The Selection Series Book Review: America's Story
Once upon a time, walking down a parade of colourful bookshelves, I spotted a blue book cover! It was sold in seconds..
The Selection Series by Kiera Cass is a dystopian young adult romance and made up of five books with a bonus collection of related short stories. The first book has a girl wearing a beautiful blue dress on the cover that screams fairy tale princess story. She reminded me of Cinderella but oh is she not. Her name is America Singer and her story had me searching bookstores everywhere as I simply had to read this series.
Something about this Selection Series grabbed my attention and it wasn’t just because the covers are gorgeous and I’m a sucker for all things blue, although that helped. I read through the first three books of this series so fast that they merged into one in my mind. I can get slightly obsessive when it comes to reading. So, this review is about the first three books, which I’m deeming “America’s story” because the fourth book switches to someone else’s point of view. Right now, I’m halfway through the fifth and still enjoying it, but I’m trailing back to the beginning to give you all an inside scoop.
Story Overview
America Singer is a five and lives a life bordering on poverty within her family’s caste number. Society dictates she be a performer or artist like all fives and she fit into the role, developing a love for music, but when it comes to love, she will choose who she will marry. And she’s chosen Aspen, a six who has been her secret boyfriend for two years.
Her whole life is planned and she’s willing to become a six with Aspen as long as they go through any trials together. What she didn’t expect was a competition that would crumble her plans to dust.
Prince Maxon, a one, has come of age and the royal family declared a Selection be held. Thirty-five women from all over Illéa will be invited to the palace for an opportunity to meet the prince and fall in love, becoming his partner and one day queen.
Pressured by her family and Aspen to not let this opportunity slip by, America signs up in the lottery believing she will not be drawn among the thousands of names. She assumes nothing will change, but when her heart is broken by Aspen breaking up with her and her name being called as one of the chosen, her world turns upside down.
America goes to the palace to escape with no intention of falling in love, but her anxiety follows her and an unflattering first encounter with the prince forces her to make a deal with him so she could stay. She will be his friend and help him choose a wife out of the other selected options.
Helping another find love while piecing together her own heart’s shattered pieces, America experiences a life she never thought she’d lead. Will she dare allow herself to imagine falling in love with Maxon? Or will she fight for the life she dreamed of with Aspen?
As the Selection goes on, America learns of more going on in the country other than this royal love story. Rebels threaten the palace in series of attacks and there are secrets within the palace walls as the reason behind the Selection may not be what it seems.
PROS
This story gripped me the moment I was introduced to the secret relationship between Aspen and America. With the formation of the love triangle at America meeting the prince, the story does a great job of playing with emotions. Just as I became sure she’ll choose one, something happens that makes me favour the other. I couldn’t tell you for certain who she would end up with until the start of the third book and even then, it was a ‘maybe.’
This competition and other competitors also made the guessing game interesting but, for me, the biggest draw was the mystery linked to the rebel attacks and hints of secrets among the royal family. The love story was a pastime as I flipped the pages to find out more about how these secrets impacted the characters and find the answers to the mystery of what the rebels really wanted.
This combination of love, mystery and tension made the Selection Series a New York Times bestseller. It catches the attention of more than romance lovers. It’s proof that the best love stories are ones that have added elements of mystery and adventure.
I also enjoy how this story is age appropriate and displays some important Christian ethics. America holds a strong belief in purity. Her refusal to be sexually active with either Aspen or Maxon makes her final choice a special one. There is also a strong theme of fighting for equality as the caste system is unjust and America herself begins to influence the prince’s thoughts towards the lower societal numbers.
The writing flows so fluidly, creating an easy read when you’re looking to sit back and relax. Pages fly by and create a natural reading experience. There were little complex descriptions I needed to reread to understand. The imagery simply flowed like the scenes were playing out in front of my eyes.
I was brought to tears a few times because of how invested I became in these characters, even the secondary ones. Expect tear-jerking twists and character development in this story!
CONS
I doubt there is any book out there that is perfect, and the Selection Series isn’t an exception. While the majority of each book had a great flow, I found the beginnings were lacking somewhat. The first book began with a confusing start as America hides in her bedroom and recounts how her family reacted to the announcement of the Selection. The chapter provides context that didn’t grip me emotionally until the end hint at a secret meeting with a certain shady six.
The second and third books’ first few pages began with good scenes, but again, inserts of context and backstory recounted what we already knew from previous books. I can see how this is useful to get new readers up to speed but it was jarring for me to read. Thankfully, there weren’t too many accounts of this break of flow.
I also didn’t like some of the history explanations. Illéa is a future version of the United States after the devastation of world war three. The idea was interesting, and I did find myself wanting to know more about how this happened. However, I felt a bit unsatisfied by the way much of the history was brushed over with the only saving grace being the explanation that much of the country’s history was obscured by the absence of history books. Yes, that explains a lot, but there are still questions gone unanswered as I found myself confused about how this war happened, how it ended, and what the state of the world was now.
So Should You Read It?
I give you a resounding yes! Despite some faults, these first three books were a joy to read. I found it really relaxing and a great holiday read when you have time to keep flipping through the pages, because these books are definitely hard to put down. I found myself staying up to just finish the next chapter.
The Selection Series has been a great addition to my bookshelf.
I hope you enjoyed reading my book review. If you’re interested in buying the Selection series or any other books by this author, check out Kiera Cass’s Amazon page.
Would you like to know how I find the last two books of this series or other books I’m reading? Subscribe to my blog to know when new book reviews are posted!
Have a great relaxing day and happy reading.
-TYM -
