The Selection, Kiera Cass

When we got the letter in the post, my mother was ecstatic. She had already decided that all our problems were solved, gone forever. The big hitch in her brilliant plan was me. I didn't think I was a particularly disobedient daughter, but this was where I drew the line.  I didn't want to be royalty. And I didn't want to be a One. I didn't even want to try.

"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."

The Selection is really a pretty typical science fiction book. Some have compared it to The Hunger Games, but I don't think they're that alike. This one is definitely not as intense. I wouldn't say The Selection was a really gripping book like The Hunger Games, but I did find it entertaining. In the world that Kiera Cass has created, there are castes. The royal families are Ones, Twos and Threes are pretty well off, Fours sort of. America Singer (what a name) is a Five. Her family are artists. They aren't as bad off as Sixes (Aspen is a Six) or Sevens or Eights, but they don't have steady work all year round. So I can definitely see why America's mom really wants her to enter. The problem with this kind of book is that you know that America is going to stay in the palace, or else where would the plot be? After this book, there are four girls left, so there will be a second one. I wonder if Kiera Cass is going to try and stretch it out to three books.

The love triangle. That's the really typical part. America is caught between these two men, each very different. Prince Maxon is not as stiff and formal as she believed him to be; throughout her time at the castle, she really gets to know him better, and he's a fairly normal guy (despite the fact that he's a prince.) And Aspen? Well, he's always had a life of hardship, and being the oldest of seven kids, is used to giving up food for his siblings. And he's prideful. He wants to provide for America, but he can't, really.

Overall The Selection was an enjoyable and light read that should take you just a few hours. I look forward to reading the sequel. You can read Becky's review of it here.

Read The Selection:

• if you like (light) science fiction
• if you are looking for a quick and easy (but enjoyable) read
• if you like books with love triangles

327 pages.

Very Good! I would recommend this book!