Quick Pick book review - The Chosen Ones, by Veronica Roth (Chosen Ones #1)

• Opening lines: excerpt from Comedian Jessica Krys's standup routine, Laugh Factory, Chicago, March 20, 2011
  
  I've got a question for you: How the fuck did we end up with the name "Dark One" anyway? This guy shows up out of nowhere in a cloud of fucking smoke or whatever, literally rips people limb from limb—apparently using only the power of his mind—recruits an army of minions, levels whole cities, brings about a degree of destruction heretofore unknown to humankind ... and "Dark One" is the best we can do? We might as well have named him after the creepy guy in your building who looks at you a couple seconds too long int he elevator. You know, the one with the really moist, soft hands? Tim. His name is Tim.
  
  Personally I would have gone with something like "Portent of Doom in the Form of a Man" or "Terrifying Fucking Killing Machine" but unfortunately, nobody asked me.
• Reason I picked up the book: I'm a huge Veronica Roth fan (she's the author of the Divergent series).
• And what's this book about?
Fifteen years ago, five ordinary teenagers were singled out by a prophecy to take down an impossibly powerful entity wreaking havoc across North America. He was known as the Dark One, and his weapon of choice—catastrophic events known as Drains—leveled cities and claimed thousands of lives. Chosen Ones, as the teens were known, gave everything they had to defeat him.

After the Dark One fell, the world went back to normal . . . for everyone but them. After all, what do you do when you’re the most famous people on Earth, your only education was in magical destruction, and your purpose in life is now fulfilled?

Of the five, Sloane has had the hardest time adjusting. Everyone else blames the PTSD—and her huge attitude problem—but really, she’s hiding secrets from them . . . secrets that keep her tied to the past and alienate her from the only four people in the world who understand her.

On the tenth anniversary of the Dark One’s defeat, something unthinkable happens: one of the Chosen Ones dies. When the others gather for the funeral, they discover the Dark One’s ultimate goal was much bigger than they, the government, or even prophecy could have foretold—bigger than the world itself.

And this time, fighting back might take more than Sloane has to give.
• Recommended for: Anyone who enjoys fantasy books, or who enjoyed the Harry Potter books.
• Favorite paragraph: Magic was not a weapon or even an amoral source of energy — it was an infection. Wherever it was, people died, places turned rotten, and the order of things was disrupted, sometimes irreparably. But there was no other weapon against the magic ARIS had developed than magic itself. 
• Something to know: There were a LOT of similarities to the Harry Potter series here. It's almost as if this book was following the HP kids like 10 years after they defeated Voldemort (aka "The Dark One," here). Also, this is the first in a series; there's no release date yet for the second book, though.
• What I would have changed: Can't think of anything right now that I would have changed.
• Overall rating: 3.5 stars out of 5.
• Where can I find this book? Click here to purchase on Amazon.