By Tera Kinsman
Summer is a great time for reading, especially when you can share a good book with someone. During the summer, I always try to catch up on my TBR list. Not that that does any good, since it keeps growing... But anyway. After reading (and loving) The Selection, by Kiera Cass, I wanted to share it with my mom. Maybe you'll put it on your TBR list too. (I know, another one, I'm sorry.)
Courtesy of Harper Collins |
Book summary from
publisher:
"For thirty-five
girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime.
The opportunity 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, and leaving her home to enter a fierce
competition for a crown she doesn't want.
Then America meets Prince
Maxon. Gradually, she begins to realize that the life she's always
dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined."
My Summary:
America Singer is a Five, but she is perfectly content. Her
family may be three castes away from the bottom, struggling at times to put
food on the table, but she is in love, and happy where she is. Aspen Leger is a
caste below her, his family even larger and more desperate than America's.
Still, she dreams of the fast-approaching day when Aspen will propose to her,
even if it means becoming an impoverished Six.
Just as he has nearly saved up
enough money to marry her, the Selection invitation arrives in the mail. The
prince of their country has come of age. He will be soon taking the
throne...and a wife. A young woman from each province will be randomly selected
to go to the palace and compete to become Prince Maxon's wife and Illéa's princess.
America has no interest in the competition, but her mother and Aspen both
pressure her to enter, for the benefits it could bring to her family and to
her. Out of thousands of girls, America is chosen. Now America must choose
between a dazzling and unfamiliar future, or the comfort of a familiar love.
My Thoughts:
I was surprised at how much I enjoyed The Selection. America
is a likeable character. She does have her flaws, but I think her occasional
selfishness or rudeness makes her more relatable. I enjoyed several of the
supporting characters just as much as America.
The setting was really
interesting, too. Though the story is set in a future North America, it is also
set in a kingdom. The story can be a bit dystopian, but instead of the main
character being part of a revolution against the totalitarian rulers, the main
character becomes a target of the rebels, who fight against a government that
actually doesn't see enough of the lives of its citizens.
Next week, I'll be reviewing the sequel to this fine book, The Elite.
And, comment time! That cover has one of the most gorgeous dresses I've ever seen. (#promdressgoals) Share in comments: What's your favorite book cover dress?