Book Review: The Selection

“I hope you find someone you can't live without.I really do. And I hope you never have to know what it's like to have to try and live without them.” 

Here I sit, 20 minutes away from November (and NaNoWriMo!), having read a total of 20 books in the month of October.  Some of them have reviews coming forthwith.  Most don't, because I don't review books until I've read the whole series (or I've read all parts of the series released at that point in time) and most of the books I read were pieces of series.  However, I am nearing the end of some series, or I finished the series.  Such as for this one:  The Selection.

I read these books at the request of and out of respect for my teenage sister who loves them.  And for her sake, I wish I could give them a good review.  But I can't.  It's okay.  There are some books that I like in spite of myself, and maybe I would have liked these better when I was fifteen.  I don't know.  But they were off-the-mark, light-minded silliness when it comes down to it.


These books are described (even on their dust jackets) as a cross between The Hunger Games and The Bachelor.  Yes.  You read that correctly. The author says that they were inspired by a mental compare/contrast of Cinderella and Esther. America Singer lives in the "dystopian" world of Ilea.  I say "dystopian", because other than a questionable caste system, some despotism and the fact that sex before marriage is punishable by death, I'm not really sure what makes this society dystopian.  I'm not saying those are good things, but despotism and dystopia are not the same thing.  Also, the world building of how Illea came to be out of the United States shows that the author has little-to-no understanding of geopolitics, and is completely unbelievable.  Whenever the Prince needs a wife, there is a Selection.  36 girls from across the castes are presented as members of the Selection.  What follows is a sometimes cutthroat battle for the hand of Prince Maxon, who appears to have been named by Mr. Miyagi. However, America is torn between this Prince whose name appears to be a new product in feminine hygiene, and Aspen, her childhood love (who is a lower caste than her--gasp).  Then the rich-boy-poor-boy dilemma is eliminated (long story) and it becomes a question of rich-boy-slightly-less-rich-boy.  However, she and Aspen appear to have nothing in common other than puppy-love and animal attraction.

Originally, America thinks that Maxon is a stuck-up Prince, but she obviously learns that's not true.  She generally has no propriety throughout this selection, but is still somehow supposed to be a good choice.  Whenever she acts rashly, it's okay because people tell her it's because she knows to fight for what's right.  Even if that fighting involves ill-thought-out outbursts which you would think that someone who was raised in despotism would have learned to control, and achieve absolutely nothing.  Obviously throwing a temper tantrum is the way to affect social change.  That's a great thing to teach teenage girls of a generation that already believes that squeaky wheels get the grease and if you scream loud enough, you will get everything that you want.

You pretty much know who she will choose by the end of the first one, but we are still subjected to two more books of will-they-won't-they, followed by a stubborn battle of "I'm not going to be the one to say it."

And yes, the last line is "This isn't happily ever after.  It's so much more than that."

The best thing I can say for it is some amusing dialogue, and some actually really well-written romance moments (I probably feel that way because I, as a writer, am completely incapable of writing romance moments).  

Overall, it was tedious to read. No other way to put it.  2 out of 5 stars for the whole series (and for each individual book in the series, actually), because it wasn't as shoot-me-now as the 1 star books I have read.