Chapter by Chapter

The Candidates is one of the novels that I have been dying to read for such a long time that when I finally got the chance to read it I had been expecting so much. And already, I am happy to tell you all that the novel gave me everything I wanted and more! I will admit that because of the blurb that tells you only a brief bit of information I was slightly taking a shot in the dark, but after starting the fast paced prologue, I knew that The Candidates and I would be best friends (see what I did there?). Anyhow, the novel is based around the life of the main character, Dancia Lewis, an ordinary girl with extraordinary abilities, who is about to start her freshman year of high school. But! Dancia ends up finding herself at the elite Delcroix Academy, a boarding school for students that are geniuses and will benefit the world in the future. The only issue with Dancia going there is that she isn’t as extraordinary as a genius (which is the truth), what Dancia can do is much better. Dancia has an “ability” that only occurs in moments on great danger. That alone had me transfixed. Secondly, the novel constantly had me generating questions: Why is Jack so paranoid? Are the big gates that protect Delcroix Academy really meant to “Keep the bad guys out? Or keep us in?” (A good quote said by Jack during the novel and becomes a recurring sentence). Are the students at Delcroix being monitored 24/7? Will Dancia figure out that she might not be the only superhumanly gifted student at the school? I’m not giving you guys the answers *winky face*.Thirdly, I loved the characters. From Dancia’s best friends: Esther and Hennie, to the two leading males in the novel: Jack and Cam. I loved them all for many reasons: One of them including the fact that the characters were all in an age group similar to my own and so I found the situations that the characters were going through very believable (i.e. First kisses, dating, high school, homework, being watched because you may be a danger to society, etc.). Not to mention the fact that there is also a bit of a love triangle between Dancia, Jack and Cameron. I personally found Jack irresistible. He’s the bad boy, unafraid to bend the rules and has a tragic life story that built him into a strong character. And he’s a bit obsessed in love with Dancia. Cameron is basically the exact opposite of everything that Jack is. He’s the school golden boy and everything he does seems unquestionable… but are his actions really so innocent?Fans of The Darkest Powers Trilogy and Dark Visions will surely enjoy The Candidates or even somebody who just wants a bit of sci-fi, mystery and romance all fit into one book. You can take my word for it *thumbs up*