writehollydavis
Written on Nov 15, 2020
The Selection meets The 5th Wave in this heart-racing debut duology about a girl competing for a spot on a mysterious mission to the outer reaches of space.
THE RULES ARE SIMPLE: You must be gifted. You must be younger than twenty-five. You must be willing to accept the dangers that you will face if you win.
Eighteen-year-old Cassandra Gupta’s entire life has been leading up to this—the opportunity to travel to space. But to secure a spot on this classified mission, she must first compete against the best and brightest people on the planet. People who are as determined as she is to win a place on a journey to the farthest reaches of the universe.
Cassie is ready for the toll that the competition will take; the rigorous mental and physical tests designed to push her to the brink of her endurance. But nothing could have prepared her for the bonds she would form with the very people she hopes to beat. Or that with each passing day it would be more and more difficult to ignore the feeling that the true objective of the mission is being kept from her.
As the days until the launch tick down and the stakes rise higher than ever before, only one thing is clear to Cassie: she’ll never back down...even if it costs her everything.
- ISBN13 9780062479860
- Publish Date 10 October 2017
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country US
- Publisher HarperCollins Publishers
- Imprint Collins
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 384
- Language English
Reviews
Nessa Luna
Written on Apr 6, 2019
shannonmiz
Written on Aug 5, 2017
4.5*
This was so close to being a 5-star from me, and frankly, I could have used one. But alas. It was still incredibly strong and I am giddy excited for the sequel, so that's good news.
Most of the book is about the competition that Cassie must compete in in order to go to space. Yes, I suppose this had the potential to be... not exciting? But no no, it was exciting! So much so! The author develops the plot and characters so well that it's impossible to not be on the edge of your seat while reading. Because of the secretive nature of the story, there is always new information and twists coming into play. The cast of characters is quite diverse, too, which is great! There's also some open discussion about sexuality, and it is a learning experience for the main character.
Speaking of, Cassie goes through a lot of growth during the book. And she's by no means a perfect character at the start. She can be judgy and distant, and it's nice that while she's incredibly smart and driven, she also has flaws. Not only does Cassie grow, but we see other characters growing and changing a lot too.
Even though this first installment is light on the actual space adventuring, there was plenty of mention of space related stuff as well as interesting scientific technology and such. So if you're here for the sci-fi aspects, it is there! The author even included some little nuggets about our current knowledge of space travel!
My one issue with this book? The end. It was... different. I don't even know what else to say because obviously it'd be a big old spoiler. It was one of the most jarring endings I have read, and I still can't quite decide on how I felt about it. I really don't think I'll be able to form an opinion until I see where the next book goes.
Will I read the Sequel? Oh hell yes. May I have it now, please and thank you?
Bottom Line: This was a huge win for me, and would have been five stars if not for my iffy feelings about the ending. If you like sci-fi, grab this book. Hell, even if you don't, this is a good one to start with.
*Copy provided for review
Ashley
Written on Jun 1, 2017
- - A classified space mission.
- - Young adults in training/competition for said mission.
- - Diverse characters that really stood out from each other. This was one of the big highlights of the book.
On the other hand, it wasn’t a perfect book. For starters, there was A LOT of the training/testing part—perhaps a tad too much. It’s pretty much the whole book. The whole story is building up to one thing that doesn’t happen until the last few pages. So it’s a lot of waiting.
Also, the ending was oddly a let-down for me. There was a big reveal/cliffhanger, but it was just pure words. There was no intense action if you know what I mean. I think it was just missing an X factor to bump it from “good” to “amazing”.