The Chosen Ones

Worldquake Book Two

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Pub Date 5 Apr 2018 | Archive Date 5 Apr 2018

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Description


THERE IS MAGIC BEYOND THE REALWORLD . . .

EFFIE TRUELOVE has learned to travel through magical books to the Otherworld.
MAXIMILIAN UNDERWOOD, Effie's classmate, is more interested in the dark and forbidden Underworld.

When Effie and Maximilian both mysteriously vanish, their friends Raven, Lexy and Wolf don't know where to turn for help. Raven is a witch and her horse, Echo, has revealed that Effie is in deep danger and time is running out.

To make things worse, Raven's mother, the author Laurel Wilde, is caught up in a plot with the ruthless billionaire Albion Freake, who will stop at nothing to become invincible . . .

Where are Effie and Maximilian? Are their disappearances connected?
And can Albion Freake's deadly plan be stopped?


THERE IS MAGIC BEYOND THE REALWORLD . . .

EFFIE TRUELOVE has learned to travel through magical books to the Otherworld.
MAXIMILIAN UNDERWOOD, Effie's classmate, is more interested in the dark and...

Available Editions

EDITION Hardcover
ISBN 9781782119302
PRICE £12.99 (GBP)

Average rating from 11 members


Featured Reviews

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.

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(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.

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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!

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