anne
Written on Jan 4, 2013
Thirty-five beautiful girls. Thirty-five beautiful rivals…
It’s the chance of a lifetime and 17-year-old America Singer should feel lucky. She has been chosen for The Selection, a reality TV lottery in which the special few compete for gorgeous Prince Maxon’s love.
Swept up in a world of elaborate gowns, glittering jewels and decadent feasts, America is living a new and glamorous life. And the prince takes a special interest in her, much to the outrage of the others.
Rivalry within The Selection is fierce and not all of the girls are prepared to play by the rules. But what they don’t know is that America has a secret – one which could throw the whole competition… and change her life forever.
- ISBN13 9780007466696
- Publish Date 7 June 2012 (first published 24 April 2012)
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country GB
- Publisher HarperCollins Publishers
- Imprint Harper Fire
- Format Paperback
- Pages 336
- Language English
- URL http://harpercollins.co.uk
Reviews
sstaley
Written on Nov 21, 2012
Stephanie
Written on Oct 12, 2012
The one thing that I don't agree with is the Dystopian label slapped on it. It did not seem Dystopian to me at all. Just because it's set in America, with a different government system, doesn't make it a Dystopia. Maybe that's just me though. But we don't get much of what the outside life is like, because America gets taken to the castle pretty early on in the book and get's showered in royalty goodness. AND aren't the governments supposed to be bad in Dystopia's? Am I thinking way too into this? Maybe, but I feel like a lot of people see the Dystopia label, and get a completely different book than what they were expecting. Rant over, I loved The Selection! Read it if your looking for something really fun!
liz089
Written on Jul 28, 2012
clementine
Written on Jul 7, 2012
So, it was better than I was expecting. I thought it would be pretty bad. I thought I would be checking every few pages and going, "Are you KIDDING me? I still have 200 pages to go?" And, no, I really can't explain why I downloaded it in the first place if I didn't even expect to enjoy it one little bit, but I did download it and I did read it and I did kind of somewhat enjoy it, at least enough to read it it one sitting.
I mean, it's obvious that the author was influenced by The Hunger Games and it pains me to make that kind of comparison because The Hunger Games is intelligent and easily the best YA dystopian I've read for a number of reasons and The Selection just isn't intelligent or even really dystopian. Normally I wouldn't even make such an accusation, BUT. BUT. BUT. There are such obvious similarities that I had to roll my eyes a little. And I think if you're going to be inspired by The Hunger Games and not even try to hide it even a little bit, you need to do a better job of it. Because the similarities are clear, and there's no way I'm NOT going to be comparing the two in my head, and there's no contest between the two.
The protagonist... ahh. The best way she's been described is in the review I originally read of it: It’s like she tried to write a Katniss but accidentally Bella Swanned her. And... yeah. It's true. "Oh, stop calling me pretty even though I am apparently the most beautiful 16-year-old girl in the entire country, it's so annoying!" Ugh, stop it. Just stop it. She was also infuriatingly naive. Like, yes, everyone can tell the prince is in love with you, why are you not at all aware of that? Maybe that's a fault of the writing, though; I suppose it's believable that a girl who apparently doesn't think she has any redeeming qualities wouldn't even consider for a second that the prince of her country would like her, but it was so OBVIOUS to me that I was just annoyed.
The other characters were really just archetypes. I didn't care about Aspen, and Cass didn't give us any indication as to why I should care about their relationship. Maxon was obviously supposed to be cutely awkward, but he was just another guy in a YA book and his ignorance about his country was like UGHHHHH STOPPPPPP I HATE THIS.
What else? This book failed at being dystopian, although Cass obviously tried. The caste system was a feeble attempt at showing how messed up the world was, and the history lesson (which was obviously just there to tell us more about the world) didn't really paint a picture of desperation that you would normally see in dystopian novels. Cass had such a good opportunity to contrast the desperation and poverty of the lower castes with the extravagant wealth of the royalty, but she missed the mark here, making a few references to how much America loved the food!!!!11 and not much more. The whole thing was just so shallow.
And, you know, the ENTIRE plot is us waiting to see if America will choose Aspen or Maxon, and it ends in a cliffhanger. Which is like... what. Come on. We don't need A SECOND BOOK for this. Do you really think your shitty story deserves another 300 pages just to find out which guy your lame protagonist picks, like we don't already know? Come on now.
Two generous stars because it kept me entertained for a few hours before I thought about it more and got angry at how frustrating and not good it was.
ladygrey
Written on May 4, 2012
Admittedly, it took me a while to get into the story; maybe as much as half way through. I think in part because it has a lot of exposition to cover early on to establish the world. And [a:Kiera Cass|2987125|Kiera Cass|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1318605410p2/2987125.jpg] handles it pretty well, but it's still a lot of exposition. And the writing style is really straightforward. Not as simplistic or prosaic as some others but still straightforward. Which is great if you're a teenage girl because I imagine that's the reading level that is the easiest for you to get engrossed in this story. But, for me, is kind of distracting. Also it's kind of more of a cerebral book rather than an emotional one. And I love to feel what the characters are experiencing.
But the book grew on me. I liked America more as the story went on. I liked her in her struggles and that she could be upset and momentarily caught up in an option but then be so reasonable in the aftermath and apologize and listen and be honest. I loved that she wasn't afraid to acknowledge when things changed.
I loved the honesty in America and Maxon's relationship. So much.
I LOVED the way their friendship evolved so gradually and so normally. (ok that was a little bit a spoiler but really you're not surprised and I'm on my phone - cut me some slack.). That almost never happens in YA and even less since [b:Twilight|41865|Twilight (Twilight, #1)|Stephenie Meyer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1361039443l/41865._SY75_.jpg|3212258] and it was so much fun to read.
I adored Maxon and the way he changed because of his relationship with America. Playfulness is a very easy sort of charm and he was sort of wonderful.
If the writing made me feel more this would have easily been a 4 star book. As it is, I totally respect what it's doing as a book and think its a great addition to the YA realm.
Jordon
Written on May 2, 2012
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America Singer lives in Illea, a country where it's people are divided by castes. These castes determine the work you do, the pay you earn, the life you live, they influence you're choice in the person you marry, you are judged and looked at by you're caste. America and most of her family are a five, their family business is the arts and they barely scrape by each week.
The Selection is coming up and every female between the ages of sixteen and twenty have been mailed a form to enter. The Selection is where thirty five girls, one from each province, are chosen to become one of the lucky girls that gets a chance to fight for the Prince's heart and to become the next queen of Illea. The girls that are chosen will get paid for their time in The Selection, money that lower castes need desperately.
America really does not want to enter, especially if there is a chance she could be chosen even if it means her family will get to live comfortably for a while. She's in love with her secret boyfriend, a boyfriend that is a caste below her. The idea of leaving him to fight for someone else's heart when she has no interest in the Prince is an idea that makes her feel sick. Yet what can she do when she promises her boyfriend she will enter?
At first I really liked America, I thought she was lovely, kind, caring and I loved that she wasn't nasty like some of the other girls. I do think those were great qualities. But then I realised that that was all on the surface, thinking about it now America was a pretty shallow character. Or maybe it was just her indecisiveness. She couldn't make strong decisions about what she wanted or who she wanted. She never bothered to look far enough, it kind of felt like she wanted her cake and then eat it too. In the end she came across as selfish, indecisive and weak.
I liked Maxon, I thought he was a pretty decent guy. But then I also thought for being a prince that has been isolated from the outside world, didn't meet or talk to or hang out with normal people much, and was always cooped up inside thinking of strategic plans to fight off the rebels or protect Illea's people; he was just too nice and too open, too willing to let thirty five random girls into his heart. He didn't even have any qualms about it. He liked the idea of The Selection.
I didn't feel like he was the right type of character with that background. It felt like he let people take advantage of him, like he didn't have a strong point of view in himself. He was just living his life according to how everyone thought he should, it was as if he was resigned to the fact that that was how he had to live his life, and really didn't mind. Although that was a down-side I still did really like him. He was sweet and caring...
Aspen. I'm really not sure how I felt about this guy. I thought the way he treated America was unfair. Then again I guess it was understandable. Still, I'm not rooting for this guy.
The world was believable and I really liked the idea about the castes. I thought everything was set up well, it was easy to comprehend and it was very easy to believe. I would definitely like to know more about what state the world is in now though, I want to know more about the rebels and more about the different countries.
This book was definitely an easy and fun read. I was drawn in straight away and was never pushed back out, I turned the pages furiously wanting to know what happened next, I never once got bored. The writing was easy to understand and pictures were easy to see, but I did want a little more description about what certain places looked like.
I wanted more description about what America was thinking or feeling in that moment. I wanted America to question herself more about her decisions and what she was really doing, I wanted her to discover something about herself. I wanted more than the surface view.
This wasn't the most well written book and nothing was very deep. It was written well enough to enjoy but not so amazing that it blew your socks off.
So I love the cover, yes that was the first thing that drew me into this book. I'm a sucker for pretty covers!
When I first started reading this book I really liked it. It was fun, easy to read, entertaining and laugh-out-loud funny but I after I finished reading it I knew there was something missing. Yes it was a fun read, yes it was entertaining, yes I could not put it down but something was nagging at me.
I realised there were actually quite a few things that annoyed me. The whole book suddenly felt like we had only read the surface of what was going on, we were never shown anything deeper than what we could see (Well were deliberately shown). Therefore it gave the effect of a hazy dream with nothing that was outstanding when I think about it.
I could see a tiny resemblance to The Hunger Games. But only with the likeness of certain aspects. The Selection was a little bit like THG reaping, although it was very, very different, and Gavril reminded me of Ceaser Flickerman but once again there was only a tiny resemblance. Overall this book was nothing like The Hunger Games.
This book was definitely The Bachelor style, although I don't like The Bachelor type of shows, I still really enjoyed this one. But I did feel like there could have been more of a competition in the book. It doesn't feel like that much of a competition at all really. America had Maxon in her hand from the beginning, that was way too easy.
This book was also barely Dystopian, I think more of that could have been played. I'm hoping the next book in the series does explain more about the world they live in and the crisis it is in.
Overall I really did enjoy reading this book. Yeah there were things that I now think about that could have been done better but at the end of the day this book was just fun to read and I personally really enjoyed it. That's what I had expected when I picked up this book and I was not disappointed by that.
This was the type of book that I had needed to read really, you know when you've just read all these complicated plot twisting books that it gets confusing and you have to really think or you're moved so emotionally that you have to take a break altogether? Or when you've just read a whole load of books that didn't grab your interest at all and all you want is something you can metaphorically just fall into the pages of and just be happy to do so? To me, that was this type of book. And that is certainly NOT a bad thing!
I found myself laughing out loud a lot and I got what I had expected out of it. I think if you go into this book expecting something as amazing as The Hunger Games then you will be sorely disappointed. But if you go into it knowing that it's a light, fluffy book where you can just have a bit of fun and enjoy it then you will enjoy it for what it is!
I recommend giving this book a go if you're looking for a fun light read where you can just sit down and get lost in the pages. This book would be easy to read in one sitting in my opinion. I personally found it very hard to put down because I was enjoying it so much!
Miss J
x
Ashley
Written on Apr 25, 2012
I read this book in one sitting, constantly glued to every word on the page. I love the caste system, the dating game, America’s blunt honesty, and her desire to rule her own life. I love that despite everything that is at stake, America remains true to herself. She doesn’t let the maids doll her up excessively like every other woman in The Selection. She doesn’t want the experience to change her or take her away from who she is.
I was pleasantly surprised to find how much I actually liked Prince Maxon. I like his politeness, genuine kindness, and inexperience with women. At one point, America totally rages at him in a fit of homesickness, but rather than punishing her for yelling at “the prince,” Prince Maxon is totally understanding and cool about it.
The one thing I didn’t really like was the love triangle.. or more specifically, America’s confusion and inability to decisively choose between Aspen and Prince Maxon. Rather than making a decision, for a while she’s just with both guys. That’s the part that irked me. But this line was pretty funny:
"Because even though you’re dating five other women, I think I’m cheating on you"
It actually does seem kind of unfair that Prince Maxon can run around kissing and dating all 35 women from The Selection but the girls have to be faithful to him by law (if they engage in another relationship it’s considered treason, punishable by death).
America’s feelings are honestly understandable. She loved Aspen, but then he left her, and she’s surprised to find herself slowly falling for Prince Maxon. So it’s normal that she’d be confused and uncertain of her feelings towards both men. But I just found myself getting annoyed when she let herself kiss/date both of them. Maybe it’s just because I had been so rooting for Prince Maxon and I was jealous for him!
In any case, I absolutely loved the book. I was really disappointed when it ended and I’m bouncing up and down, eager for the next one in the series! Thanks for the amazing read, Kiera!
kimbacaffeinate
Written on Apr 6, 2012
When the tale begins we meet America Singer, a caste five, who is secretly in love with Aspen a caste six. America lives at home with her parents and siblings. They are all musicians and artists who barely scrape out a living by performing and selling their art to the upper caste. A letter arrives from the King and Queen announcing that a girl will be selected from among thirty-five of the kingdom's eligible girls to marry Prince Maxon. The families of the contestants will be compensated and whether the girl wins or loses her caste and future will forever be changed. America‘s Mom is overjoyed at this opportunity for America. Stubborn, America wants no part in this, as she secretly plans to marry Aspen. Aspen encourages her to do enter. When her mother offers to allow her to keep half of her earnings, she jumps at the chance. After all only thirty-five girls will be selected. She feels confident she will not be among them. So of course she is selected and the tale that unfolds is fascinating. Watching the girls be transformed and the length at which some of them were willing to go was fun to read. What started out as a means to help her family, gets a lot more complicated when America develops feelings for the prince.
The characters in the Selection were interesting. The protagonist America is at times very naive but overall she is strong willed, level headed and confident. She is kind and humble. These traits prevail throughout the novel. She never loses sight of who she is, where she came from and the plight of others. While all the other participants were trying to be who they thought the prince would marry, America remained herself and I found it refreshing. Aspen is a sweet young man, who is desperately in love with America and wants only the best for her. He pushes her away and then pulls her back. He struggles to deal with his conscience and his heart. Prince Maxon was delightful. I found him to be charming, brave, and compassionate. The love triangle will play a role in this series, and if I had to choose at this moment…I would have to say, “Team Maxon”. I am anxious to see how this plays out and look forward to reading book two. I adored America’s sister Max and I am hoping to get to know the Queen more. The contestants were unique and showcased every personality from the snob to the shy. I loved some and despised others. Their actions had me laughing and shooting daggers.
The world-building wasn’t unique but I enjoyed it none the less. The novel offered a light depiction of a dystopian society. It always amazes me how writers convert our society to some of the strictest, most oppressive times in history after a cataclysmic event. We are all familiar with caste systems and countries ruled by kings and queens. There is conflict by outside rebels, and the caste system causes poverty. There are very strict rules about movement within castes and relationships. I did find the whole selection process interesting, and the back history of the wars that led to this current time in history.
Overall, The Selection was a delightful read. Cass's writing style made the tale perfectly paced and easy to read. I recommend it to fans of romance and Cinderella tales. I have added book two to my reading list.
I want to thank Edelweiss and Harper Teen for providing this ARC in exchange for my unbiased review.
reveriesociety_
Written on Mar 12, 2012