REVIEW--The Selection

Happy Monday!

Today I'm reviewing The Selection by Kiera Cass.  I've been looking forward to reviewing this book for awhile now because of the gorgeous cover:

 

 GORGEOUS! 

• First book in the Selection series
• Dystopian

So let's get right to it, shall we?!

The Gist:

After having a fourth world war, the U.S. is now Illea, a country of castes run by a royal family.  There are now 35 provinces instead of 50 states.  The castes run 1-8 with 1 being the wealthiest and 8 being homeless.  Only women can marry into a higher caste and premarital sex is a criminal offense--a drastic difference from our everyday world.  Our protagonist, America, lives in a family of 5 while her love, Aspen, is a 6.

Illea holds a "lottery" to marry into their royalty.  In this lottery, 35 girls (one from each province) will be chosen to go to the Palace where Prince Maxon will choose a wife in a televised contest.  America enters the lottery only to make Aspen happy (she could move up a few castes) and accept her mother's bribe.  But she never imagined she'd be chosen!

Now she's being forced to compete for Prince Maxon's hand in marriage, when all she really wants is to be with Aspen...

What I Loved:

• The character names--Maxon, Aspen, Gavril, Amberly, Kamber, etc (ok, America as a name is a little cheesy).  But I named my own children Ransom and Cedar, so I LOVE dystopian names!
• I've already mentioned the cover, but it is GORGEOUS!
• Very entertaining and unique and not overly violent, which is so common in dystopian.
• America stays herself despite being thrust into a new role.  I don't know if I'd be able to do that...
• Maxon is much more likeable than someone like The Bachelor.  He has a reason for the contest (he's so awkward with women and this is probably the only way he'd find a wife).  I sympathized and loved him pretty quickly.
• This book didn't reinvent the wheel by any means but totally had me addicted nonetheless.

What I Didn't Love:

• This was promoted as The Hunger Games meets The Bachelor, and that is pretty misleading.  Not as thrilling as The Hunger Games and I would have liked to see "challenges" in the Palace that were more Bachelor-like.  How would the girls do when put to the test?  I wanted to see that.
• The Palace security was pretty horrible.  Rebel raids kept breaking through and I just expected more heightened secruity.
• The rebels, especially the difference between the Northerners and the Southerners, was pretty confusing.  Who are these people?  What do they want?  Do they have justification in their goals?

I was sad to hear that the CW was going to turn this book into a TV show and then backed out...it would make a great series!

My favorite quote: 

"I only really ever hug my mother.  Is this ok?" he asked.
I laughed.  "It's hard to get a hug wrong."

 

I'll be back Wednesday OF COURSE with an outfit based off the cover of the book!