I went into this book with some fairly low expectations. I’d heard a couple of mixed reviews from people; however I wanted to read it for myself and to form my own opinions.
This book is basically ‘The Bachelor’ taking place in a dystopian world. The basic synopsis is that the prince is holding this competition called ‘The Selection’ where 35 girls get chosen to go into the palace and have the opportunity to marry the prince to become a princess. Sounds fairly straight-forward right? Not so much. The world has been split up into different Caste’s. What this basically means is that you are allocated a number and you have to live that lifestyle that belongs to that number. It goes from 1 to 8, and then any family members in your direct line will forever be that number in the system. The One’s are the rich people, the royal family, the actors, the models etc etc.. With each number the jobs and income are downgraded until we get to the Eights; the construction workers, the maid and the servants, with poor income but who are still considered “integral” to the world. We also have the rebels, the groups who will do anything to see the castes be gone, including hurting the royal family, leading numerous attacks on the palace. This makes for fairly interesting plot lines as the books progress.
So, I picked up ‘The Selection’ not expecting anything fantastic or to be blown away, but for the book to be somewhat enjoyable none-the-less. Boy, was I wrong. I immediately fell in love with our 3 main characters, America, Maxon and Aspen. America, belong to the caste of 5 has secretly been dating Aspen (a caste of 6) which is frowned upon. Then one day he decides that he wants America to join the Selection, to perhaps have a chance at a better life. After a few chapters of listening to America complain about Prince Maxon and how much she hates him (a person she has not yet met) we finally get to the palace. Thus begins the love story of Prince Maxon and 35 girls.
I must admit, I love Maxon. It may sound strange saying that you can love a man who is willing to choose a wife out of 35 girls fighting for him, but it’s true, I do love him. He has this soft side that rarely comes out in the first book, but as they progress we see it more and more. I didn’t like his inability to share his emotions with America, it is clear from the first book how he feels, and he keeps telling America that she knows how he feels, yet he never actually says the words out loud. Until (Hallelujah) it finally happens! I loved the times he stood up to the King, although the outcome was never the greatest (Ouch – his poor back), regardless he showed signs of bravery. Often, I did want to punch him for being indecisive and stupid, but I suppose all is forgiven.
Then we go onto Aspen, the guy America was previously secretly dating and the one who basically forced her to go into the Selection. Aspen doesn’t appear a lot in the first book, however he does pop up eventually when he becomes at Guard at the palace in a later book! Uh oh, love triangle you are thinking? Correct! And it’s a big one. Throughout the entire trilogy, my thoughts on the love triangle were completely one sided, and let me say, I was not rooting for Aspen. The fact that he can just leave her broken hearted then suddenly show up at her escape and expect to have her back? Not cool Aspen, not cool. I did however have some moments where I felt for him throughout the trilogy, like when America was being totally indecisive but still he remained there for her through everything.
At last, we have America…. Ah dear America. On one hand she is brave, she stands up for what she believes and she isn’t afraid to be true to herself. She stands up to the King, and she inspires the nation. Even the Rebels like her. Yet, she really doesn’t think before making all the decisions and acting on them. She lacks any kind of control and manages to put herself and others in danger more the once… Even though she may come across as indecisive and could definitely make use of some anger management classes, I like her. Positively her character develops dramatically though out the books.
Overall, I enjoyed this trilogy an insane amount. I do feel as though the dystopian world at times was pushed aside and the romance took over. However, the main premise of these is about the prince finding “The One” so I didn’t feel too disappointed in this. The world itself intrigued me, we find out how the castes were created and certain characters aren’t who you expect them to be, it had some really positive parts. I do feel as though the world could have been built a little better, we know little about it, although America herself knows little about it too so I can only assume it was intentional. I would definitely recommend picking these up if you like romance, as majority of it is based on that. Please don’t into this expecting an epic dystopian with action, because you will be utterly disappointed.
I give this trilogy a 4/5 overall. I loved the conclusion; the last book was my favorite by far.
Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed my review. – Charlie.
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