Samstag, 28. März 2015

Review: The Selection

Titel: The Selection

Author: Kiera Cass

Genre:  YA, Dystopian

Original Language: English

First Published: April 24, 2012

Pages: 336

Series: Selection

 Other Books in the Series: The Elite, The One, The Heir as well as the novellas The Prince, The Guard, The Queen and The Favourite



What the book is about:
For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The Selection means one thing: Having the opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since their birth and be choosen by the Prince to become his wife and therfor the future Queen of Illeá. The girls get swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. They live in the palace toghter witch the Royal Family and compete for the heart of    Prince Maxon, the heir to the Throne of Illeá.
America Singer is maybe the only girl in the whole kingdom who is not intrested at all to sign up for the competition. Even her Mother and her little sister May begging her to sign up do not change her opinion. Only Aspen, her secret boyfriend, changes her mind. He is begging her to not let the opportunity of her life pass by because of him. So America agrees to sign up, being sure that she wont be selected at all.
But then America is being Selected. Despite her unwillingness to be part of the competition she leaves her family, Aspen and her old life behind and travels to the palace where she competes for the hand of Prince Maxon, alongside 34 other girls. 
Then America meets Prince Maxon. And for the first time in her life she starts to question the plans she made for herself and starts thinking about a future she never imagined and never wanted before.  


What I think about....

.... the Story and World:
I really liked the world Kiera Cass builded. It's still partly a world we can relate to, as Illeá is the "old" United States, but also a new one with the diffrent castes and the life the people life within these castes.
The idea of an event like the Selection is totally new to me and I really enjoyed how it is made up and described. You can dive in from the very first page and nothing seems unlogical at all.

... the Characters:
I really like America. I do have issues with female characters in distopyan books from time to time but I really liked America from the very start. She is a strong, independant character who is willing to take risks but also would do mostly anything the help the ones she loves. And even when she is thrown in a situtaion she never wanted to be in, she first thinks of her family instead of what she really wants.
I'm not quite sure wheater to like or hate Aspen. One the one hand he loves America with all of his heart and only want the best for her but on the other hand he also can't really let her go the way she wants to go and hurts her over and over again.
Maxon is maybe one of my all-time favourite male character. He is shy and inexprienced at first but grows with all the problems he has to face. He is also willing to take place in the politics of the land he will someday rule as the king and tries to help the people in need.

What I liked the most:
It is hard to tell what I liked the most. I really liked the characters and I enjoyed the story as well.

What I did not like:
About the book? Nothing! The only thing I do not like is that I have to wait until July for the German paperback edition of "The Elite" to come out.

Overall result:


I defently would recommend this book. The story is well written and really interesting. The characters are easy to relate to.
You can easyly dive into the story and it won't let you go. I read the whole book in 4 hours because I just couldn't stop reading.