Review | 'The Selection'

The Selection
Kiera Cass
327 pg., U.S. hardcover
HarperTeen
4 stars | B+



From Goodreads:

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 the palace and compete for the heart of the 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.


My, my, Miss America...okay, so there's no pie in this book at all. But the main character's name is America, and I, as any other reviewer, am pretty much making fun of the fact that her name is America Singer, and she--well--sings. What a freaking surprise. Okay, so all stupid names aside (Tuesdsay...I mean, I liked it, but it's still stupid), let's segue into the writing of Kiera Cass's second novel, and the first in this trilogy. I've been watching Kiera Cass's YouTube videos since before the release of the second Twilight film,  and she's such an appealing person, so I was, of course, excited to read The Selection, and I wasn't let down, as many other reviewers seemed to be. I went into the book with my expectations set on low due to that dreaded Goodreads review, but I was still hoping to support Kiera Cass's work no matter what. So I was pleasantly surprised to find quick-pacing, an interesting style, and more inside. With the note on pacing, the scene-to-scene without hesitation worked 90% of the time. There were definitely moments that I wish the reader was allowed to dwell on, and that would have increased the emotional appeal of the book, and made different events seem so impacting. For more on those specific events, you can watch my video review (which is chock-full of spoilers) after reading this, right? Right. The style of the book was very youthful-without-trying, and fluffy and light. I actually appreciated this, because I wasn't really expecting some intricate form of writing for the book, so while I do think that Cass could have tightened things up a bit more, the writing sat pretty well with me.
The plot of the book is very interesting. I wouldn't say that it's entirely creative, since--if you've seen my video review, you'd know--it's very similar to The Hunger Games, and it's also identical to The Bachelor, and those two franchises were what the book was marketed as being like. So while the plot was unoriginal, it was executed nicely, with a near-perfect arc. All of the happenings in the book made sense to motivations and character choices, and everything was woven together very nicely. I commend Cass on adding her own flavor to a predetermined plot, and I think that adding new terms, most notably the castes, made things more original and intriguing. I liked the weekly reports, the castes, and--although it was exposed poorly--the World War that led to the created of Illea. It's a very short and sweet book, so there isn't much to say about the plot, but I definitely think it's the highlight.
Characterization, here we go. America Singer's character definitely grows and changes, but it's very blatant. I like a good challenge with characters and their development; I want to have to dig around for little glistening shards of growth, and not have it spelled out for me, like it is in the inside cover. America spends way too much time with Maxon to the point where things become predictable and less-suspenseful. Maxon should have been this enigmatic mystery, but instead he's basically her new best-friend, which is not beneficial for the story or the reader.We don't see the other girls much--a bad thing, in my opinion--so there's no development there, and Maxon doesn't really change at all either, which is a disappointment. We barely see Aspen, and he's really a douchebag in my opinion (mind my terminology), and that fact never changes. I was so irked that America didn't communicate and interact with the other Selected, and that they weren't built up with their own distinctive personalities, because that really could have been a defining aspect for the book!


The sequel to The Selection, The Elite, is set to be released in 2013.