Review: The Selection

Title:  The Selection
Series:  The Selection #1
Author:  Kiera Cass
Publisher:  Harper Teen
Pages:  327
Format:  eBook

Summary:  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 the palace and compete for the heart of the 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.

My Review:  I was initially very wary about picking up this book.  I saw it everywhere and the cover was spectacular but I was still quite hesitant.  But I soon decided it was at least worth a shot so I downloaded the free sample onto my nook and was immediately drawn into the story.  

This book was a pleasant surprise for me.  I hadn't been expecting much but I can tell you that this is definitely a book that I will happily go back and reread.  

I've always been a sucker for the whole princess and prince sort of story and the happily ever afters but this book really took that stereo type and dug a little deeper.  This wasn't all big dresses and pretty parties and love at first sight.  It was a real fiction.  And when I say "real" I mean that it was absolutely believable.  If I didn't know any better, I would have believed this was the diary of a girl this had actually happened to.  

I really loved the characters (with the exception of one).  I found them very endearing and relatable.  I was especially won over by Maxon.  I found him absolutely amazing.  

The only character I really had problems with were Aspen.  I didn't like him from the start and it drove me completely insane when America held off her and Maxon's relationship because of him.  I felt like this was almost a Gale and Peeta sort of situation.  Maxon is obviously the one who is good for America (just as Peeta was for Katniss in my opinion) and Aspen is just a childhood friend or a "first love" (as Gale was).     

The world building was also very nice.  I felt like I was a part of this world as I read and I always really enjoy that in a book.  Though I was a little confused at first about all the castes, I quickly caught on.  

The over all plot line was fairly slow.  There wasn't too much action, just a lot of getting to know characters and learning the world.  However, I think Cass did a wonderful job setting up the stage for the sequel of this book, which I will be eagerly awaiting.  

Four Feathers