The Selection

Author: Kiera Cass

Series: Selection, Book 1

Rating: 4 1/2 Awesome!

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.

Okay so this book is awesome. 10 reasons why:

10. It takes place in the future.

Yeah, these books are popular now. That started with The Hunger Games and hasn't ended yet so far. But this is cool. It gives history of the past. Plus, it's fantastic about not letting you be confused. And I get confused easily, so that says something.

9. It has a prince.

I'm a sap. I like princesses and castles (I still watch Sleeping Beauty and The Little Mermaid and Cinderella.) This prince is cool. His introduction to the story is captivating and he isn't so bad himself. :) Very polite, but not... Stiff upper lip kind. If that makes sense.

8. The main character isn't a snobby girl who complains a lot.

Actually, she's not snobby at all. A bit poor, really. But not the whole I'm-so-poor-feel-bad-for-me. Because there are girls like that. And they are annoying. But America isn't one of them, so don't fret! :)

7. It has the Singer family in it.

Is it just me, or do stories that have the person's family in it make it more believable? Just me? Well, America has her family in the story. She has an older sister and a brother, and an adorable little sister. I'm a sucker for sweet little sisters. They have jobs and it's all very believable. To me, at least.

6. Aspen at the beginning.

At the beginning, he does some really sweet things. Then he makes me angry. Granted, it is sort of easy to make me angry, but still. 

5. The plot line. And cover.

35 girls all vying for one Prince's affections. A bit Bachelor-ish, right? Well, all the girls are well compensated for their time. There's sabotage, and crying, and eliminations and parties. That really does sound like the Bachelor, doesn't it? Plus, that's just a gorgeous cover.

4. Character development.

It's important to me for a character to learn something. About themselves hopefully. America does, and I think she learns a lot. Self sacrifice mainly. But she also learns maybe this competition wasn't the worst thing in the world for her.

3. Characters.

All the characters are very easy to understand. You can tell if they're gonna be good or bad. It was a tad bit predictable, but that's okay. I like the dialogue, and the simplicity. It fits the characters.  

2.  Prince Maxon.

I liked him. Couldn't really figure him out at first, which intrigued me. I like that's he's a prince (duh) a gentleman, which I suppose would be included in the whole prince package. He's supposed to be cute. Smart, the future ruler of a country and defender of the kingdom. Gosh, that sounds like a lot. 

.......... :)

1. Love triangle.

Huge sucker for a love triangle here. Between Aspen and Maxon, I'm more of a princely guy. Just my opinion. At some point in our lives, most of us have to make a choice. It's probably not going to be between a prince and someone in a lower caste level than you, still it's still a choice. 

So I'd recommend it to someone looking for a set in the future, Hunger Game like without the blood, but still action and love. I think. Does any of this make sense? If not, I blame the time difference. It's 3 am in my home time zone, and I'm 3 hours behind. Very confused. Bad spelling.

4 1/2 stars, because I keep thinking about it even though I read about it 3 days ago and have since read erm.. 4 books. Maybe 5. So it's pretty good.