Author: Kiera Cass
Series: The Selection #1
Genre: Romance/YA
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: April 24th, 2012
Edition: Kindle Edition, 339 pages
Source: Library
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.
The first book in Kiera Cass's Selection trilogy was a surprise for me. I honestly wasn't expecting to like it as much as I did. Sure it's a bit fluffier than I normally read, especially for a book that's set in a "dystopian" universe. But it was the characters that won me over straight away.
America Singer is possibly one of my favorite female book characters. The way she stays true to herself in every situation is not something many people can do. People give into pressure too easily, but our heroine stays herself as much as possible. The love triangle is more of a love Rubik Cube as America is 'fighting' for Prince Maxon's affections from 34 other girls, and Aspen still has claim over her heart. But it never really felt forced for her to love the Prince. He clearly has more affection for her than most of the girls, because she is so drastically different than they are. Apart from her lower-class status. She is more willing to call him out on things that are taboo for her than to let him say whatever he wishes because he's Royalty. And I think that intrigues him at the very least.
And of course, with every love triangle or Rubik cube, there is always at least one person that's put in the story to hate. This particular person happens to be a girl from a much higher class than our MC, and her presence seems only to be there to create friction between all the characters, and I don't think that she should have had as much page time as she did in the first book. All she did was cause problems for everyone and is just a general bitch.
I did appreciate that the relationship between America and Aspen was established that they were together for a long time, so her trying to get over him would last longer than just a few days. And even after she let go of the hurt caused by the break-up, she still has deep feelings for him, though and
SPOILER
when he showed up as a palace guard it made that small love triangle between Maxon, America, and Aspen feel forced, but at the same time almost necessary to a point where if America is truly going to have to try and set her past feelings aside for Aspen to figure out how she feels about Maxon she'd have to be on both their presence. I would recommend this book and I am already reading the sequel.
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