Review: The Selection

In a world where their past decides their position in life, 35 girls fight for the right to marry the prince, become a princess, and move up in society.

America Singer is a caste 5- she is a musician whose family is struggling to put food on the table and her mother is obsessed with marrying her into a higher caste. The only problem with this is she is madly in love with Aspen, who is a level below her. Because the law says they can’t be together they are forced to meet in secret. The day the letters come informing all girls between the ages of 16 and 20 of the chance of a lifetime: enter their names into a drawing to be one of 35 lucky girls to compete for Prince Maxon’s heart, America’s life changed forever.

America is bombarded with pleas to enter the selection from her family and is firmly against it until the last person she expects tells her to enter. Aspen, the boy she would do anything for, tells her to enter the lottery for the prince’s heart so that he would never feel that he was holding her back. America never dreamed that she would be picked from all the thousands of names, so she agrees.

After being selected as one of the 35 girls, she is whisked off to the palace where she is alone, sad, and confused. All she wants is to heal her broken heart and to take care of her family. She never expected to have feelings for the prince…

I honestly loved this book! It has a great plot and is different from everything I have read recently! I picked it up initially because of the beautiful cover and the interesting description. I read the 300 page book in less than a day. I had to run a lot of errands and I found myself carrying the book with me everywhere I went and sneaking in some reading time while I was waiting in lines and in the car. I couldn’t put it down! I loved the world that Kiera Cass set up and the idea of the girls being able to move up in society and out of their caste. My favorite part of the book was America. She wasn’t afraid to be herself and to tell people how she really felt. She was in the middle of a competition where the one winner becomes instant royalty and she didn’t stoop to the cattiness that some of the girls were engaging in. It reminded me a lot of the show, “The Bachelor” in the way that the selection was conducted. I have never been a huge fan of that show, but it really worked in the book. You got to know Prince Maxon and realize that he is an amazing, thoughtful guy who really just wants to find his soul mate and do right by his country at the same time. This is a great book for teens and adults alike. I really enjoyed it and I think you will too. I cannot wait to read the next chapter in America’s life and to see the tough decisions that she will have to make soon.

Kiera Cass has come up with an amazingly, unique story that will keep you entranced until the very last page. 

 -"The Selection"- Kiera Cass

Expected publication: April 24, 2012 by Harper Teen

There is a TV movie being made and the characters have already been cast!It is supposed to premiere sometime in 2012.