‘The Selection’ review

The Selection by Kiera Cass

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Release Date: April 24th, 2012.

I have to be honest, this wasn’t what I expected. It was a lot more…modern than I thought it would be and a lot of the slang, technology, ways of the world were the same but mixed up with some typical dystopian world rules.

But I loved it. Not because of the world building, as that was not the main part of this story at all, or because of the writing, which was simplistic but to the point, but because the story had heart. America was a great main character. Flawed but likeable. Brave and stubborn. Beautiful but vulnerable. And I wanted her to succeed. I wanted her to get whatever she wanted.

It was really interesting reading this reality show type book. It’s like The Bachelor but in book format! There’s all these girls running around wanting to marry the Prince for whatever reasons they have. And of course, there’s competition between everyone and feelings of jealousy when you think you have a special bond with the Prince and then you find out what he’s been doing on his other dates! It was all very realistic.

What made the story great to read, for me, was the developing friendship between Maxon and America. At first, it felt like she was doing everything wrong. But actually she wasn’t. I found myself hoping that she would begin to see him as a love interest and not a friend. And when the possible romance turned into a love triangle, I was appropriately irritated because I’d thought it was going to so well!!

The pacing was great. I was never bored. In fact, the end of the book took me by surprise! I was so engrossed that I hadn’t seen it coming. And while the plot wasn’t the most intricate plot I’ve ever read, it worked. The premise was original and entertaining and the characters were developed and interesting. I especially enjoyed America and Maxon. My only issue was that soooo many people were named throughout the book (obviously, due to there being like 35 girls originally selected) that sometimes I found it hard to keep up.

Otherwise, very much surprised (pleasantly so!) by this one. 4.5 stars. I’d recommend to anyone wanting a light read that’ll keep your mood raised throughout.

View all my reviews