I don’t even know why I picked up this book.
I don’t know.
That was my thought process while reading this book.
I knew I wouldn’t like this book, I knew from the moment I saw the reviews on Goodreads, I knew it when I put it on hold at the library, when I picked it up from the library and when I started reading it.
There were many many many things I didn’t like about this book, a countless number, but I am going to try and cover them all in the shortest blog post a book like this will allow.
The moment I started reading this book, I made a note.
My first note on this novel was – What kind of name is America?
HER NAME IS AMERICA SINGER.
America Singer.
And her talent is singing.
The sheer unoriginality of the name is sigh inducing, but when you think about how her last name is Singer and she sings for a living. you want to bash your head into a wall.
America Singer.
MOVING ON.
America and Aspen’s relationship is toxic.
Not even talking about the fact that his NAME IS ASPEN. Maybe that’s a popular name in whatever era this book is set it in, which we never find out by the way, it’s in the future, and that’s enough apparently.
Aspen is jerk, he treats America terribly and doesn’t know the meaning of a relationship. He lets his fragile male ego come between him and and his, apparently, true love, even though they are what? Seventeen?
Your girlfriend provides food for you because you are slowly going hungry and your first reaction is anger? You’re angry that your girlfriend is a strong independent woman who can provide income for you both?
I was hoping that in the future that we wouldn’t still have firmly held gender ideals, apparently it must get WORSE.
Aspen is an insulting character, he is trying to be the boy she left behind, her first love.
He comes off as that guy who is clingy, won’t let go and treats you like crap when he’s with you.
Reverting back to the review this is trying to be –
I was disappointed in the setting and world building. In the future, going back to arranged marriage that is almost mandatory for the lower classes, so that they have a chance to become royals, is really backwards. I want background, what happened so that we were like, the good ol’ days, the sixteen hundreds, let’s do that again!
The world building is shoddy, and the names and labels for everything aren’t that much better. Early in the book, you learn about class systems, (they are ranked by numbers, I don’t think it gets more cookie cutter dystopian than that). And that our characters live in a country called Illea. Halfway through the book, the girls in the Selection have a history lesson, (because world building can’t be done any other way) and we get the bare bones of what we need not be supremely confused for the rest of the novel.
Apparently, sometime in the future, China invades all of North America, and renames it: The United State of China.
*screams*
Yes. The United State of China, and then Russia invaded and then the people of the former United State of China rebelled and renamed it Illea.
*screams into pillow because she’s been told to stop screaming*
So.
Yeah.
The world building is world building you would do in NaNoWriMo, then go back later and look at it and go: no, no, just, just no.
At the beginning of the book, everybody is telling America how beautiful she is, and how the prince is sure to choose her, when America suddenly decides to do an aside, and basically whines about how everybody should stop talking about her as though her beauty is the only thing that is important.
BUT THIS IS THE DYSTOPIAN VERSION OF THE BACHELORETTE.
Does she see anybody who isn’t drop dead beautiful? See? I thought so. It was a cringe worthy naive moment, that really irked me.
I was hoping there would be some strong female relationships in this book. Everything about this screams girls vs girls vying for a guy. I was hoping SO MUCH that this book would pull out some seriously great female friendships.
There were some friendships in this book, America’s relationship with her maids for example, which were really endearing, and made me like America a TINY bit. And she and Marleene, but we know that if they get down to the top two they would turn on each other.
The female friendships in this book were lacking, they are all there to woo the same guy, and the hope of them casting that aside to be close and not bitter enemies was futile in the first hundred pages.
And then there are REBELS. Because it’s a dystopian novel, and it won’t qualify without a rebel resistance.
The rebels come as a completely unexpected and not at all welcome plot point, it seems as though Kiera Cass is trying to give the book other plotlines, besides the Selection. But countless rebel attacks while they hide in a safe house, that doesn’t really qualify. The rebels were just thrown in as an effort to dispel the romantic focus, as if to say WE HAVE OTHER STUFF TOO!
In my opinion, Cass should have stuck to the Selection, and then if she ever wanted to write another series, have the rebels come after America and Maxon get married (because they are going to get married, it’s painfully obvious) and have the newlyweds deal with that, testing them.
I am not pitching anything. I am not endorsing this idea. But if this becomes a reality, I want to EDIT it.
The addition of a resistance was confusing, it made me want to scream. The author can’t decide what she wants to write, the addition of the rebels was sloppy, an afterthought, when they should have been the focus in another series in the same world. The two plotlines don’t work in the same series, and maybe if it was written better, I wouldn’t mind.
But we’re stuck with this.
And now, let’s turn to a subject in this book that vies with everything else for thing that irritated me the most – Feminism in this book.
The girls are fighting each other for the prince’s affections, (but they can’t fight physically, no, seriously, it’s a no no in the rule book for the Selection girls).
In spite of the whole look, feel and synopsis, I was hoping for some kick ass female characters, and America was trying to be a badass.
She didn’t succeed.
There was one point in the novel, she had just arrived at the palace, and she was having a freak out because she wanted to BE WITH PLANTS AND NATURE. But her balcony had bars on it, and apparently that isn’t good, she needs to BE FREE.
Like Dobby.
Then, our fearless heroine runs through the palace, which is frequented by rebel attacks, and arrives at a CAGED garden in the middle of the main courtyard, and begs the guards to let her in, the guards say no, because they are doing their job.
Then she promptly falls in one of the guard’s arms and practically FAINTS. Then the prince comes and makes the guards open the doors. And then she races inside and gulps in the fresh air she couldn’t get from her balcony.
How this an example of the lack of feminism?
Let me explain.
She can’t get fresh air from the balcony, and has to run through the palace in her SEE THROUGH nightgown, then almost but not quite faints in a guard’s arms. Then the prince saves her.
It’s supposed to be a swoon moment. But it’s when you realize how not feminist the book is.
The whole book is America trying to be badass, but really sulking and being a brat when things don’t go her way, she was flat out annoying and disappointing character.
The women in the book didn’t support each other, or even have any affection for one another, they were backstabbing, cruel and vicious to their fellow women.
All for a guy.
The lack of feminism was a let down, but not surprising.
The editing in the book was also terrible.
At one point America notices that she’s the only 5 left in the room (eight is the lowest, don’t know why the author stopped at eight, and one is the highest, ones are members of the royal family). America wonders if Maxon knows if she’s a five. BUT SHE HAD TOLD HIM THE NIGHT BEFORE THAT SHE WAS A FIVE.
At the end of the book, thirteen girls are just sent home, we are given no explanation and then America says she is now part of the Elite.
WHAT?
Any editor would have caught mistakes like this, I read this book in about forty eight hours and I am a teen girl. A person who edits novels for a living should have caught this.
Before I go back to ranting about this book incessantly, I just have praise one thing, the only thing that kept me reading this book despite the pounding headache I could feel inching towards me with every page read.
That thing is Maxon.
Maxon was the only reason I kept reading. He was sweet, caring and funny, and was the only redeemable character, he made America more likable when they were together, if that is even possible.
He put in a hunger prevention program because America said she and her family were constantly hungry. He is the best.
My only qualm about him was that he had to exist in a series that I will likely not continue.
To wrap up this completely coherent review let’s talk about Aspen and America, and his untimely, annoying, irritating, throw the book across the room inducing return.
Aspen is a useless character, he serves no purpose other than to be weak rival to Maxon, Maxon and America are going to end up together. The PLOT of the book gives that away. Aspen has no value SO WHY THE HELL is he sticking around?
So that America can reject him, apparently.
He returns to see Maxon and America getting along like a house on fire, and he is picked to guard America’s DOOR.
Around the clock.
Can you see where this is going?
Because I wanted to hurl the book across the room.
Another love interest? Fine, I am down for a competing love interest. BUT ANYBODY BUT ASPEN.
He shows up, being all concerned, and then, of course, sneaks into her room when he’s off guard duty.
The first night he sneaks in (that right people, there’s a more than once) they ak-may out-yay, and then he leaves before they can talk about him being a major jerk, because if the head guard discovers him making out with one of the girls who is competing for the prince’s eternal affection, he would be killed.
Now, the thing about the make out scene, it didn’t seem consensual. However, it could be the bad writing.
When reading it, Aspen just comes in and starts kissing her. There was no – “I broke your heart, and you thought I was with another girl the week after we broke up because I was holding her like we were, which I shouldn’t have been, and now you’re trying to win the Prince’s heart and we could both be killed for me even being in here. But I am so sorry for hurting you, and I love you so much.”
Nope. None of that. He just starts kissing her. He doesn’t ask for her permission, he just starts kissing her, and she never gave any sign that she wanted to be kissed, she probably wanted to, y’know TALK.
The scene didn’t appear consensual, and that was one of the biggest problems of the book for me.
The second night, America has decided on which guy she preferred (she can’t decide who she loves, because that’s asking too much in just the first book).
So she kisses Maxon (technically for the second time), and then breaks up with Aspen when he sneaks into her room, even though they were never together.
And then the book ended and my pounding headache gradually subsided.
MY EXTREMELY OBVIOUS CONCLUSION –
I highly disliked this book.
It doesn’t warrant the highly avoided spot on my I HATED THIS BOOK WITH EVERY FIBER OF MY BEING shelf, because I did finish it, which does say very little, because I finish most of the books I start.
I’ll settle for a strong dislike. There was barely anything redeemable about the plot, characters, world. Maxon was sweet, and that is where my praise for the book ends.
The Selection is based purely on taste.
If you’re somebody who enjoys fluffy romance that you don’t have to think about, this might be a good read for you.
But if you’re somebody like me, who takes notes and reads every book, even if it’s just for fun, a bit critically, then this book just falls apart.
It falls apart anyway.
But you might be willing to overlook that.
An Overabundance of Opinions 