The Selection by Kiera Cass
Series: The Selection,#1
Publication Date:April 24th 2012
Publication Date:April 24th 2012
Publisher:HarperTeen
Hardcover, 327 pages
Book & Purchase Info: Goodreads, Author's Website, Book Depository
The Selection surprised me! This story truly took me by surprise and quite pleasantly that is. Should I have to describe it in just one word, that would be refreshing! Yeah, that's how much I enjoyed reading it.
First of all, I have to say that I picked this book having no expectations whatsoever. None. With everything that happened so early before the publication date (you all remember that reviewer vs author or editor or whatever drama that exploded a couple of months before, and if you don't, well, that's even better for you!), I kind of asked this book for review more from curiosity than anything else. And I'm glad to say that I really enjoyed it. I won't make any further mentions on that said drama, I just wanted to justify why I didn't have any expectations from this book, either high or low and also to thank a friend who urged me to read it because otherwise I might have never pick it up, which would be my loss...!
So, back on track! The Selection, isn't your typical dystopian story. To be frank, I couldn't really see many classic dystopian elements. Apart from the whole story being set in the future, were everything is changed, I just couldn't see any other dystopian elements. Surely, people are underfed and everything is altered but there was no real darkness, no real violence, and for me, The Selection isn't really classified in my mind as dystopian. It is more of a fairytale more than anything else. A fairytale set in the future. And because I read it as such, I think that I enjoyed it so much.
In the beginning, I felt like I was reading The Hunger Games. The resemblances in the tone were there. The structure of the society, the Selection, the competition, just everything screamed Hunger Games for me. But while in Hunger Games teenagers are fighting for their very life, in The Selection teenage girls are "fighting" to win the heart of a prince and a better future for them and their families. So, one can assume that at first, I wasn't really thrilled with the setting. Maybe because I could not put out of my mind one of the best books for me of the decade. Maybe because the comparison completely threw me off. But I have to admit that the beginning was a bit rough...
But, and here is the big deal with The Selection, soon after, I got so into the story, I warmed up to everything that Kiera Cass woven into her story, that I forgot everything. Cass writes in a refreshing way that doesn't allow you to put down her book. Her futuristic fairytale just grabbed my attention and I devoured it!
Her world is intriguing, the structure, how everyone is in essence just a number and how that number can affect and define a person and his/her life. Maybe the idea isn't really a novelty, but Cass used it in a very interesting way.
All in all, The Selection is a charming fairytale that, in my opinion, should be read keeping in mind that it's not your typical dystopian story. It's far from that and more than that. I thoroughly enjoyed it and recommend it despite the drama that evolved around it.
Book & Purchase Info: Goodreads, Author's Website, Book Depository
For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in the palace and compete for the heart of the gorgeous Prince Maxon.
But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.
Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself- and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.
The Selection surprised me! This story truly took me by surprise and quite pleasantly that is. Should I have to describe it in just one word, that would be refreshing! Yeah, that's how much I enjoyed reading it.
First of all, I have to say that I picked this book having no expectations whatsoever. None. With everything that happened so early before the publication date (you all remember that reviewer vs author or editor or whatever drama that exploded a couple of months before, and if you don't, well, that's even better for you!), I kind of asked this book for review more from curiosity than anything else. And I'm glad to say that I really enjoyed it. I won't make any further mentions on that said drama, I just wanted to justify why I didn't have any expectations from this book, either high or low and also to thank a friend who urged me to read it because otherwise I might have never pick it up, which would be my loss...!
So, back on track! The Selection, isn't your typical dystopian story. To be frank, I couldn't really see many classic dystopian elements. Apart from the whole story being set in the future, were everything is changed, I just couldn't see any other dystopian elements. Surely, people are underfed and everything is altered but there was no real darkness, no real violence, and for me, The Selection isn't really classified in my mind as dystopian. It is more of a fairytale more than anything else. A fairytale set in the future. And because I read it as such, I think that I enjoyed it so much.
In the beginning, I felt like I was reading The Hunger Games. The resemblances in the tone were there. The structure of the society, the Selection, the competition, just everything screamed Hunger Games for me. But while in Hunger Games teenagers are fighting for their very life, in The Selection teenage girls are "fighting" to win the heart of a prince and a better future for them and their families. So, one can assume that at first, I wasn't really thrilled with the setting. Maybe because I could not put out of my mind one of the best books for me of the decade. Maybe because the comparison completely threw me off. But I have to admit that the beginning was a bit rough...
But, and here is the big deal with The Selection, soon after, I got so into the story, I warmed up to everything that Kiera Cass woven into her story, that I forgot everything. Cass writes in a refreshing way that doesn't allow you to put down her book. Her futuristic fairytale just grabbed my attention and I devoured it!
Her world is intriguing, the structure, how everyone is in essence just a number and how that number can affect and define a person and his/her life. Maybe the idea isn't really a novelty, but Cass used it in a very interesting way.
All in all, The Selection is a charming fairytale that, in my opinion, should be read keeping in mind that it's not your typical dystopian story. It's far from that and more than that. I thoroughly enjoyed it and recommend it despite the drama that evolved around it.
*This title was reviewed via Edelweiss
Great review!! I really liked this book as well and I am glad you did too :)
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