THE CHOSEN ONE by Echo Brown is an absolute must-read! I started and finished it in one sitting. Brown really delves deep into the Black experience in higher education in the U.S., and the challenges presented within such an experience.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for giving me a free eARC of this book to read in exchange for my review!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for giving me access to the advanced copy of this book to read.

I am unable to give a proper review as I ended up not finishing The Chosen One after a few chapters in. I could not get into the story. I am big on authors connecting us to at least one character emotionally in the beginning, but I wasn't. It did not draw me in with the writing style either, so I ended up putting it down to start on a different ARC I received from NetGalley. I do not think I am the chosen audience for this and hope that those who are find and read this book! I will still recommend it to my students who I believe could find comfort in this story.

Before getting into this review, I just want to preface this and say that The Chosen One was not a bad book by any means, and just because there were parts that made the book less enjoyable for me, I don’t want this to keep anyone from reading it, because the conversations had in this book are really important, especially when talking about racism, mental illness, sexual assault, and financial inequality. The story was also really interesting, and I especially liked it in the beginning, but as the book went on, I became a little confused, and was constantly jarred out of the book trying to figure out which scene I was reading, which part was magic, and what was actually real.
One of the main things that drew me to this book was the use of magical realism to explain Echo Brown’s time in college and work through her trauma, but unfortunately, those were the parts that took me out of the book the most. None of it was ever fully explained, and while it became a little clearer what the meaning of the Chosen Ones and the Keepers were in the end, I still didn’t understand the Star Wars references or what their relevance to the magical realism was. I do think the concept of using magical realism as a way for Echo to process her trauma was really neat; I just feel it could have been executed better.
Still, Echo was a fantastic protagonist to read about. Despite all of the odds stacked against her, she was determined to prove herself to her family, her friends, and to the world. Even so, she also realized just how much she craved approval from others, and how much people’s spiteful opinions were really getting to her. Watching her work through these internal conflicts was one of my favorite parts of the story. Since The Chosen One was also technically a memoir, I could really see where the author’s personal experiences played into the narrative. If this book had taken more of a fictional memoir approach and left out the magical realism, I think I would’ve enjoyed it a lot more, because the scenes without the confusing magic parts were well done and developed, but with the inclusion of both, it became a little jarring and stilted.
Even so, I’m not disappointed I read this one. As I said before, there were some really important discussions and topics covered in this book, and for that reason alone, I will recommend this book to anyone interested.

After absolutely loving Black Girl Unlimited in 2020, I was so excited to pick up Echo Brown’s sophomore novel, which is in many ways a sequel to her first. However, the way magic realism was used here just didn’t work for me; the “normal” memoir parts of this were easily a 4/5 but the “chosen one” narrative was jarring, confusing, and didn’t integrate well with the text as a whole. There were also multiple romantic subplots/love interests and it felt like it took away from the story - obviously this is based on the author’s real life and that is how life works sometimes, but in a novel it felt unnecessary and like it detracted from the message of the story. This felt like two books were smashed together and I liked one and hated the other. This had so many powerful, important things to say, but I just didn’t enjoy the bizarre-ness of how it was written.

It's really hard for me to only give this book three stars, because I think the message in the book is so important, but the speculative element just did not work for me. I found it hard to follow, and it felt like nothing was given as much attention as it needed. I also found some of the references made really bizarre. The book is set at the turn of the millennium which is great, but the references used to provide time period context were very niche and unlikely to be known by todays teenagers.

Wow! This was such a unique idea.. I loved the emphasis on anxiety for getting into a good college as a POC, I know I can relate to that. As well as the authors' earlier book, the writing was funny and tackled important topics!

4.5 stars :)

This is a fabulous novel, a combination of slight memoir with speculative elements and a sharp indictment of predominantly white institutions and the realities of institutionalized racism, microaggressions, and macroaggressions.

THE CHOSEN ONE is written by a recent Dartmouth college graduate, Echo Brown, and builds upon her experiences there. The fictional account details how out of place she felt on a campus filled with rich, white students. After being hypnotized, the main character begins to see portals and openings everywhere and starts questioning her own sanity. For our privileged students this would likely be a difficult, although important, read that offers new perspective.

For those interested in learning more about organizations which work with first generation college students, be sure to inquire about programs sponsored at individual colleges and universities and also start by looking into these (some national, some local) which work with multiple schools:
Posse Foundation
QuestBridge
OneGoal founded in Chicago
Link Unlimited with over 50 years of working with economically disadvantaged African American high school students in the Chicago area, working towards graduation and college acceptance.
As research has repeatedly shown, more knowledge and support lead to greater success for first generation students.

Echo Brown has won a number of awards for her writing, including Black Girl Unlimited which was named a William C. Morris Award Finalist, a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, a New York Public Library Best Book of the Year. THE CHOSEN ONE received starred reviews from Booklist ("powerful and vulnerable") and Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books.

Sadly I really didn't enjoy this book as much as I wanted to. I found it difficult to follow and at times outright bizarre. It didn't seem to be sure of what it was trying to be, jumping around from subjects and tenses with a lack of focus.

3 Stars

When I first read the premise behind, The Chosen One, I just knew that I had to read this book. So when I saw TBR Tours and Beyond post a Blog Tour for this book, I signed up immediately! The Chosen One is a personal narrative about our author Echo Brown with elements of magical realism. It's about a black girl's journey on a college campus surrounded by a mainly white population.

We first meet Echo, who starts her first year at Dartmouth College. As she begins her college journey, she experiences struggles with her classes and has many doubts about whether she truly belongs. For most of her life, she was made to feel by others that she wasn't good enough and that she would never make it to college. We see her struggle with finding her place on campus while dealing with strange visions and images popping up out of nowhere.

I thoroughly enjoyed having Echo as our main character. We can see the Black College experience through her eyes and see the struggles she endured to get where she is now. Not only does she have to deal with catching up after not being provided the resources before college, but She also starts having visions and seeing strange things appear in her sightline.

Since I heavily read fantasy, I have had my fair share of magic realism. I have never seen magic realism used in contemporary to tell the author's narrative. This concept was very intriguing and one of the main reasons I was so interested in picking this up.

While I enjoy the concept, it could have better execution. When trying to understand who was The Chosen Ones, and what their purpose was, I found it a bit confusing and difficult to understand. There were many times that I had to re-read lines to understand what was happening in the story. I get what the author was going for, trying to use magical realism as a way for Echo to deal with the trauma that she experienced before she started at Dartmouth.

As I progress through the story though, it became easier to understand what was exactly happening between The Chosen Ones and Keepers. The issues with magical realism started to iron themselves out and improve significantly.

The pacing stayed at a medium speed, but some moments felt as if they went by too quickly. This would typically occur during significant moments, pivotal to the story, which was unfortunate. Having these moments at slower pacing gives the reader more depth to Echo's character arc.

Overall, this was a fun and engaging read, bringing to light the black experience in education while adding dashes of magical realism into the story. Even though some areas didn't work for me, I still enjoyed reading The Chosen One.

*Content Warnings*: Racism, discouraging teachers, PTSD, EMDR, religion, underage alcohol consumption, alcoholism mentioned, one HP reference, drugs abuse, self esteem issues, rape mentioned, sexual harassment, generational trauma, slavery mentioned, child molestation, near death drowning experience, physical abuse mentioned, hallucinations, schizophrenia mentioned

There are certain battles that a people face that other’s cannot even see, experience or understand, especially people who hold more privilege and high social standing. Which compels us to think whether it is our fault or our sins that made us born as “less privileged” person? Would our life had been different if born in another household or community? Is it our fault that bad things happen to us? This is what The Chosen One by Echo Brown discusses in general. You are looking for a book talking about racism, personal journey, sexual harassment, mental health? This is the book for you, especially if you seek a phenomenal story arc along with equally spectacular character development.

I rarely make notes while reading, mainly because it seems to take up a lot of time. This time? I was eager and moved to make notes and highlight quotes.

While this isn’t the most spectacular quote out of everything in the book, I honestly loved it. The book discusses really important things – family, friendships, academic and in general racism, police brutality, poverty, mental health and illness, therapy, sexual harassment and r*pe, gambling, self love and healing. It seems a lot to encompass in one book, but each aspect gives the readers a path to understanding and reflect about it. The best thing about this book was Echo’s personal growth and development – from her past and her negative feelings towards herself.

The writing itself was so engaging! The book is part memoir and part magical realism so titbits of physics, portals was very interesting. I guess the way book led us through the character’s exploration of the consequences of trauma was what touched me a lot. It touched upon how important it is for us to connect with nature, which is also one of the healing devices. Vulnerability is something that people usually don’t show and Echo’s journey from being a person completely closed off to a person who was comfortable in her skin, being and vulnerability is honestly what the book is about. While it might not be centered around romantic love, it explores so many definitions of love and experiences which is truly magical. Self love is honestly one of the most underrated love out there ❤

I cannot wait to read other works of the author!!

This book is emotionally strong and filled with so much depth, I mean lot many things moved me. The way world is portrayed and with a magical realism, astral form this story taught me lot of things.

Echo takes us through self discovery with such an intense emotional ride for she unsure of the path she is on. She takes us through her horrors, her doubts, fears and how she overcomes all that with her calling by accepting it and turning out a character that gives us important life lessons. She realises asking for help doesn't show weakness.

Chapter 21 and 26, they were so powerful to have an impact I didn't expect, infact this book was totally unexpected in a good way.

The author brings out strong and important topics of racism, abuse, real life struggles, self love and how we accept and let go of things. This was so realistic, being fast paced and also has major of religious teachings but at times was confusing for me. This has the author Echo Brown's narrative as well making it a bit biographic.

I received an eARC of this book from TBR and Beyond Tours and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Do visit their website to follow the tour.

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: The Chosen One

Author: Echo Brown

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 3/5

Diversity: Black female main character, Black side characters

Recommended For...: young adult readers, contemporary, magical realism/realistic fiction

Publication Date: January 4, 2022

Genre: YA Contemporary

Recommended Age: 17+ (religion, language, racism, underage alcohol consumption, alcoholism mentioned, PTSD, HP reference, drugs mentioned, self esteem issues, rape mentioned, sexual content, generational trauma, slavery mentioned, child molestation, near death drowning experience)

Explanation of CWs: Religion is heavily present in the book. There is some cursing in the book. There is racism shown in the book. There is underage alcohol consumption shown and alcoholism mentioned. PTSD is shown in the book. There is one HP reference. Drugs are mentioned. There are self esteem issues shown and lots of generational trauma. Slavery is mentioned as apart of the generational trauma. There is some sexual content and rape is mentioned, as well as child molestation. There is also a near death drowning experience shown.

Publisher: Christy Ottaviano Books

Pages: 336

Synopsis: There are many watchers and they are always white. That’s the first thing Echo notices as she settles into Dartmouth College. Despite graduating high school in Cleveland as valedictorian, Echo immediately struggles to keep up in demanding classes. Dartmouth made many promises it couldn't keep. The campus is not a rainbow-colored utopia where education lifts every voice. Nor is it a paradise of ideas, an incubator of inclusivity, or even an exciting dating scene. But it might be a portal to different dimensions of time and space—only accessible if Echo accepts her calling as a Chosen One and takes charge of her future by healing her past. This remarkable challenge demands vulnerability, humility, and the conviction to ask for help without sacrificing self-worth.

In mesmerizing personal narrative and magical realism, Echo Brown confronts mental illness, grief, racism, love, friendship, ambition, self-worth, and belonging as they steer the fates of first-generation college students on Dartmouth’s campus. The Chosen One is an unforgettable coming-of-age story that bravely unpacks the double-edged college transition—as both catalyst for old wounds and a fresh start.

Review: For the most part this was a good book. The book was humanizing and so real, especially since it was somewhat a personal narrative from the author. The book had good world building and it was a very realistic look at what college looks like, especially to first generation students. The book normalized periods as well, which I thought was a great plus to it.

However, the book is very fast paced and it speeds through a bunch of the issues that could have made the book a bit more interesting. The book is confusing and it’s really easy to get lost in it. The book also leans a lot on religion. The book also lacks in character development and by the end I still felt like I didn’t know who Echo was. I also feel like this is the type of book you need to read the synopsis to in order to figure out what’s going on in the read, which I don’t like. Finally, the book contains an HP reference in a fairly positive light, which I found very unfortunate given the author of the HP series and her hate against multiple people.

Verdict: It’s good, just some issues that I think could be ironed out.

My Rating: 3 Stars

The Chosen One is a YA Contemporary standalone highlighting a Black girl's first-year college journey with a healthy dose of humor and magic realism.

Here's what you can expect from this book-
▪︎a very intriguing and funny semi-biographical story
▪︎magic realism as a tool to treat trauma
▪︎ to know what it means to be young, black first-generation college student
▪︎ self-love as the key to healing not only personal wounds, but ancestral ones too.
▪︎ things that'll make you question what's real and what's not.

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Thanks for the eARC!

This is my first DNF on NetGalley. Reading galleys is a privilege, so I typically stick with a book until the end. However, I found The Chosen One depressing, peopled by characters that, to me, too often felt like caricatures caught in a confusing plot. Just not for me.

CW: alcoholism, drug abuse, childhood sexual abuse, sexual abuse, rape, physical abuse, academic racism, poverty, hallucinations, schizophrenia, generational trauma (slavery)
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I've sat for maybe 30 minutes trying to work out how I feel after reading The Chosen One.

My main feeling is confusion but I'm not POC nor have I attended an Ivy League school - I'm in the UK and it is very clear there is a massive difference in higher education in the UK and US. I do truly wonder how that particular experience will transfer in understanding to readers outside America. There is also anger at how Echo's life experiences and expectations had left her drowning initially rather than flourishing. The Chosen One is a book that makes you think and feel so much at once that it's quite overwhelming.

Echo, along with her fellow Black students bond over being in the minority at Dartmouth but her fragility shows so often that when she falters, Echo is withdrawn and her experiences of stigmatism, being stereotyped and dismissed make her truly feel that she alone shouldn't be at the school. There are also examples of where the ignorance and privilege from the majority of students Echo encounters throw a dark shadow over the situation and Echo is reminded albeit inadvertently that she has fought for something that those around her have accepted as predetermined from birth.

The Chosen One is a story of overcoming adversities, both physical and emotional ones, and Echo along with her friends have already fought so much before even stepping into Dartmouth. I need to be clear again that there are mentions of situations that will be triggering from people and could cause extreme upset so please pay attention to the warnings I've placed at the beginning of my review.

The book is placed in the 14-17 years but I think it's better for the older reader, it would be perfect in a book club for teenagers to open discussions and understanding over many of the aspects within

I really enjoyed this book as I did Echo's first book! There were so many pearls of wisdom and I loved the magical aspects to it. As a child of 2 parents who either didn't attend college or complete college, it meant a lot to me to read some of my experiences on the page. My best friend also went to Dartmouth and it made it feel even more real to me. I can't wait to get a copy for my Goddaughter who will be going to College next year!

I really wanted to like this. The whole keeper/chosen plot line was confusing, and over half the time I couldn't follow what I was reading. I wanted to DNF this book on multiple accounts, but I wanted to give it a fair change by finishing it. This book wasn’t for me unfortunately.