The One (The Selection, #3)

by Kiera Cass

[ladygrey]

When I first started reading this I remembered that America is petulant and impulsive and unreasonable and annoying. That's most of why it took me so long to get around to reading it. But I'm glad I did.

Because it was nice to have close to the trilogy. And because the final book wasn't that bad. Yes, in the beginning America was her annoying self. But she matured in this book. And it wasn't a gradual process. It was like 'ugh, America' and then they're standing in the rain and then she's reasonable and rational; still impetuous but it's more focused and serves her rather than wrecking things.

The whole dystopian element still doesn't make any sense. It should have just been a fantasy or an alternate reality with castes rather than trying to pretend it was dystopian. Because the caste system created good tension in the story and the characters. That element worked, but everything it was predicated upon was flimsy. And all of the political turmoil and rebels just seemed weak and distracting. There were two places it hurt the way it should - with Paige and when America was injured. That night was real and played very well. But the next day it was all too easy again.

The best part of this series has always been her and Maxon. They are the sweet, fluffy romance that makes these books fun. This book their conflict is (mostly) reasonable which was a pleasant change. They are sweet and cute but there's also some depth to their relationship which makes it all the better. Even though there were a few places I didn't understand the games America was playing and why she was being dumb - she had a good point at the end about him splitting his affections. And there were some really cute lines so it was a fun read after all.