Amazon.com: Customer reviews: The Selection (The Selection Book Book 1)

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LOVE IT Parental Guidance included

Reviewed in the United States on December 23, 2016

America Singer is just an ordinary girl, that it, until she was chosen to enter a competition to become Prince Maxon's wife. But what about her boyfriend at home. And what if she does not want to be the Princess. As the stakes get higher and the competition gets fiercer, what will America choose? Love in the palace and royalty, or love at home with a peasant?

Loved this book. Great pace, great storyline, new idea/concept I had not read before. The characters were great had had personalities, liveliness, and were not dull at all. This was my favorite of the series. It kept me on the edge of seat and had so much suspense I read it in one sitting and could not put it down. Excellent read.

Parental Guidance:
This book doesn't have language, sex/nudity, or anything that would prevent anyone from reading it. 12+, anyone who can read this level would be great. This book is more for girls, too.

73 people found this helpful

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Tabby1249Top Contributor: Historical Fiction Books

‘Mean Girls’ meet ‘The Bachelor’

Reviewed in the United States on April 27, 2018

If you combined the dystopian setting of Hunger Games books with the backbiting and forced melodrama of ‘Mean Girls’ and The Bachelor TV series you’d have ‘The Selection.’ While I thoroughly enjoyed the Hunger Games books, I find The Bachelor insipid and boring. Unfortunately, The Selection is much more “Bachelor” than it is Hunger Games and because of that I am not inspired or motivated to continue the series even though book one leaves the reader hanging.

Below are some observations I noted as I read:
- Selection process reminiscent of Hunger Games series, but with less emotional engagement or risk
- The “Princes” selection process is The Bachelor model for selecting fiancés complete with ‘dates.’
- The heroine whines about everything that is different in her life resulting from her choice to participate in the selection. She made the choice to participate to benefit her family so suck it up, buttercup.
- The dialogue often reads like ‘Mean Girls’ in a girls’ locker room a month before prom: gossip, speculation, backbiting, wishful thinking, will he/won’t he ask me out; wild jealousy when girls talk about their respective dates with the Prince.
- Silly names for the new countries: Swendway, Honduragua; feels like the author couldn’t be troubled with more detailed world building.

Bottom line: this is a pale imitation of some of the other YA dystopian novels out there. If you want your young people to read about strong characters in difficult circumstances, look elsewhere.

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Tabby1249Top Contributor: Historical Fiction Books

‘Mean Girls’ meet ‘The Bachelor’

Reviewed in the United States on April 27, 2018

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If you are not, nor have ever been, a silly 15 year old female teenage airhead, this is not the book or series for you.

Reviewed in the United States on June 6, 2018

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This is definitely a series for 15 and under. I will say the writing and editing is good, but the characters, plausibility and story line isn't. Silly names made up by a teenager. Silly places also named by a teenager. The main character, America, is a classic, airhead, selfish teenager who takes far to long long to make her mind up and to do right by the main men in her life. I was irritated throughout most of this series and had a hard time finishing them. I truly regret the money I spent.

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Everything was super predictable. It was fine while you were reading ...

Reviewed in the United States on May 28, 2018

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Everything was super predictable. It was fine while you were reading it, but left a really bad flavor behind when you stopped. It was like watching a really bad movie, but you can't stop because you just need to get it over with and see how it ends so you can be done with it.

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Diana

Full of drama and over the top characters, but not the kind we like. Entertaining, but a little mindless.

Reviewed in the United States on August 28, 2015

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Actual rating: 2.5

America doesn’t want what every girl wants. She doesn’t want to be part of an elaborate reality tv contest that will win her the hand of the handsome crown prince. She doesn’t want to be royalty. She just wants to be with the people she loves. And she wants to play her music. That’s it. Unfortunately for her, that’s not going to happen. America and her family are Fives which means that they rank low on the caste system and have to work to stay afloat. And times are getting rough. Pushed by her family to help support them and hurt by her boyfriend’s dismissal, she throws her name into the competition, never dreaming she’d get picked. Only she does. And then everything changes.

I don’t often read books heavy on romance, but a friend recommended it to me and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. America is a pretty strong character and I could relate to her as a reader. I found her honesty and loyalty admirable. Cass does a good job illustrating the struggles a family can face while living in near poverty. I enjoyed the family dynamic a lot and it definitely felt realistic to me, especially with what happens when someone in the family becomes successful (and both directions it can take). America’s relationship with her father and sister was heartwarming and often brought a smile to my face.

The world building is interesting, although a little spotty. The novel takes place in a post apocalyptic world in the future. We get different bits and pieces of history throughout the novel and references to holidays that no longer exist in the future. There’s mention of rebels and war and an insurgence, but it’s not clear how we got to this point. Hopefully, it will be explained in the sequels because I was more than a little confused at the state of things. However, the premise is pretty interesting and I like that there’s a caste system complete with all sorts of people who are assigned professions by their caste. Also interesting is that you can climb the social ladder and enter a caste above you if you’re lucky enough.

This book also features a pretty typical love triangle. Girl is torn between two boys; one of which she grew up with and the other she just met and had figured all wrong. What’s interesting is that her first love is painted as more of the bad boy rebel and the crown prince is the good, kind-natured nice guy. Her love for each boy is vastly different and she encounters issues as those relationships evolve. I felt that both boys could have done with a bit more personality as they seemed very basic and I would have liked more exploration into their characters. All in all, this is a good book to read at the beach or on a rainy day if you want to pass a few hours. I read it in one sitting and it felt like I flew through the pages. If you like romance, reality television, and the movie Miss Congeniality, you’ll probably like this book.

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Lydia Chen

A little silly

Reviewed in the United States on February 18, 2019

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I will give this book three stars because it was fairly entertaining and got through it quick enough. That being said, I will probably not purchase the second one.. so it wasn't THAT good.
There are a few aspects of the book that seem rather silly... kind of like how you would find teenage drama silly.
It was basically Hunger Games meets the Bachelor.
Pros:
-Easy read
-You most likely won't be emotionally invested, which is good if you just want to pass the time? Lol
-Funny? A little.. maybe

Cons..
-Heroine was disappointing and hard to connect with.. she is very caught up in her romantic drama and is supposedly an incredible musician yet never plays her instruments and seems to have no passion for it whatsoever in the face of her heartbreak etc. I'm a musician so this part irked me. In fact, she only played once in the whole book. It felt as if there was no substance to her.
-Too much teenageish drama... mean, jealous girls trying to outdo each other etc. Except for the heroine of course because she is above all that.. obviously.
-The world was rather silly.. silly new names for countries.. Illea is the US and Canada? Swendway is... Sweden?? Honduragura is who know where..

Conclusion:
I only paid two bucks so I'm not complaining, but I am not at all urged to buy the second.. it ended in a cliffhanger but I'm perfectly happy to be done.

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Christina Rickman

A "Dystopian" Bachelor

Reviewed in the United States on January 15, 2014

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This book was enjoyable to read but contained nothing of actual substance. I loved the Hunger Games and have torn through several dystopian teen romance series since then, in effort to find one even half as good as the Hunger Games (Divergent series, Matched series).

I usually review each of the series as a whole and with both the Divergent series and the Matched series, by the end of the book 3, I was seriously sick of the weak/one-dimensional characters and the convoluted and illogical dystopian societies. I therefore decided to review this book before I'd finished the series, while I was still somewhat interested in the characters and their world.

I enjoyed reading this book, but then again, I also liked watching the Bachelor. This book is 85% Bachelor and 15% dystopian society... the characters are divided into castes with the obvious implication that life is rougher in the lower castes. Beyond that, their society isn't given much substance. Rebel attacks are occasionally mentioned, and I'm sure the dystopian theme will be explored further in books 2 and 3, but I hope that this author is not going to make the same mistake that the authors of Divergent and Matched made; creating an overly complicated society in order to fill pages of an otherwise purely romantic-fluff novel. One of the reasons the Hunger Games was SO good was because Panem felt real... it's rules made sense, it's existence was plausible, and the author didn't try to compensate for lack of substance or character development with poorly thought-out plot twists and turns (which is EXACTLY what frustrated me about the Divergent series and the Matched series.... serums? the otherlands? the pilot? Come on).

This book is an easy and enjoyable beach read, but I wouldn't give it 5 stars because there is nothing terribly original about it- the protagonist is not all that interesting and there are definitely inconsistencies with her character - she's a performing musician but she doesn't like people looking at her? Her first love, Aspen, is about as one-dimensional/predictable as characters get: a lower caste guy who does the "noble" thing and breaks up with her, but never stops loving her (think Notebook). The evolving relationship between America (the protagonist) and the Prince has also been written a million times before- she makes it clear she doesn't want to be more than friends, but "ironically", the prince finds her more attractive than any of the other 34 girls.

BUT if you're not looking for complex characters or an interesting plot, and you're a sucker for Bachelor-esque competitions and predictable love-stories (which I am), than you will enjoy reading this book. Kiera Cass is a good writer and she keeps you interesting and engaged. I just hope she doesn't try to pretend her series is something it's not, by filling the second and third books with muddled, completely meaningless "dystopian" plot twists and turns.

4 people found this helpful

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HOOOOOOO BOY

Reviewed in the United States on June 5, 2014

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I read this for a young adult book club that I'm a part of. And that's the only reason I finished it.

The pros:
-The dresses are nice
-It's short, and an easy read

The cons:
-The characters have no 3-dimentionality. They’re composites of YA romance archetypes, but with no defining features of their own.
- There’s no plot. There IS a premise -girls compete in a bachelorette type event to marry the prince- but by the end of the book the main character hasn’t grown or changed. Well, she’s now part of love triangle and has to choose between two guys – this is also the “climax.”
-The world building is bad. Why is this set in an (alleged) dystopia? The main dystopic elements are a caste system, a monarchy, and a law against pre-marital sex. These are main features of any traditional fairy tale – why not make this a fairy tale. None of the “dystopic features” are used as major story points, the characters don’t challenge or change these elements in any meaningful ways. Furthermore, the tone of this book is as light and sugary as marshmallow – not exactly conducive to a dark exploration of what our world could be.
-The heroine of the story is has no agency – she’s defined by her love interest’s actions. She gets dumped by love #1 at the beginning (she had the gall to use her money on him – thus proving he can’t be the provider she deserves), is selected (unwillingly) for The Princess-orette contest for love #2, and remains in the contest for weak reasons. She has no goals/expectations/dreams for herself outside of the romance. She hasn't even taken any active role or stance in the romance department, but has merely reacted to love#1 and love#2 actions towards herself.
-The heroine is a self-insert construct; a blank slate a la Bella Swan. She doesn't grow, change or define herself throughout the story.

I swear,I didn't start this book with any lofty expectations in mind - the bar was set pretty low. All I wanted was some light fun, and I was willing to be forgiving to some weaker aspects if the whole was entertaining. Instead I found myself getting angry at the characters/author, or thinking of more interesting avenues the story could have explored. Don't make my mistake. Go read something else.....

26 people found this helpful

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EarthAngel

Easy read.

Reviewed in the United States on April 18, 2014

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This book is very much like The Hunger Games, Divergent, and Cinderella all rolled into one.

Some similarities:

Illea is very much like Panem.
The Selection is pretty much like the Reaping.
Hunger Games has the tesserae, where families of The Selected are also compensated.
Hunger Games has "tributes", Selection has the "selected".
Hunger Games has "career tributes", the Selection has the "elite". The Hunger Games was broadcast on national TV as the ultimate in reality TV, so is The Selection.

The castes aren't unlike the districts in the Hunger Games or the factions in Divergent. Each caste specializes in their own industry, if you will. As a Five, America is only three tiers away from rock bottom.

Each of the Selected will get to travel to the capitol...I mean...the castle to stay with the royal family. Not unlike Katniss' trip to the castle...dang...I mean capitol, she is fitted for dresses, all while being filmed by a reality TV crew.

The names of the characters were quite distracting. (Names like Tiny, Tuesday, Gerad, and Kamber.) I don't know how one pronounces "Maxon". At first, I made it sound like "Jackson", which was really distracting and detracted from the story. I think "Mason" rolls off the tongue much easier.

Of course, there is the requisite love triangle. But it isn't entirely convincing. Much like Peeta and Katniss, there really isn't any chemistry between Aspen and America. It almost makes you wonder what America is angsting over.

The Selection is an easy read and I did find myself saying "Just one more chapter" well after I should have gone to bed. But, be prepared to not have any questions answered in book one. Apparently, there is a rule that no stories involving a dystopian United States can be resolved unless there is a trilogy.

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xtina

Not terribly original but still a fun read

Reviewed in the United States on October 6, 2013

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I admit, I was pretty skeptical going into this book. The Amazon summary made it sound like the author just borrowed ideas from Matched, Wither, and The Hunger Games and so I wasn't expecting to find much original here. But...all in all, I am happy to say I actually liked this more than I expected to. There were definitely some things that irritated me, but in general this wasn't bad!

A brief summary of my own rendering. This takes place in the future sometime after the Fourth World War, in the Americas. The USA no longer exists: it has given way to a fragile country called Illéa, in which society is divided into a rigid caste system arranged by number, with ones being at the top (royals) and eights being at the very bottom (basically homeless). Our protagonist, America, is a five, which is a pretty low caste, meaning her family has often struggled just to put food on the table. Then the Selection happens. The Selection is this bizarre ritual whereby 35 or so of the most beautiful girls in the country are chosen to come to the royal palace in order that the prince may eventually choose one of them to be his wife. The whole "selection" process is televised for national entertainment (like a less bloody version of the Hunger Games). America is Selected (to be one of the 35)...only her heart already belongs to another. DRAMAAAAA!!!

America herself is pretty likable, if predictable. She's your typical YA heroine: unlike all the other lemmings in the Selection who go out of their way to suck up to the prince at every chance, America is a rebel! She refuses to wear tons of makeup and -- *gasp* -- would rather wear pants than a gown! She is actually rude to the prince! She doesn't even want to win the crown! So I'm sure it will come as a huge shock to everyone that the prince finds her irresistible. That whole setup was a little cliché...the trope of the feisty antiestablishment tomboy heroine. But that's okay, I still liked her, and I thought Cass did a decent job developing her and giving her her own voice.

I also very much enjoyed Aspen, America's forbidden lover. Aspen is a six, meaning he is even poorer than America. He's got a huge chip on his shoulder about dating a girl who is wealthier than him, which leads to him occasionally acting like a huge douche, but in an endearing way. And he is very sexy...I am totally team Aspen here.

So, I liked the main characters and I thought the book moved along at a good pace...I enjoyed reading it and never felt like it was a chore. However, there were definitely some drawbacks. First and foremost, all the rebel attacks on the palace. The rebel attacks amped up the action in the book, so that was good, but I just didn't really feel they were all that believable. Seriously, how do these imbeciles keep managing to break into the castle again and again? Maybe rather than spending a fortune on bringing 35 women into the palace and giving them each a team of maids and a new custom designed gown for literally every day they are there, the royals could use that money to amp up their security a bit? Like drop 5 of the girls and hire 5 extra security guards instead? I mean come on...it just seemed a touch ridiculous that the palace could afford to host something as elaborate as the Selection, but then didn't have enough security to prevent vagabonds from breaking in again and again and wreaking havoc.

Also, the world building felt a bit off. I just kind of felt at times like there was a disconnect between the casual, almost normal way the characters talked to each other and how America conceived of herself and her situation and, on the other hand, the really rather grim situation she was actually in. Like she is participating in a really bizarre event...this one man is courting dozens of women who are expected to be okay with basically being objects with no autonomy--the entire thing is televised for national entertainment--all while rebels are constantly trying to break down the door and murder them all. The prince can kiss America today and then someone else the next day and that's just the way it is, everyone has to be ok with it. And you do see America occasionally acting out about that, but I don't know, it just felt a little superficial to me sometimes. It felt a little too much like our own world...I just thought the mood of the book didn't always match the subject matter. For example, when reading books like The Hunger Games, or even Divergent and Wither, you never really forget for a moment that this world is Different than ours in some seriously dark ways, even if there are similarities. The world building in The Selection just didn't have quite that complexity, I didn't think.

I started to get sort of bored about halfway through the book when it just felt like nothing much was happening except America and Maxon pulling their ears at each other, but then there was a major plot twist that I will not spoil for you here which was EXCELLENT and from that point on I was hooked. I have just purchased the sequel. Onward!

3.5 stars

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Little Paper Rose

"A chick-lit any day over dystopia"

Reviewed in the United States on June 1, 2014

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It was okay.

I was excited to finally give 'The Selection' a shot, unfortunately, it didn't meet my expectations. I was most astonished about the lightness of the story - it was easy, breezy, and girly. I'd call this a chick-lit any day over dystopia.

I found the idea of actual ranks in the society quite interesting but it didn't seem to mean much except for determine a person's wealth, or lack thereof, and attitude (the richer were snottier.)
Did they live among each other or was it divided? Were there certain rules and laws in favor for or against you depending on your caste? Why was it that the castes had to stick to their specific line of occupations? Etc.

My guess is that most of those rating this book three stars or less had hopes for the dystopia, world-building, or riveting plot, which 'The Selection' did not deliver.

I was shocked to get halfway through the book and realizing the story had basically been about the protagonist, America, just walking around and talking to people. The entire book turned out to be about her just walking around and talking to people. In other words; nothing happened. There was no high point, no low point, no plot.

The rebels attacked and everyone would just sit in a room and wait it out. Everyone is in grave danger and people are crying or passing out, but essentially just sitting in a room. The reader is told about the danger, but never get to experience it. Cass could've given the story a kick if she'd chosen a less convenient route in these matters.

America enters the Selection to help her family, making it clear she's there against her will and dislikes the whole thing, though, I don't agree it conveyed in her behavior. She was very inconsistent, seemingly unable to make up her mind about things. Though, generally calm, she'd suddenly be rude or dramatic towards Maxon.

Maxon being a character I just could not connect with or really find a reason to like. I didn't see Maxon the handsome prince, I saw an awfully formal, one-dimensional teenage boy. I couldn't find anything alluring about him at all.

And we have Aspen rounding up the love triangle. I don't prefer reading about protagonists with boyfriends, simply because you, as the reader, don't get to fall in love along with the heroine.
Instead, you're already supposed to like him, which isn't a given you will. And I didn't necessarily. Not because Aspen wasn't okay, but because I never knew why America and Aspen were good together. I didn't see it and I wasn't told about it. They just were.

So America loves Aspen with all her being and might be falling for Maxon, and I have no idea why this is or how it's come about. None of it was convincing for me.

The book and the writing was okay, it just featured a much underdeveloped story with an uneventful plot. I won't be continuing the trilogy but would still recommend 'The Selection' as a beach read.

Loved it? No
Regret reading it? Not really
Will I read the sequel? No
Will I read more from the author? Perhaps

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