THE CHOSEN ONE

A first-generation college student finds her footing and her power in a strange new world.

Echo Brown has never lived in a place so White, so wealthy, or so foreign. The 19-year-old first-year college student cannot seem to find her place at Dartmouth. Back home in Cleveland, everyone was the same: Black and working class like her and looking for a better life. She and new Black college friends Earnell and Kelicia do their best to support one another in an alien environment. They understand each other’s struggles and the immense pressure from everyone back home to succeed. After her White Christian crush, Bryce, invites her to attend a hypnotist’s show and she is brought on stage, Echo begins to experience the world differently. Portals appear before her, rooms rearrange themselves, demolished buildings are suddenly standing—and no one else notices. Echo worries that the stress of campus life is chipping away at her sanity. The line between reality and her visions continues to blur, Echo’s grades start slipping, and she stands to lose everything she’s worked for. Her journey is long and winding, but eventually she comes to a place of peace. The poetic and supernatural elements of the novel muddy the storytelling at times, and it teeters between suspense and confusion. However, Echo herself is a well-defined character.

A meandering odyssey of hope.