Book Review: The Selection by Kiera Cass

I'm SO excited to finally share this review! I read this book back in January but was waiting until closer to the release date to post. With only 9 more days until it hits store shelves I figured it was about time! 

Title: The Selection

Author: Kiera Cass

# Of Pages: 352

Publisher: HarperTeen

Publication Date: April 24, 2012

Level: Young Adult

Rating: 5 Hearts

Synopsis

(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 Verdict

I didn’t really know much about this book going into it except that it was dystopian, which was enough to make me pick it up. Plus the cover is really pretty!

I finished this book in six hours, which is pretty fast for me. I read three hours before bed and then three hours as soon as I woke up. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to finish before school but I was determined. I HAD to finish! As I was reading and time was running out I was going down a mental checklist in my head. It went a little something like this…

• I don’t have to wash my hair; I can just throw it into a bun.
• I can skip wearing makeup; I only have one class today. Big deal.
• Am I really hungry? Or can I skip lunch?

I’m not even kidding. I could not stop reading I had to know what happened before I left and if that meant I showed up to school as an unshowered, unmakeuped, and hungry person than so be it.

The dystopian aspect of the book takes a back burner to the competition of the Selection and romance aspect of the story. There is talk at the beginning of the different castes 1-8, ones being the royalty and eights being the servants. Each person is assigned a caste, women who are lucky enough might marry a caste or two above themselves but no one ever marries below. This is why America, a five, and the boy she loves, Aspen, a six, must keep their love hidden.

When America is chosen as part of The Selection, she’s mad. She has no interest in becoming a princess or falling in love because she’s already in love with Aspen. But when America meets Maxon, he is nothing like she imagined, exceeding each and every one of her expectations. America starts to develop feelings for him. Are these the feelings of friends or something more? 

I’m sure you’ve already guessed that there is a bit of a love triangle that goes on here. Yup. There were times I hated America. I felt like she was stringing both guys along because she couldn’t make up her own mind but how could she? I was just as confused as she was. Aspen? Maxon? Aspen? Maxon? I can’t even decide, so how could she?!

I wasn’t expecting the major cliffhanger that was the ending. I think I might actually lose my mind waiting for the sequel. This has been one of my favorite books of the year so far!