The Selection by Kiera Cass

Rating: ★★★★

 35 girls come to compete for the prince’s heart and the crown, yet only one can win. Who will obtain Prince Maxon’s heart? Who will be the next princess of Illéa? The main character, America Singer, who got picked for the Selection, is still in love with someone else, Aspen. How will she get over Aspen? Therefore, Kiera Cass shows America’s struggles by describing America’s deep feelings for Aspen and her blossoming feelings for Prince Maxon. Throughout the book The Selection, Singer struggles with these feelings for both of them, and she does not know how to choose which boy is right for her.

After the fourth world war, the United States of America was renamed Illéa and was also turned into a monarchy. In this monarchy, there were castes which represented what jobs one would have and how much money one would make. Eight castes made up the monarchy to try and control the people. One’s were the royalty, or the king, the queen and the prince. Two’s and Three’s were also good castes to be in because those castes have money and shelter. Four’s and Five’s were average as they did not get a lot of money, but they got enough to get by. Unfortunately, Six’s and down had a very difficult time making money, finding food and even finding work. It was very difficult for them to make it through the winter.

In the story, America Singer is a Five, which means her family is able to survive, but it is still hard for her family to make money. As well as this, America is in love with a Six, Aspen Ledger, who is a mysterious character with green eyes and dark black hair, and he is everything a girl wants. Moreover, America and Aspen have been in love for two years and want to marry each other.

But, when the Selection came around and Prince Maxon was looking for a wife, Aspen insisted that America sign up for the competition because he wanted what was best for her. Furthermore, after she signed up, he dumped her, and she was chosen to be a part of the Selection out of thousands of girls.

What I liked about Cass’s writing was that is seemed normal. When I was reading her words, I felt like I was watching a dramatic show because it just flowed together smoothly, and the problems in the book were problems that normal teenagers would have with a twist to it. The problems were also interesting, so I did not get bored while reading. For example, when Aspen broke America’s heart, her heart crumbled, and I could really tell how hurt she was because of the way Cass described it. Also, the words on the page seem like what any average 16-18 year-old girl would have written, and I love how Cass could capture the way teenagers felt with her writing.

Well, America went to the palace and started falling for the prince slowly. Her heart still belonged to Aspen, and she just can not let him go. In addition, Prince Maxon has already told America that if she wanted, he would stop the Selection for her and pick her, but only if she felt the same way back to him.

Will America be able to clear her head soon? Or will Aspen still be fogging it for the rest of her life?

I gave this book four out of five stars because I absolutely loved the way it was written and the main characters America, and Prince Maxon. I loved them because their relationship was first built on friendship, which made it even more romantic when they started to develop feelings for each other. What I did not like was how long it took America to make up her mind. Her mind was starting to get rid of Aspen, but that went away when he showed up at the palace as a new guard. I felt like the only reason Cass made the conflict so difficult for America was so her book could be made into a trilogy. I felt like the conflict was just way too long and unneeded, which was why I gave her book a four out of five.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes the genres romance, young adult, contemporary or dystopian style books. It is a fast read because, as I said before, it just draws one in like a drama and one can not put it down.