Albion Freake for instance, being a rich man with expensive desires-, irony and beautiful story telling. I loved how the children's interpretation of adults was told in a sarcastic style. There were also some bits which were probably too clever for children/teens to pick up but I enjoyed this. It made me laugh out loud a few times during reading.

Having loved Scarlett Thompson's The End of Mr Y I didn't hesitate requesting this book and I am glad I did. Quality of writing is excellent and I think this is the sort of book children/teenagers should read, as it's not full of romantic drama or unhealthy ideas of being beautiful, etc. Loved it!

As a fun sequel to Dragon's Green, The Chosen Ones does as expected. The characters and plots follow seamlessly from the first book, and feel authentic. However, I was a little disappointed in the lack of exciting plot twists and felt that sometimez the pace was too quick to enjoy the strong plots that did exist. Overall a decent sequel, but not as strong as the original.

Need to read book 1 first. not enough time to do so before publication of the second one.

Part 2 of the Worldquake Trilogy expanding on the well-written Dragon’s Green novel featuring Effie and her friends as they try to save each other and the world as they know it. An enjoyable, quick, uncomplicated read which is a nice addition to the “magical” and “talented” genre of children’s literature whose appeal doesn’t appear to be slowing down any time soon.

The Chosen Ones is the second book in Scarlett Thomas’ Worldquake children’s fantasy series. It follows Effie Truelove and her friends Maximilian, Wolf, Raven, and Lexy, all of whom have different magical abilities following the ‘worldquake’ that made magical seep into the world they know. Effie is now able to travel into the Otherworld, where she wants to know more about the magical books that have so far impacted her and her friends’ destiny, and her friend Maximilian dreams of visiting the dark Underworld to see what lies there. But when both of them disappear, the other three realise something must be wrong. Soon they are all fighting a devious plot that relates to being the Last Reader of a book, something which holds huge magical power.

The book is as charming as the first in the series, Dragon’s Green. The emphasis on the importance of reading, books, and personal ability and individuality makes the series feel distinctive, whilst the quirkiness of the characters and scenarios (for example, magically powered tennis matches between Effie and Wolf and the strange pupils from a rival school) will appeal to children’s imaginations. The Chosen Ones combines various good and nefarious magical plots and jumps between the five main characters as well as some smaller ones, meaning that it is fast paced and doesn’t get boring.

Anyone who enjoyed Dragon’s Green will be pleased with this next instalment, which ups the drama and gives more information about the world of Effie and her friends. Despite being aimed at older children, the series has plenty of appeal for being read together with parents, or even adults picking it up themselves (there is, for example, a reference to Barthes’ famous ‘death of the author’ essay which is unlikely to be picked up by 11-year-olds). It will be good to see what Thomas does with future books in the series, particularly with the main characters who’ve not yet had as much focus as Effie and Maximilian.

(over to my ten year old daughter for her review:)

This great story is the sequel to Dragon’s Green. It continues with the story of Euphemia Truelove (Effie) whose mother, Aurelia Truelove, disappeared on the night of the Worldquake - a worldwide earthquake which deleted all technology. Effie finds out that she is a True Hero shortly after her grandfather, Griffin, is murdered by a Diberi (Book Eater). In this book, the villain Skylurian Midzhar - a Diberi - is burning all the copies of The Chosen Ones, a book about magic. When there is only one copy, she plans to be its last reader to travel to inside the book and never return, absorbing all the power from the book. Will Effie and her friends save the day?

I enjoyed this book because it is funny, gripping and emotional. The plot is very clever because when you think that you’ve completed the puzzle, something happens to prove you wrong. I think it should be rated 5 stars.

I'm always a little wary of starting a fantasy series in the middle of the adventure, but I couldn't resist getting an ARC copy because of the beautiful cover art and the idea of words being magic. Wow. I'm so glad I did.

Effie and her friends are a really engaging set of heroes and I was soon pulled into the story. Scarlett Thomas's world-building is amazing and I loved how we got to see the gang developing and honing their powers. The idea of boons and individuals having a special magical focus in particular was really clever. Don't even get me started on the awesomeness of the Last Reader: a cool concept to begin with and the way it's developed with words having more power if the books have been read a lot and been well-loved just made it for me. I loved how much humour there was in the book too, especially given how dark the "threat to humanity" portion of the plot became in places. Effie's English teacher and her response to authors' visits particularly made me laugh.

Definitely a new favourite series which I will be recommending to everyone I can!