“It’s always the fear of looking stupid that stops you from being awesome.” Kiera Cass, The Selection

The Selection Series Box Set: The Selection, The Elite, The One

This book is not on my list (yet) but in my quest to find books, this one kept popping up. It’s listed as In-Development which basically means it should be a movie someday but I was so intrigued by the concept that I had to read it.

I was drawn in by a review that describes it best: This book is The Hunger Games (without the bloodbath) meets The Bachelor (without the bloodbath)… The Selection is a random drawing in the (obviously fictional) post-WW4 era where 35 women are selected to be in a “competition” to meet the Prince and become the next Princess. For most girls, it’s the chance of a lifetime but for America, the main character, it’s not.

I could not stop reading it! There’s some love story, some backstabbing, some confusion, and a ton of elegance! This book takes you into a world where most people dream of and views it from a girl who doesn’t want to be there… At first, anyways…

SPOILER ALERT

America, pretty cool name for a girl, is in love with someone else and simply signs up because her boyfriend doesn’t want it looming over his head. Then she gets drawn and gets shipped off to the palace to live a life that she, as a Five (a lower caste with little to nothing), has never seen or even imagined before. She can eat amazing food and wear amazing dresses all while her family gets a check for her simply being there. But that’s the only reason she is there because her heart is with someone that is not only NOT a prince, but is a lower caste than her family.

What we see with America is kindness – she greets the fans in the airport, she insists that her maids don’t need to stay with her but should rest, she looks for a friend among the girls. She is also very stubborn – she was raised far below the means that the palace offers but with very high morals. She will not waiver in her beliefs and that helps propel her forward.

What we see from Prince Maxon is confusion and desperation. This is his only chance to find not only a princess, but a future queen and someone he can spend his life with. He has to show that he is decisive but find someone he is happy with too.

Also something to note: this story does not end. You will have to keep reading the next books to get to the end of the story, which, I promise, does not disappoint.

SUMMARY

While there is no date for when this book/series will be made into a movie, I cannot wait for it. I have been thinking of a cast and the best person I can think of for America is Laura Spencer, but maybe just because she kind of resembles the character on the book cover.

At the time I am writing this, I have finished all 3 books in the Selection Series. I’m not hopeless romantic by an account but these books drew me in just as quickly as the Hunger Games series did. I think my favorite is the 3rd book, but you will need to read them to get there. I highly recommend this to anyone who was interested in The Hunger Games, Twilight, or the Bachelor TV series. Those people should be sucked right in, just like I was.

GRADE: A+