Review: The Selection by Kiera Cass

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Review: The Selection by Kiera Cass

I’ve decided to stop rating by stars. Books are so subjective that I feel like an ass trying to put a quantifiable numerical rating on them. So:

Rating: I had a lot of problems with this book, and yet I want to read the next one. Go figure.

 

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

Let me start by saying both the premise and the cover are gorgeous. A dystopian twist on The Princess and the Pea? I’m all about it. Unfortunately, the only things this book really has going for it are the premise and the cover.

I know it’s unfair of me, but I kept comparing this dystopian to the Hunger Games. Actually, it’s NOT unfair, considering the blurb for the book describes it as The Bachelor meets The Hunger Games, so it’s the book’s fault, I guess. The first portion shows how life in Illea, a country strictly divided by caste, is for our protagonist, America Singer (that name makes me CRINGE, btw). The caste part of this book is very interesting. Or at least, it could have been. In Illea, Ones are royalty and Eights are basically the dregs of the earth and everybody else falls on the spectrum between them. America and her family are Fives, meaning they are in the caste of artists and performers. The boy America loves, Aspen (oh God that name), is a Six. This is No Good. Marrying down is a bad thing. The castes don’t mix on pain of death.

Or at least, not really. The biggest problem I had with this book is how low the emotional stakes are. I didn’t feel like bad things were going to happen. America talks a lot about all the hardships she and her family face, but they really don’t seem that hard. She says they’re hungry sometimes, but every time we see the Singers they are eating. Yes, it’s very sad that her little brother is forced to be an artist instead of a soccer player, like he wants. Katniss is over in the corner rolling her eyes at you, thinking, Boohoo, can’t be a soccer player. Come talk to me when you literally have to SHOOT SQUIRRELS to stay ALIVE, little boy.

This is a dystopian. I expect severe hardship, suffering, grit, a totalitarian government, and horrendous oppression. All those things are hinted at in The Selection, but never taken as far as they should have. When America is chosen to be one of the girls sent to live in the palace and maybe become Prince Maxon’s royal lady love, she decides to go because A) her sweet and stupid boyfriend Aspen tells her to and B) her family will receive money if she does. This is good conflict on paper. She’s in love with Aspen, he is poor and lowly, her family desperately needs money. If she goes, her family gets fed, but she’ll lose the love of her life. If she stays, she’ll be with Aspen, but her family will starve.

The problem? Her family isn’t starving. Her boyfriend takes himself out of the picture. Goodbye stakes. Even when she goes to the palace, the conflict is very low. She’s more upset about boy, boys, boys. The sketchy “rebels” are not remotely threatening, and Prince Maxon’s explanation of their motives is entirely too vague. Again, I must compare it to The Hunger Games. When Katniss is in the arena, the stakes are complicated, but also pretty freaking clear. If she doesn’t win the Hunger Games, she will die and her whole family with also probably die. But then there's that nice boy with the bread and the little girl who reminds her of her sister. Can she kill them and still live with herself? Are there bigger things worth dying for? There you go.

So yes, America goes off to the palace to compete for the hand of Prince Maxon. In my eyes, this is where the plot picked up a little. The writing still had its problems– I didn’t truly get what she was fighting for, the dystopian land wasn’t dystopian enough, the godforsaken NAMES– but I found myself turning the pages more quickly here. I know lots of people had problems with Maxon as a character, but he was actually the first person in this book I liked. He’s stiff, naïve, goodhearted, and slightly strange. He trusts in America way too quickly and with no reason, but I forgave him for that.

I had issues with America. Particularly in the beginning. She was bland and slightly catty for no reason. So bland she actually says things like “I hated war” in her narration. Of course you hate war. It’s war. This is the sort of sentence that a character should never go out of their way to say, because it's a waste. I actually came to like her more throughout the book, mostly in her scenes with Maxon. She feels underdeveloped, as do all the other contestants, particularly Marlee. I also expected the cameras to be a bigger issue here. They are essentially on a dating reality show, and yet they were hardly ever filmed. This is a dystopian! Everything should be pushed to the nth degree here. And yet it wasn’t.

The plot is also somewhat aimless. Every now and then there’s a rebel “attack” which mostly amounts to things bouncing loudly against the palace walls. We get to know America’s maids, who actually provide most of the heart and pain of narrative, which this novel sorely needed. There’s a little (though easily anticipated) twist near the end, and then… well. Let’s just say this book is more of a first act for an over-arching narrative than a complete novel in and of itself. There wasn’t a climax here. It was mostly setup for Book Two.

And yet, I read it through. Maybe it was because I started to like America more and more as the book went on. Maybe it was because of Maxon. Maybe it was just because I wanted to know what happened, or I loved the premise so much I kept hoping it would deliver. It improves, no doubt about it, but I’m not sure it’s as good as it could be. The execution was not great. Some of the dialogue doesn’t feel very real, but then other times it was pretty great. The book had its moments, even if they weren't quite enough.

I’ll pick up the sequel. I have a feeling the proverbial sh*t will finally start hitting the fan in that one. I’m hoping the dystopian elements get more dystopian and my brain will stop reading King Clarkson as Kelly Clarkson (unlikely). But we’ll see.

NOTE: This review is my opinion and my opinion only. Lots of people LOVE this book, and I can see why. I don’t want to discourage you from trying it. It’s a very popular book that’s been read by tons of people, regardless of my feelings. If you loved it, feel free to tell me why you did, and why I’m a big bully for thinking naming a red-haired girl with a good voice America Singer is pretty cheesy.