The Selection Series [BOOK] by Kierra Cass

Covers to all 3 books in the series by Kierra Cass.

THE SELECTION SERIES
Book One: The Selection
Book Two: The Elite
Book Three: The One

Genre: YA Novel, Dystopian, Romance
Format: Kindle for first two, bought last at Books-A-Million.

Rating: 4 out of 10.

SPOILERS.
All three of these books can be written into one review. God bless Kierra Cass's series, but I think it may be one of the first she's ever written. It's a good way to start writing and getting published, but its never anything that is gonna be like "DID YOU READ THE SELECTION? ERMAHGERD LIFE CHANGING."

The Selection begins off with America Singer (I'm not making this up, seriously, this is her name.) She was born into a world called Illea (spelling? I don't know. Put the book down.) The world is divided by the caste systems. There are Ones through Eight. Eight is the bottom of the barrel, and a one is the royal family. The richest people are Twos, besides the royal family, and the rest of the world is broken down. Different castes have different jobs. America like I said, is a Five. That means her family are the artists. They are painters, musicians, poets, whatever have you. They are supposed to be "impoverished", but anyone who eats chicken, veggies, fruits, and can drink sweet tea isn't doing too bad in my book. That's more than what I get most nights...and I'm a college grad (very recent grad, but still one!) She is in love with a Six, named Aspen. They climb into a treehouse at night and steal smooches...which is also totally illegal in this world. Not just with curfew, but really any relations that aren't marriage is pretty much bad. The Selection is coming up. Prince Maxon must find a bride, and the tradition of the country is to have every girl get her picture taken, fill out a survey about herself, and be submitted to a committee. Somehow, America makes it through, dashing her hopes with life with Aspen, though its hinted he's close to proposing. He encourages her to go, and she does, because her family gets a nice payout if she does, she lives like a princess, and eats everything in sight. She meets Maxon by chance the first night after she has a panic attack, and he's charmed by her. They start off as friends, and he keeps her around to confide in. She stays because, hey...payday. She doesn't really care for him yet. While she's there, rebels attack the palace. The Northerners just seem to break in and tear apart rooms, like they are looking for something, while the Southerners take prisoners and kill everyone in their wake. The Northerners attack a few times during this course.

The Elite is next and Maxon is down to only six girls now. Some have left due to rebel attacks, cat fights, and him just not being interested. America and him start a kind of new romantic relationship, but Aspen is a guard in the palace now, so it's kind of iffy on her feelings. Old love or new love type of thing. America upsets the king, with her wanting to help those who are in lower castes and take care of them.

The One is still on six girls, and pressure on Maxon is rising. His father, the king, wants him to choose who he wants, pretty much anyone but America. She made a speech about dissolving almost everything the king has put in place, and its kind of pissed him off. Maxon and her are then met by some Northern rebels, and they just wanted to have the current caste system dissipated. They love America, though they do have their own plant just in case he doesn't fall in love with her. The rebels need fire power. America introduces them to a queen from Italy, who arms them in case of an attack from Southerners, and the Northerners now have an alliance with the palace. Maxon finds out about Aspen, and almost chooses Kris (another girl and the Northern plant) but gets shot and tells America he's sorry. In the end, the North helps defend the palace due to the Italian support, the king and queen die. Maxon takes over, chooses America. Aspen falls in love with one of America's maids, Lucy, who is in need of a strong guy like soldier Aspen.

END OF WHOLE FREAKING SERIES.

 What just happened? Is this author serious? They called this series "Bachelorette meets Hunger Games...." NO IT'S NOT. It's futuristic Bachelorette. That's it. This was not nearly as cool as it was described. America (still the name) is a selfish, spoiled brat who just thinks "me, Me, ME" the whole entire time. Maxon is actually a decent fellow and Aspen is a logical person. WHY IN THE HELL WOULD EITHER OF THEM WANT HER? I don't get it. Maxon had 35 girls to choose from, and he chose the dumbest, most self-centered? Aspen has an even larger selection of women to choose from, and he chooses and sacrifices a ton for America? I don't.....to steal words from teenage girls now....I don't even. I can't odd either on this one. Just, wtf. This whole series. I mean, for a series that wasn't expensive, and I could quelch the sometimes girly person I hide inside, this is a guilty pleasure read. When you want happy ending, unicorns, and rainbows out the ass....read this.