Title: The Selection
Series: The Selections bk 1
Author: Kiera Cass
Genre: Young Adult/New Adult/Dystopia
For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in a palace and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon.
But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn’t want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.
Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she’s made for herself–and realizes that the life she’s always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.
Thoughts: My local book club picked this book to read for the month of January and I have to tell you all that I’m so glad they did, otherwise I’d never have discovered this amazing series. I’m going to guess that the rest of the series is as good as this book.
It took me a bit to get into the book, not because of the writing or the story line, more because I had so much going on. When I was finally able to sit down and read it, I couldn’t stop.
From the minute America showed up on the page I liked her. Here was an eighteen year old (I’m guessing at her age because I don’t remember it being given) who knows who she is and what she wants. What she wants is to sing, play her instruments and love Aspen.
There is only one kink, ok two kinks in her plans. The fact that in their caste system, she ranks higher than Aspen, making the possibility of her being allowed to marry him slim to non-existent. The second kink is her mom. Her mom has goals and aspirations for her, that aren’t what America wants.
When the letter comes both Aspen and her mom tell her to put her name in. This sets a course of action that will forever change America’s future.
When America gets to the palace and starts on her journey she has zero desire to have anything to do with the selection process. When a chance encounter puts her in the path of the prince before she’s supposed to meet him, her life once again shifts.
From the time that America gets to the palace till the end of the book, we get to see America grow and become a young woman that has the potential to change the world.
These are the kind of YA/NA books that I enjoy, ones where we get to see the heroine grow and come into her skin. The choices that America makes are ones that put her in the direct path of the prince more than any of the other girls.
When I closed this book I had to know what happens next, and because I’m coming late to this series (books 1-3 are already out) I cheated and found a review that gives the entire plot away so I’d know how it all ends. While I know how it ends I can’t wait to read the next book in this series to see it all happen for myself.
While this book is classified as a YA, it feels to me more like a NA only because objective of the series is for the prince to find a wife.
Grade A
