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The Selection is a young adult fiction book, set in a dystopian
future (of course). It is described as Cinderella meets The Bachelor. The main
character is America Singer, a poor girl who lives in what was once North America.
After a long and terrible war, North America became the new country known as
Illea. A caste system was formed to control the people. The caste is ordered in
numerical form with the ones being the richest and most powerful people to the
eights, who are homeless. America is a five and as such her family is stuck as
entertainers and artists. Life as a five means that America and her family are
lower middle class. They are comfortable most of the time but still struggle
from the lack of money.
The Selection is announced on TV, calling for women from the
ages of 18-20 to have the chance to marry Prince Maxon of the Illean royal family.
The princes of the family marry local women to foster good relations with the
citizens. The princesses marry into other royal families to make powerful alliances.
Once a woman is selected as a potential bride, she gets to live in the palace
and be courted by the prince. Her family is compensated for the time she spends
at the palace.
America’s mother urges her to sign up to be one of the selected
as it would be good for their family. America has no interest in the selection
as she has a secret boyfriend named Aspen. Aspen is a six which means he is of
the servant class. Her family would never approve of him. Aspen wants a better
life for America and encourages her to sign up. America signs up for Aspen’s
sake and is surprised to get a place as a selected.
America meets the other contestants who either want a
fairytale romance or the power that comes from being a royal. America is not
motivated by any of those reasons and simply wants to enjoy her time in luxury.
She doesn’t believe she has a chance with the prince. Prince Maxon is
captivated by America for her easy going nature and honesty which creates some
jealously among the other ladies and confusion for America. America is confused
for her growing feelings for Maxon and the ache she feels for Aspen.
While the romance is going on, rebels are constantly attacking
the palace. The rebels want to destroy the monarchy and end the caste system.
America and the other girls’ lives are in danger too as potential royals. America
is further admired by the prince for her strength during those times.
I liked America Singer as the main character. I find her to
be strong, down to earth and genuine without being perfect. I didn’t like her
name in the beginning as it felt too much of a fake name. However, I did come
to like her name after it was explained that she was named after America
because she’s a strong, independent person.
Prince Maxon was a surprising character in that I thought he
would be more of a spoiled brat. Coincidently, America thought the same thing
upon meeting him but discovered otherwise. The prince is really a gentleman and
a wise leader. Aspen who is the America’s boyfriend, is a typical handsome hero
who practically worships her. He is enchanted by America’s beauty and
constantly in awe on how good she looks.
The other girls in the selected were fine; they were not
compelling at all. America does not have much interaction with others so there
is not much to their personalities and backgrounds. There was also an arrogant pretty
girl that America doesn’t get along with and who Maxon can’t see is mean which
is typical in romance novels.
It was a fun book to read and if it was a movie it would
belong to the Hallmark channel or something Disney would come up with. I read
the book while I was sick and it was a good distraction for me. I look forward
to reading the other books in the trilogy as well as the additional novellas. It’s
obvious that America and Maxon will be together because America is the main
character. I thought the novel could have survived without the rebels storyline
and simply been a romantic novel. The rebel storyline seemed underdeveloped but
it might be further explored in the other books.
Other reviews on dystopian fiction:
I really like this series (it's actually one of my favorites for dystopian). It's kind of my "guilty pleasure" reads. The stories are perfect, but like you, I love the characters and the romance. I still haven't read The One or the newest, but the rest are really cute/fun/good. Here's hoping we both continue to enjoy them. :)
ReplyDeleteIt is also my guilty pleasure reads as well. I love princesses and fantasy. I bought The Elite but I haven't read it yet. I was going to buy the whole series in one go but I thought I would be sensible. I still have a long to be read pile.
DeleteIt seems like dystopian novels and movies have a popular following. I think the challenge is in coming up with a storyline that isn't too overused, because they all follow along on very similar themes.
ReplyDeleteTheir main difference being that sometimes the oppressed overcome and other times they fall victim to the oppressive state. Do you find that the Selection was written for entertainment alone, or was their an element of political/social commentary? While I can enjoy them, it seems to me that often times dystopian novels have a sadness and hopeless feeling to them as I read them. =(
I think that The Selection is meant more for entertainment than social commentary. Although, the book does have social commentary in that it reflects the current love for reality tv particularly for shows like The Bachelor. This dystopian is not really saddening at all as it's not a serious book.
DeleteI've been kind of burnt out on dystopians for a long while, but this one strikes me as something that would just be a fun read, as you say. Doesn't sound deep or complicated like other dystopians, but it would be a good pick-me-up book :)
ReplyDeleteYep it certainly is a fun read. Perfect as a summer reading book. I hope you can squeeze it in one day on your to be read pile.
DeleteYep it certainly is a fun read. Perfect as a summer reading book. I hope you can squeeze it in one day on your to be read pile.
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