For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape a rigid caste system, 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, and competing for a crown she doesn’t want.
Then America meets Prince Maxon—and realizes that the life she’s always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.
My Review
I had seen these books floating around for a while and I resisted reading them. I’m not a big pageant fan and from first glance I figured that’s what they were about. Finally, my curiosity got the best of me and I picked up the first book in the series. Boy, am I glad I did!
Everyone knows I am a huge Hunger Games fan and this series is more akin to that series than any pageant book. The main character America is likeable but at times irritating (much like Katniss) and the premise is wholly unique.
A Dystopian book, The Selection is set in a futuristic country where the ruling monarchy chooses the next Princess for the Prince through a competition hauntingly similar to The Bachelor reality television show. But the stakes are higher here.
Although she has no interest in competing, mainly because she’s in love with Aspen, a lower caste boy, America only puts her name into the lottery to appease her mother and, surprisingly, Aspen as well. America never thinks that her name will be the one drawn. When it is she is swept away into the competition.
But instead of focusing on winning, America ends up making friends with many of the other girls in the competition, simply because they are nice and she’s missed out on making friends for most of her life. She’s had to work as a musician rather than socialize with friends. She has no interest in Prince Maxon, believing he is a spoiled rich kid. When she ends up meeting him and discovers that he’s actually a nice guy, she begins to question her own belief system.
But America is honest with Maxon. She needs to stay in the competition to help her family as much as possible but she is in love with someone else. Maxon says he understands and says he doesn’t really need another girl to chose from, what he really needs is a friend who can advise him on the girls in the competition. And with that they become fast friends.
I am a complete fan of this series now. I breezed through Book 1 and immediately went looking for Book 2. Strongly recommend this one for any Dystopian fans out there!
Buylink: https://www.amazon.ca/Selection-Kiera-Cass/
