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 a palace and compete for the heart of 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.
I've been slacking. I know. Slap me on the wrist and read on.
When I picked up this book at Barnes & Noble, I wasn't really sure about it. First, it was $20.00. Then I was stuck between this and the book Passion by Lauren Kate. When you read the description of this book, (read the description here), it seems like a quick read. You know, kind of mushy-romance and a "We all know how this is going to end," kind of thing. The only reason I ended up choosing to buy it instead was because it had a pretty cover. Sue me, I judge books by their covers. I mean, you have to--it's where the title is. Right? But don't listen to all this. This book was amazing. It was so good, and it was different than what I've read before. So good. Oh boy.
Okay, so before I run out of words to describe how fantastic this book was, let me move on.
The setting? Uh, I'm pretty sure it's in the future. Three-hundred years in the future, actually. So yeah it's a bit in the future. In-I guess-2313, there are different castes. One through seven. One being the richest of the rich; seven being even less than poor. Every time a new Prince of Ilea (I think it's Ilea, I read it awhile ago and there's no Wiki page on it! What!) needs a wife, every girl through the ages of 16 and 18 (again, I think) are put into a lottery-sort-of-thing. Then, after everyone's name is put into the lottery, thirty-five girls are picked out to be sent to the castle. From there they meet the charming Prince and it's kind of like the Bachelor. If you've ever seen that show. I hope you haven't, save yourself and never watch it.
Well, Prince Maxon needs a wife. So, like always, every girl's name is put into a lottery and la-dee-da, the main character America Singer, gets picked. Not a spoiler, we all knew it was coming. What else did'ya think the book would be about?
First person has already been mentioned. America Singer. She's pretty chill. She's got a boyfriend, he's in a caste below her, but they still make it work. America's a five, so life is okay, but it could definitely be better. Like we already all know, she gets drawn in the lottery and is sent to the castle to meet Prince Maxon. I guess America could come off as an ungrateful little toad to some people, but I like her. She makes things work. And she's totally real. The other girls at the castle are fakers, they either want to be royalty or be rich. They don't actually want to get to know Maxon at all. Well, neither does America, but at least she's honest about not wanting to be there.
Next character is kind of obvious. Prince Maxon. He's the prince, if you didn't catch that the first billion times I said it. At first he seems like a tool, but between you and me, he gets a heck of a lot better. I'm sure you all know what will happen with him and America. Kind of obvious from page one, if you ask me. But that's okay. There's still a story between page one and page three-hundred-some, even if you think you know how it'll end. Which it doesn't end that way, anyways. There's a whole lot I didn't tell you but you'll thank me for that later. Maybe not. I don't know.
The third man character is America Singer's boy toy. Aspen. Her caste-below-her boyfriend. Okay, bear with me here (I still haven't figured out if it's bare or bear). First he's all romantic and blaaah. But then, I don't know, something happens. Well we all know. Maxon happens, and then Aspen just gets in the way and it's like: GET OUT, ASPEN. No one even wants him anymore. Maybe America for some unknown, messed up reason, but not me! She's supposed to be with Maxon. Not Aspen; he messed it all up for himself. The end. Get out.
I think that's all the important characters.
So, if you clicked the link at the top of the review for the description of this book, you can see most of the reviews at the bottom of the page are sour. Everyone says America is TSTL (too stupid to live), which is not true! Just look at the rating details at the top, under the title! 91% of people liked it. 72% rated either 4 or 5 stars. But for some awkward reason, recently people have been hatin' on this book. Stop the hate. Appreciate.
Oh! Also I heard there's a television show that's going to be based on this series (there's a second book to this). So I guess that's cool. I probably won't watch it. Don't want to ruin the book.
No comments:
Post a Comment