The Selection: The Selection, Book 1

If you combined the dystopian setting of Hunger Games books with the backbiting and forced melodrama of ‘Mean Girls’ and The Bachelor TV series you’d have ‘The Selection.’ While I thoroughly enjoyed the Hunger Games books, I find The Bachelor insipid and boring. Unfortunately, The Selection is much more “Bachelor” than it is Hunger Games and because of that I am not inspired or motivated to continue the series even though book one leaves the reader hanging.Below are some observations I noted as I read:- Selection process reminiscent of Hunger Games series, but with less emotional engagement or risk- The “Princes” selection process is The Bachelor model for selecting fiancés complete with ‘dates.’- The heroine whines about everything that is different in her life resulting from her choice to participate in the selection. She made the choice to participate to benefit her family so suck it up, buttercup.- The dialogue often reads like ‘Mean Girls’ in a girls’ locker room a month before prom: gossip, speculation, backbiting, wishful thinking, will he/won’t he ask me out; wild jealousy when girls talk about their respective dates with the Prince.- Silly names for the new countries: Swendway, Honduragua; feels like the author couldn’t be troubled with more detailed world building.Bottom line: this is a pale imitation of some of the other YA dystopian novels out there. If you want your young people to read about strong characters in difficult circumstances, look elsewhere.

This is definitely a series for 15 and under. I will say the writing and editing is good, but the characters, plausibility and story line isn't. Silly names made up by a teenager. Silly places also named by a teenager. The main character, America, is a classic, airhead, selfish teenager who takes far to long long to make her mind up and to do right by the main men in her life. I was irritated throughout most of this series and had a hard time finishing them. I truly regret the money I spent.

America Singer is just an ordinary girl, that it, until she was chosen to enter a competition to become Prince Maxon's wife. But what about her boyfriend at home. And what if she does not want to be the Princess. As the stakes get higher and the competition gets fiercer, what will America choose? Love in the palace and royalty, or love at home with a peasant?Loved this book. Great pace, great storyline, new idea/concept I had not read before. The characters were great had had personalities, liveliness, and were not dull at all. This was my favorite of the series. It kept me on the edge of seat and had so much suspense I read it in one sitting and could not put it down. Excellent read.Parental Guidance:This book doesn't have language, sex/nudity, or anything that would prevent anyone from reading it. 12+, anyone who can read this level would be great. This book is more for girls, too.

I didn't expect to like this book as much as I did. I love dystopian novels, and have read all the usual suspects - Hunger Games, Divergent, Matched, Delirium, etc. I loved some, not so much others. When this kept showing up in my recommendations, I just assumed it was because it was so popular, and not necessarily for me. I figured I would read the first one and be done - I was so wrong!! I can't read them fast enough! It's an interesting world they live in, and that's what makes a great dystopian book - when the main characters are just doing something so simple, like falling in love, and yet it impacts the entire political and social scheme. There are really great characters, well developed and believable - sweet, conniving, funny, bitchy. I find myself rooting for girls that are not America, and still being unable to decide who I want America to end up with. It's a riveting story and I can't wait to read more!

Everything was super predictable. It was fine while you were reading it, but left a really bad flavor behind when you stopped. It was like watching a really bad movie, but you can't stop because you just need to get it over with and see how it ends so you can be done with it.

Good grief, I don't even know where to start.America has been selected to compete against 34 other girls vying for the affections of Prince Maxon based upon the fact she's attractive. She doesn't want him, she's in love with Aspen, but her family needs the money so she applies anyway. That's the plot: 35 pretty girls are hateful to each other for the sake of winning the affections of an entitled, pretentious and borderline creepy prince who clearly has no respect or understanding of what a disgusting situation that even is:“You are all dear to me. It is simply a matter of discovering who shall be the dearest.” ---- get over yourself. If you didn't roll your eyeballs I don't even know what's wrong with you.My biggest problem with this book is not the competition but rather America's obsession with prettiness and the fundamentally messed up portrayal of women hating on other women; I don't enjoy reading about it and I think it's totally unnecessary. This book could easily have had 35 girls rebel against the system and have each others backs and I'm certain it would have had a way bigger impact on me if it had done!America is entirely hung up on people thinking she's pretty, but constantly comments on how unattractive, overweight or aged other women are - this even extends to her mother who she frequently judges! I abhor the way she flippantly discusses her mother to be perfectly honest. America also often complains that people comment on her looks, that she's sick of being called pretty, but speaks about her looks in the same way I imagine beautiful people do when they secretly love that they're beautiful because they're actually arrogant AND beautiful:"Please don't call me gorgeous. First my mom, then May, now you. It's getting on my nerves." ....."By the way Aspen was looking at me, I could tell I wasn't helping my "I'm not pretty" case."If you want some more eyeball-rolling-worthy moments let me tell you this: America Singer is also a singer. I wonder how Keira Cass came up with her name? I just don't get it; I don't find that a clever move if it's meant to be. On top of this America thinks she's some sort of saint for lowering herself to the level of the commoners by indulging them with the pleasure of a conversation with her, despite the fact she's entirely dismissive of her maids initially and was once in their very shoes; she also complains about having been poor whilst evaluating the number of dresses she has that are not in keeping with "the latest fashion".I wish this book had been a clever attempt to challenge shows like, "The Bachelor" which broadcast women fighting tooth and nail for a man who doesn't value them, pushing each other down in order to bring themselves up. I just despise the idea of a man getting to essentially choose his favourite woman from a group of adoring women who are willing to hurt each other to win; it's not a strong message and it's definitely not fun to read about. I thought that this might be what Cass was going to do initially, given that America makes it very clear from the off that she's not interested in him, but that sadly wasn't the case at all. I won't be continuing with the series, because God only knows how I would contend with four more books which required me to shelve my absolute disdain for America Singer, the singer. She's pretty, don't you know?

A 3.5 for this compulsive page turner that somehow keeps the reader engaged through Prince Maxon’s Bachelor selection process - with decent writing, a fabulous cover, but minimal tension.Why only a 3.5? Primarily the lack of world building, which distracted from the plot.It’s set in future North America, following a Chinese invasion and World War 4, in a relatively new country. So why introduce an archaic monarchy into a brave new world? There is mention of the founder marrying into a Royal family, but WHICH Royal family? (I write this as a Brit well used to Royals!). Furthermore it's a well-loved Royal family despite the fact that their starving people are being executed (adults) and beaten (kids) for stealing food.They are attacked by rebels from the north (disorganised but harmless) and south (dangerous) who regularly breach the palace walls, ransack rooms, and seem to be ‘searching’ for something. That’s it. Everyone hides. We never see them. End of, until the next attack.Which leads to the caste system. Good scope for drama/tension here but, nope. Don't get that either. It's not entrenched through a long history, so why introduce it in a new country? Cass goes with the Divergent structure - the protagonist, America, is from an artistic family and therefore a 5. Her brother wants to play soccer, not the piano, but he's not allowed. Er, why not? Irritatingly, this system is not explained satisfactorily.To me this story would have been so much better as a fantasy/fairytale, which would have made more sense than the attempt at a dystopian society. I couldn't get a clear picture of the world. They have planes, cars, and telephones but not one mention of an electronic device, from a smartphone to a laptop. Why not? The Royals live in a grand palace to rival any ancient European monarchy, which I assume was built after the new country was formed, but as they don't have any history books it's hard to know why - there are hints that this will become clearer in book 2, but I needed more info earlier on.I liked all the characters to a point. They're all nice enough...that's it....nice, which means I'm not enjoying the love triangle as I don't want to see either of the guys hurt. Not enough detail to fall in love with them.Overall 'Mer' is a good protagonist, but I didn't like how she constantly puts all the other girls down, as though she were the only one with any decency and spunk (she stood up to the prince, didn't want her image changed in the makeover, and didn't flinch in the face of rebel attacks). I was disappointed her music barely came into it - I can't believe a musician would ignore all those beautiful instruments in her room to play cards and read all day. I was waiting for the others to be mesmerised by her beautiful voice and piano floating down the hallways. It was disappointing not to see any competitive events between the girls or details about their behaviour at parties or the like, and the cameras were only occasionally mentioned – the main focus is on America’s inner ramblings.I really hated Maxon’s use of the term 'dear' - it made him sound like a patronising fifty year old.If you want a fairly gentle, compelling YA romance, this is for you. I’ve already purchased book 2 and am hoping to have a lot of questions answered. Be aware that each book ends on a cliff-hanger – and is priced a pound more than its predecessor!

This book was released SO long ago and I've only JUST read it. Part of the reason is because despite the huge amount of hype it received, it has SUCH mixed reviews. Some people hated it and some loved it! I've always been a bit wary of massively hyped books but I finally decided to give it a go. In the end, my own feelings were pretty mixed though overall I did like it. I really liked the plot: it had a dash of Dystopian in it but was more focused on the competition side of things which was a lot of fun to read! Having a book based on 'The Bachelor' competition as an idea is not something I usually think I would enjoy but for some reason it had me completely hooked! The world-building was interesting too, though the number castes had a few oddities that didn't make much sense to me. I liked the idea behind it however and I'm intrigued to see how it develops in the next books. The characters in this book took a little adjusting to. I'm thinking particularly of the three main characters (that's right, love triangle ALERT). America was a character that I thought I wouldn't get along with, but in the end I actually liked her a lot. She didn't make too many stupid, reckless decisions like so many characters I've read from before. Maxon really grew on me and while I adore him, I have to say please NEVER let him say 'my dear' again. If anyone knows the story of 'Oliver Twist', they'll know EXACTLY which character was brought to mind when I read this and it was not a pretty picture. Aspen I didn't like quite so much, yet I couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for him. The reason I didn't give it a really huge rating was because I felt it lacked a lot of the detail I like to read and I felt like there was room to have explained some things along the way. I am looking forward to reading Book Two though!

I borrowed this book for free using Kindle Unlimited. The first thing I did when I had finished reading was buy this book and then the next in the series. I then binge read all five books in a day. I couldn't help myself.I should admit that I am slightly (...) older than the target audience, but I loved the way the book made me feel like a teenager again. I laughed, cried and experienced crippling secondhand embarrassment. I had definite favourites and, as I read through the series, I realised that the characters were not stereotypically 'good' or 'bad' but flawed human beings who sometimes made epic mistakes and had to deal with the consequences.I give the entire series five stars and highly recommend it for young adults and the young at heart.

For thirty- five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. It is the opportunity to escape the constricts of the class that they have been born into and the life which has been written for them since the day since they were born. This is their chance to be swept up into the world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels and to live in the palace and compete to win the heart of the Prince Maxon and become the next royal princess.However for America Singer, being selected is the nightmare that she has been dreading. he will have to turn her back on her secret love with Aspen, who has been born into a caste below her and their love would be frowned upon. She has to face the fact that she will have to leave her home to enter a fierce competition for the crown and prize that she has no interest in winning. Living in the palace feels like a jail cell to her and she is living in a place which is under constant threat of being attacked by the violent rebel forces from both the north and south.However, things start to change when America meets the dashing Prince Maxon and gradually she starts to question all of the plans which she had made for herself. She soon realizes that the life that she has always dreamed of for herself may not compare to the future that she started to imagine for herself.This is the novel which is the result of the marriage between The Hunger Games and The Bachelor and have a family. I found this book a different type of book than I normally read, however I found myself engaged in the story from page one. This was one of the few books which I have read in one sitting and this was due to it having a pace which constantly had you guessing what was going to happen next. I can not wait to read the next books in the series to see what life has in store for America and Maxon. I found this utterly surprising as this is not the genre that I would normally pick up but found myself pleasantly surprised and fell in love with the whole cast of characters. I found that this was exactly the book I was looking for when Burial Rites left me with a book hangover. I would highly recommend this to everyone who is wanting to find an engaging story to use as a palette cleanser after a differcult read.