The Selection by Kiera Cass
Released: April, 20, 2012
Publisher: Harper Teen
Pages: 327
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by: Carey
Synopsis: 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.
Synopsis: 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.
Review:
I had no idea what to expect from this book. It's set in the future, I wouldn't really say post-apocalyptic, but definitely far enough into the future to the point that there had been four World Wars, and The United States had been taken over by China, and (what I think is Russia) turned into a new country, Illéa. (So dystopian). There's a caste system set up in Illéa, and America, the main character, is a five, which is three from the bottom. She's a singer/musician, and her family doesn't have a lot of money. So when the Selection comes up, her parents and current boyfriend Aspen bribe her to enter.
And then, she gets in. (That reminded me of the part in Tron: Legacy when Flynn goes into The Grid and they say pretty much those exact words, hehe, nerd alert.)
So when she gets to the palace, I have no idea what too expect. I didn't see almost anything coming, so I was always on my toes and always surprised when something happened. Not many authors can do that, so props to you, Kiera Cass!
So anyways, back to the review. I absolutely have no complaints whatsoever. Everything was perfect: the characters, setting, description, length, writing style, cover, minor characters... just everything.
Cass's writing style is different than most authors I read. It's in first person but it's in past tense. She uses said instead of say, pretty much, and most authors I read use say. It was a nice twist, and I thought I was going to not like it, but I didn't even notice after the first ten pages or so.
The characters were all so great. America is so lovely and confident (for the most part) and she's talented (not only has she mastered singing and three instruments, but she's fluent in English, French, and Spanish), and she has red hair. With so fits the fact that her name is America (which is because she was a fighter when her mother was pregnant with her). Aspen seems really nice and so in love with America, until he decides to break up with her because he was too proud to let her pay for dinner.And I couldn't believe that he showed up in the palace as an officer! (Plot twist.) Her mother is okay, she just act like she wants to live her life through America. Marlee seems so sweet and I want to be her best friend, and the entire time I read about her, I kept thinking of Rapunzel from Tangled for some reason. Celeste can just shove it, and I can't believe she's going through to the Elite. And even though I haven't read The Elite yet, I'm going to guess that it'll be Celeste and America going into the final two? If it goes into the final two. I guess we'll find out?
And Prince Maxon. Oh. My. God. I just can't with this guy. I wish he were real. I instantly fell in love with the prince myself, and how much he truly cared about the country he would eventually be leading all on his own. He's so sincere and lovely and strong apparently and he cares so much about America, you can obviously tell. It's just so great.
The entire thing is so great, honestly. When you finish this one, it makes you want to go read the second novel in the trilogy, The Elite, immediately. Luckily for me I actually saw The Elite by itself first and bought it, and then bought The Selection. I just hate that now I have to wait until May 2014 for The One. This will be a fun wait...
Okay, so this is perfect everyone go read this if you haven't already, thank you.
I had no idea what to expect from this book. It's set in the future, I wouldn't really say post-apocalyptic, but definitely far enough into the future to the point that there had been four World Wars, and The United States had been taken over by China, and (what I think is Russia) turned into a new country, Illéa. (So dystopian). There's a caste system set up in Illéa, and America, the main character, is a five, which is three from the bottom. She's a singer/musician, and her family doesn't have a lot of money. So when the Selection comes up, her parents and current boyfriend Aspen bribe her to enter.
And then, she gets in. (That reminded me of the part in Tron: Legacy when Flynn goes into The Grid and they say pretty much those exact words, hehe, nerd alert.)
So when she gets to the palace, I have no idea what too expect. I didn't see almost anything coming, so I was always on my toes and always surprised when something happened. Not many authors can do that, so props to you, Kiera Cass!
So anyways, back to the review. I absolutely have no complaints whatsoever. Everything was perfect: the characters, setting, description, length, writing style, cover, minor characters... just everything.
Cass's writing style is different than most authors I read. It's in first person but it's in past tense. She uses said instead of say, pretty much, and most authors I read use say. It was a nice twist, and I thought I was going to not like it, but I didn't even notice after the first ten pages or so.
The characters were all so great. America is so lovely and confident (for the most part) and she's talented (not only has she mastered singing and three instruments, but she's fluent in English, French, and Spanish), and she has red hair. With so fits the fact that her name is America (which is because she was a fighter when her mother was pregnant with her). Aspen seems really nice and so in love with America, until he decides to break up with her because he was too proud to let her pay for dinner.And I couldn't believe that he showed up in the palace as an officer! (Plot twist.) Her mother is okay, she just act like she wants to live her life through America. Marlee seems so sweet and I want to be her best friend, and the entire time I read about her, I kept thinking of Rapunzel from Tangled for some reason. Celeste can just shove it, and I can't believe she's going through to the Elite. And even though I haven't read The Elite yet, I'm going to guess that it'll be Celeste and America going into the final two? If it goes into the final two. I guess we'll find out?
And Prince Maxon. Oh. My. God. I just can't with this guy. I wish he were real. I instantly fell in love with the prince myself, and how much he truly cared about the country he would eventually be leading all on his own. He's so sincere and lovely and strong apparently and he cares so much about America, you can obviously tell. It's just so great.
The entire thing is so great, honestly. When you finish this one, it makes you want to go read the second novel in the trilogy, The Elite, immediately. Luckily for me I actually saw The Elite by itself first and bought it, and then bought The Selection. I just hate that now I have to wait until May 2014 for The One. This will be a fun wait...
Okay, so this is perfect everyone go read this if you haven't already, thank you.
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