The Selection

Blurb from Goodreads.com:

For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in a palace and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.

Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself--and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.

My Review:

It was an okay read, but there were a lot of eye-roll moments for me. It just seemed like a halfheartedly dystopian version of The Bachelor...I can't say I liked either romance interest, nor, to be honest did I really like the main character.

It's not bad for a "fluffy" read, it was interesting enough, didn't bore me at any point. A lot of the characters were annoying though, and the setup of the selection process really bothered me; it seemed like the royal family/government was anti-feminist, endorsing/creating a "show" that stripped young women of their dignity spoiler: highlight to read If they are chosen, they get instructions to give the prince whatever he wants, including their virginity, whether or not they reciprocate the feeling. /spoiler At the same time this "show" was intentionally being aired to the entire country, making the prince's love life a national affair (their future leader, mind you) with his family's permission! 

I don't feel like we got a true "dystopian" story, the focus was not on the caste system or the world they're living in most of the time. America was mainly obsessing over her love life/social life, we get a few tidbits of information about the world around her, but it's mostly about Aspen/Maxon or the competitive/aggressive behavior of the other contestants/girls. It really feels like the dystopian aspect of the story was an afterthought.

At first, I thought America was just a typical lovestruck teenager, and that the irresponsible things she does at the beginning of the novel stemmed from that. Towards the end of the novel, my opinion changed a few times...she went from being irresponsible-lovestruck-teen to drama queen to naive pushover before finally making it to dignified and acting like she'd actually thought her actions through beforehand. 

Basically, I didn't like the plot (the bachelor meets semi-dystopian royalty imo), disliked most of the characters, but I'm giving this two stars because of character development, which I think was well done.

Ever Yours~

The Know-it-all