Title: The Selection
Author: Kiera Cass
Published: April 2012
Published By: HarperTeen
Format Read: Hardcover
Genre: YA Lit, Dystopian, Romance
Date Read: April 29 2015
Rating: 5/5
Set in the fictional country of Illea, Kiera Cass’s The
Selection is being compared to the reality television show The Bachelor, but
with a royal twist, in a dystopian world. In a country that has its population
divided up into numbers, called castes our main character America Singer, a
musician is considered a 5. Although her family has had their struggles, she is
content with her life and eager to make a future for herself and beau Aspen
despite the fact that he is from a lower (more poor) caste than she is from. However
when it is announced that the Prince is looking to marry, the opportunity is
open for all girls of a certain age to join the competition of The Selection.
Apsen insists that America sign up in hopes for a better life for her and her
family and in turn breaks up with her once she has been chosen to represent
their hometown. America’s life is turned upside down as she makes the move,
along with 34 other girls to the palace. Very much broken hearted and unsure of
her future she and Prince Maxon build a friendship together as the number of
Selected get smaller.
I have been hearing so much hype about this series, since it
was first released and I was intrigued by the idea of a royal Bachelor
competition. However once I learned that it was also set in a dystopian time
period I was a bit put off. The reason for this is because that type of genre
really doesn’t interest me. When The Selection was picked for April’s book club
pick in one of the GoodReads groups I belong to, my curiosity got the better of
me. In a bid to participate more in discussions I picked up a copy from my
local library. However I must say that I was very leery going into the story
because I didn’t think I would like it.
Now after just finishing the final page, I am so thankful
that I took the opportunity to give this book a shot. Why, you ask? Because I
loved it! I just couldn’t put this book down. Going in with such low
expectations, I didn’t expect to love it so much.
Set in a dystopian time period, I was worried that there
would be more of a science fiction aspect to the story, with perhaps aliens or
robots. But there wasn’t. I was surprised that I found myself interested in
what America’s world looked like. Yet at the same time I think that it was good
the author didn’t go too far into detail on this because it might have put me
off from enjoying the rest of the story.
As a teenager I was a big fan of Meg Cabot’s Princess
Diaries Series, so I believe this is one of the reasons why I enjoyed The
Selection so much. It took an ordinary young woman and gave her a glimpse of
royalty. The descriptions of the palace and its gardens were
beautiful, despite the ruins throughout the country. Reading of
the makeovers the girls received and their glamorous wardrobe is a dream for many.
I couldn’t help but get sucked in. America’s love triangle between Prince Maxon
and Aspen was interesting and the rebel attacks kept the story exciting.
I had read (or watched) reviews of The Selection where other
bloggers found America to be extremely annoying, but I didn’t find her to be so
bad. Sure she forgot herself and wasn’t as respectful of the Prince as she
could have been, but I think she was just typical for her age.
I would recommend this book to those who enjoy chick-lit for
young adults. For those who may not be interested in the dystopian genre, I’d
say for them to give it a shot. I did and I wasn’t disappointed. I’ve very much
looking forward to reading the next books in this series.
