Center for Teaching & Learning

Chosen is the first book of a series called The Lost Books where Johnis, a young boy, is one of the four chosen to lead the Forest Guard, an army that protects the forest from the Horde, led ultimately by Tomas Hunter.  In the "Other World" of Dekker’s Chosen, you must bathe in Elyon’s water (given to the Forest Dwellers to ward off evil) every day or you get the disease called Teeleh’s teeth. With the disease, you transform into a Scab, which is a Horde member that was once human. A Scab’s skin peels and turns against the Forest and to the Dark One.
The four who are chosen don’t realize that they need to find six books before the Dark One does in order to save the world from darkness.  Now, Johnis, Billos, Darsal, and Silvie embark on a journey full of loyalty and betrayal, truth and lies, and good and evil to save Elyon and both Worlds and destroy evil.
Readers who enjoy adventure or fantasy books will enjoy this one. This book cannot be compared with any other title because it mixes in tons of genres, topics, and ideas into one book, making it quick and unpredictable. To name some, there is a mix of Harry Potter with some Lord of the Rings and Avi’s Wolf Rider suspense, Anthony Horowitz’s Alex Rider action, and even some Garth Nix’s futuristic dystopia from Shade’s Children.  It is a feat seen in very few books and only from the most talented authors. I have only read two other books like this: Airborn by Kenneth Opel, and Unwind by Neal Shusterman.  I highly recommend this book. It is a must read!
Graydon
Publisher:  Thomas Nelson, 288 pages