caitlin_bparsley's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
catpingu's review
5.0
I never expected this book to suck me in as much as it did! When I first saw the book, I wanted to avoid reading it as much as possible. My copy of the book was thin (I like to read books with lots of pages), and the plot seemed a little too juvenile for me. But when I actually started reading it, I realized it was as juvenile as [b:Throne of Glass|7896527|Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass, #1)|Sarah J. Maas|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1433275013s/7896527.jpg|11138426] or [b:Entwined|8428195|Entwined|Heather Dixon|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1279037245s/8428195.jpg|13291399]! Both of them are princess-y books looking for a champion or a suitor. You think it's kid stuff, but when you read it, you realize it's anything but!
America Singer is a Five, three castes up from the lowest, Eight. Her caste deals with artisans: musicians, sculptors, painters, and whatnot. The third oldest of five children in her family, she's had to gain life-or-death choice-making skills since her elder sister is married and gone, and her elder brother has left to make a living for himself. She dreams of marrying her secret love, Aspen Leger, a Six a caste below her who struggles more than she to make ends meet for his own family.
When the Selection for Prince Maxon's wife comes around, America refuses to give up her dream life with Aspen for the fame of being one of the Selected and weekly paychecks to her family. Aspen, not wanting to hold her back, convinces her to try out. After all, what are the chances of actually being Selected? To her distress, she's actually Selected and is swept away to spend time with the royal family, along with 34 other girls hoping to win Maxon's heart.
If I had to describe the events happening in the Selection, it would be: imagine the Hunger Games in a royal palace. Everyone knows that living in court is like navigating through a snake pit of powerful enemies and subtle-but-fatal poisons. It's even worse for competitive, beautiful, potential princesses.
There's not a lot of pure hard action, just the subtleties of court workings. And romance. There's gotta be romance in a novel like this, and it's pure and beautiful. Of course, that was before you throw in that Peeta-Katniss-Gale love triangle sort of thing, or Jonathan-Alanna-George [b:The Song of the Lioness Quartet|492490|The Song of the Lioness Quartet (Song of the Lioness, #1-4)|Tamora Pierce|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1391833339s/492490.jpg|1142850] (or in anime terms, Zero-Yuki-Kaname [b:Vampire Knight, Vol. 1|263145|Vampire Knight, Vol. 1 (Vampire Knight, #1)|Matsuri Hino|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1329232329s/263145.jpg|255083]) where you really aren't sure who the protagonist is going to end up with.
Recommended to fans of [b:Entwined|8428195|Entwined|Heather Dixon|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1279037245s/8428195.jpg|13291399]!
America Singer is a Five, three castes up from the lowest, Eight. Her caste deals with artisans: musicians, sculptors, painters, and whatnot. The third oldest of five children in her family, she's had to gain life-or-death choice-making skills since her elder sister is married and gone, and her elder brother has left to make a living for himself. She dreams of marrying her secret love, Aspen Leger, a Six a caste below her who struggles more than she to make ends meet for his own family.
When the Selection for Prince Maxon's wife comes around, America refuses to give up her dream life with Aspen for the fame of being one of the Selected and weekly paychecks to her family. Aspen, not wanting to hold her back, convinces her to try out. After all, what are the chances of actually being Selected? To her distress, she's actually Selected and is swept away to spend time with the royal family, along with 34 other girls hoping to win Maxon's heart.
If I had to describe the events happening in the Selection, it would be: imagine the Hunger Games in a royal palace. Everyone knows that living in court is like navigating through a snake pit of powerful enemies and subtle-but-fatal poisons. It's even worse for competitive, beautiful, potential princesses.
There's not a lot of pure hard action, just the subtleties of court workings. And romance. There's gotta be romance in a novel like this, and it's pure and beautiful. Of course, that was before you throw in that Peeta-Katniss-Gale love triangle sort of thing, or Jonathan-Alanna-George [b:The Song of the Lioness Quartet|492490|The Song of the Lioness Quartet (Song of the Lioness, #1-4)|Tamora Pierce|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1391833339s/492490.jpg|1142850] (or in anime terms, Zero-Yuki-Kaname [b:Vampire Knight, Vol. 1|263145|Vampire Knight, Vol. 1 (Vampire Knight, #1)|Matsuri Hino|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1329232329s/263145.jpg|255083]) where you really aren't sure who the protagonist is going to end up with.
Recommended to fans of [b:Entwined|8428195|Entwined|Heather Dixon|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1279037245s/8428195.jpg|13291399]!
vrojas_05's review
adventurous
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
mother_of_stallions's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
sofiakhouryg's review
4.0
I thought it was pretty good. Team Maxon all the way. Aspen didn't do anything wrong but he isn't on the same level as Maxon. As for Marlee, I like her and I feel like she is a good friend for America. I hate Celeste but she kindoff reminds me of Evangeline from red queen. As for the plot I feel like it is a bit basic and I feel like every book is just a continuation of the first one. I wish we could have other characters povs like Celestes, Maxons, Aspens, and Lucy.
mycatsnameis_kiki1's review
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
THE LOVE INTRESTS ARE *CHEFS KISS*
bryonycostello's review against another edition
4.0
This review was originally posted on my blog, Paperbacks & Protagonists.
To start off, The Selection wasn’t what I was expecting at all. Though, to be fair, I don’t know what I was expecting exactly. I know I was expecting more dystopian elements and for America to be more annoying, but apart from that, I’m drawing up a blank.
I rather enjoyed this book. I felt as if the characters were well-developed and that the world, along with it’s laws, politics and governing was very well thought-out. The concept of the selection was interesting, though not too far-fetched from reality that it was hard to grasp. People are right when they say that this book is similar to The Bachelor television program.
Rather than finding America annoying, I found her to be quite a pleasant character. She is someone I can imagine being friends with in real life. However, her being named America was confusing during the times when the novel was talking about the country America. (Not that America exists anymore in the novel…)
America’s relationship with Maxon was my favourite aspect of the novel. I like the way that they interact together and I already ship them harder than I do America and Aspen. I liked Aspen at the beginning of the novel, but as soon as he came back into the picture, I felt this sudden surge of anger, and even more so, annoyance at his presence.
Overall, I think that The Selection is a fun novel and I can’t wait to see where the story goes in The Elite (which I just happened to pick up from my library the other day.)
To start off, The Selection wasn’t what I was expecting at all. Though, to be fair, I don’t know what I was expecting exactly. I know I was expecting more dystopian elements and for America to be more annoying, but apart from that, I’m drawing up a blank.
I rather enjoyed this book. I felt as if the characters were well-developed and that the world, along with it’s laws, politics and governing was very well thought-out. The concept of the selection was interesting, though not too far-fetched from reality that it was hard to grasp. People are right when they say that this book is similar to The Bachelor television program.
Rather than finding America annoying, I found her to be quite a pleasant character. She is someone I can imagine being friends with in real life. However, her being named America was confusing during the times when the novel was talking about the country America. (Not that America exists anymore in the novel…)
America’s relationship with Maxon was my favourite aspect of the novel. I like the way that they interact together and I already ship them harder than I do America and Aspen. I liked Aspen at the beginning of the novel, but as soon as he came back into the picture, I felt this sudden surge of anger, and even more so, annoyance at his presence.
Overall, I think that The Selection is a fun novel and I can’t wait to see where the story goes in The Elite (which I just happened to pick up from my library the other day.)
indianajane's review
3.0
This book was neither as good as it's rating would suggest or as bad as the number of one-star reviews would suggest. It was a quick, fairly fluffy read. The writing wasn't great, but neither did it get in the way of the story. I am likely to read the next one, because I do want to know what happens. (Can I just take a minute to complain about all of the three book series that could easily be one book? Enough already!)