Three things to mention:
1) This is a library book! Yay! I’m finally reviewing a library book!
2) This review is for Lisa. (You should read the book now!)
3) The author, Kiera Cass, is hilarious. If you’re a writer, go watch her YouTube videos. You won’t regret it.
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.
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Wow. That was totally not what I expected. In good ways and not-so-good (which is the polite way of saying “boring”). I’ve heard mixed things about The Selection . What did I think? It was surprisingly brilliant.
Before I say anything else, though, the cover is gorgeous! I love the colours and I love the girl’s pose on the front cover. It really reflects the book! The dress is fabulous. It looks kind of like a peacock being blow-dried, but I love it.
Characters? Introducing, America Singer! The fabulous red-haired spunky narrator whose only fault is her name. Seriously, people, a character called “America”? At first, I thought, “Well, it’s dystopian, so they probably don’t have an ‘America’ as we know it today.” WRONG. They did have an America (the country). And they talked about it. It got jolly confusing. Plus her nickname was “Mer”, which sounds like a fin-less mermaid. Me no likee.
Apart from all that America was an awesome narrator. She wasn’t soppy. She had more on her agenda then smooching a boy. She cared about her family! (Even though her mother was pretty overbearing and bribed her into entering the Selection.) America was sweet and worked hard, yet had fiery temper and jumped to conclusions. She actually had a personality.
Basically this (complete with the hair):
Now, um, how do I put this? There is a love-triangle. But, wait! Don’t freak out! It’s one of the better love-triangles I’ve read.
In first place, with no qualifications apart from passionate-kisser, we have Aspen. Aspen is a dead-end. Sorry. It’s true. The Selection has a caste system. You get rated from One (awesome) to Eight (extreme loser). Aspen is a Six, so border-line-loser.
Other half of the triangle? Bring in Prince Maxon. Qualifications include, calling girls “my dear” (gosh that annoyed me), working hard, and being 100% endearing until he has a hissy-fit. I feel like he was written to be Prince Charming. Which is good! He’s well written! But, through all his endearing jokes and actions…it all comes undone for me when he doesn’t really value what America says. He thinks he knows better (because he’s a prince?). Maybe that’s not how the author intended it! You have to read it to find out for yourself.
Writing? I liked it! No fluffing around. America narrates in 1st person, and it was clear and easy to read.
Plot? In all truth, it was slow. I liked it and didn’t get bored, but I easily put it down. The plot spends a lot of time doing photoshoots and wearing dresses. The only action-y parts were when the palace was attacked. And that included everyone huddling in their rooms. Not very exciting. I liked the web of intrigue and who-really-loves me, but it wasn’t enough. It reads like a reality TV show, or a dystopian version of Miss Congeniality. But it is about a bunch of girl competing for ONE guy. Bring on catty attacks and feline snark.
All, in all, I definitely enjoyed reading this book! Awesome narrators always win big favours for me…and the fact that I was interested in the love-triangle and not cringing is a bonus. Book 2? Bring it on.
Cait is happy because she borrowed 8 books from the library. library. She is busy stroking and reading them alternately. Apart from bemoaning the tininess of her book pile, she’s been loafing around the house with Mime. It’s holidays. They watch movies. They eat. It’s life.
I liked this series too and I agree it is not the normal love triangle. I really want her to be with Maxon – I've read the second book too. I think this would be a fun movie!
*whispers secretly* I'm for Maxon too. I feel like he's a lot more mature than Aspen. If Aspen's prone to throw those kind of tantrums now, then what's he going to be like later in life? And definitely! I think it'd be hilarious as a movie!
America, seriously?? I wonder how long did it take to come up with that name 😛 I really need to read this book, I have seen many different reviews from 1 to 5 stars. I need to see what is the hype about this series. Baileys @ Unladylike Reviews
In all honest true honesty (that was intense), I think it's completely illogical to call her America! It's so confusing, since it's set IN America. And yes! That's why I wanted to read it too. I don't really understand why it gets 1 star, but I've seen those kind of reviews! *shrugs* Each to their own, right?
I felt similarly about this book (especially her first and last name -_-) but I think I was a little bit less impressed by it. It only got 3 stars from me and I felt it was just ok. I can't exactly pin point what about it was bad or why I didn't like it more. That didn't stop me from reading the second book though (that was a mistake). Except, I did like America better in the second book. I have heard a lot of people say that they felt Maxon didn't listen to or value America's ideas or opinions, but I don't remember reading it like that at all! I don't know if I just didn't read into all that as much or if I'm just not remembering that because I read it a while ago. Great review as usual!
I can understand the 3 stars! It got a 4 from me, because it made me laugh (and I'm a sucker for anything funny). And I've heard woeful things about the second book. >_< I'll probably still read it, but not for a while. Maybe it's second-book-blues? It's really hard to write second books, I guess, because I find they're usually reeeeally awesome or not very good at all.
…I know a lot of people don't agree with me, but I think love triangles are kind of interesting and I enjoy reading books with both good ones and really bad ones! Because you never really see a love triangle in real life, so it's intriguing to see how people in books deal with it. But bad triangles, I find hilarious! Thank you for this review. I've been meaning to pick up this series, and I know that if you like it, so would I!Lisa http://www.turningpages94.blogspot.com
Well, that is totally true! I've never thought about it that way. I think unbalanced love-triangles are interesting…but I just don't like badly written triangles. It drives me bonkers! Especially when the author really fleshes out ONE dude and not the other. It's not fair on the triangle!
Awesome review, Cait! I've always wanted to read The Selection, but have never gotten around to it. A non-cringe worthy love triangle is epic!However, prince charming sounds like the looser. Brea. (:
I wasn't particularly keen on either side…but I can see America ruling the world, so I vote for the Prince. 😉
I liked Maxon more than Aspen xD But that's probably just because of the prince thing, what girl doesn't want to be a princess? 😉 The books are entertaining enough, I agree. Just not 1000% amazing. Great review!
Yep, I'm with you there. I think Maxon suits America better, somehow, but I'm sure that'll all be tested in the next book (dang it. Why can't authors let their characters have happy endings?!). It was missing the WOW OMG factor, but I still had a good time. 🙂
OMG KIERA CASS HAS A YOUTUBE CHANNEL?! How did I not know about this?! :O The Selection is probably one of my favourite books ever just because of much it sucked me in! Maxon. <3
Kiera Cass is SO funny!! I don't think she vlogs anymore, but I watched all her old ones…oh gosh, I laughed so hard! XD She's awesome.
America Singer…..HAHA I don't know, but the 1 star reviews made me iffy, but since you thought this was good then I shall give it a try soon!
That's what I thought. But I'm a sucker for dystopian, so I usually have to try it. 😉 I hope you like it! (I'm totally interested to hear your thoughts!)
I have a lot more patience with love triangles than you do, Cait, and I still hated this one. Of course, I hated Aspen and liked Maxon for basically the whole book.
Glad to hear you loved it, I heard the romance and main character is whiny but I would love the girly parts of it hehe. Thanks for the great review!
I would have called the love interests whiny before the main character. 😉 But that might be just me. I did enjoy the girly bits too! Glitzy but just not wow-exciting.
EEK! Thank you SO. MUCH. Cait! You're awesome. And this books sounds great. Thank you so much for the review, I'll definitely have to read it now.
Anything for you, my liege. Okay, not anything. Some things. This thing. xD
I'm probably going to with neither…I really think America could rule the world quite fine on her own.
Yeah! Glad to see you enjoyed it Cait! I've been a little hesitant to read this because of all the hype it's received, but I definitely trust your opinion! I'm so glad the characters are well developed and that America is an actually good protagonist. Even though the plot sounds a tad slow and there's a love triangle, I have a feeling that they might be forgivable. (Especially considering how even you got interested in the love triangle! That's really saying a lot!) Thanks for another brilliant review Cait! I'll definitely have to get to reading this one ASAP!
Aw, you trust my opinion? I'm simultaneously nervous and flattered. XD I felt all the failings were forgivable. I just felt…aw, gosh, that it was a bit uniquer (is that a word? It doesn't sound like a word) then most dystopians.
"Surprisingly brilliant" … I may have to bump this book up on my want-to-read list. Great review!
Eep! Thanks! I always get all abashed when people like my reviews. I'm just SO glad you do! Reviewing is a lot of fun. 🙂
I didn't hate this book either! I was sure that I would hate this but once I read the book, I just ended up liking the writing and how light the book is. Sure, the characters got on my nerves too sometimes and there isn't much happening in the middle of the book but I enjoyed it the whole time! Lol, and I hate some of the names too (Like, AMERICA seriously? Or Tiny. And Tuesday *facepalm* )
So, it's The Bachelor with a horribly named leading lady? Like I said on your STS post, if I don't have to pay for it, I might pick it up, but I just don't think this is my kind of read. Glad you enjoyed it for the most part, though!
HAHAHA I love your review! 😀 Anyway, I don't think I loved the book as much as you did, but I did like it to SOME extent. I mean, I found America immensely annoying at times (though I forget why, been so long since I read it, haha!) But I do remember wanting there to be less huddle and cuddle and more rebels and action, and that never really happened XD But I AM waiting for The One, and it better be good! (DAT COVER)