The Selection, by Kiera Cass

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.

In a dystopian future (yes, another one of these novels) the prince of the country that is today parts of both American continents chooses his bride from a group of specially selected women who are sequestered in his palace while he dates them. At the beginning there are 36 girls, one from each province, but slowly the prince will narrow down that number to one, and she will become his wife and queen. America (the main character, not the country no longer in existence) puts her name into the lottery to compete for the prince's heart and crown under pressure from her family and the last thing she expects is to actually be selected. The only thing holding her back is her love for her secret boyfriend, Aspen. No one knows about their relationship because Aspen is a caste below her, and she knows that her best hope for the future is to marry up, not down. Her life gets even more complicated when she realizes that Prince Maxon is not the stiff prince she always thought he was but a really great guy. However, this book is not only about the silly romance stuff-the palace is constantly attacked by rebels and the girls are risking their lives by staying.

In case you haven't been able to tell from the synopsis, The Selection is The Hunger Games meets The Bachelor. You've got representatives from the districts of the US in a horrible future competing for fame, glory, and the heart of the prince. The characters were basically replicas of the characters in the Hunger Games, just with dresses instead of weapons. America's personality is like a more immature version of Katniss'. Both girls are extremely low in society, love their little sisters to death, break the super-controlling laws of the country for love (though Katniss is a little less selfish in this case). Both girls are a lot better at the competition than they thought they would be, starting out as the underdog and eventually becoming the one to beat. They both take risks and find themselves possibly falling for the sweet sensitive guy they are supposed to be falling for while feeling guilty about the guy they left at home. In case you couldn't connect the dots, Aspen is Gale, Maxon is Peeta, May is Prim. The other girls in the competition also have counterparts but since I can't remember all their names, I'll let you figure that part out.

Throughout all the pretty dresses and princessing, America is trying to get over her hypocritical ex, Aspen. I am calling him a hypocrite because he was the one who got her to put her name in in the first place, and then tried to get her to not go. If he really loved her that much he would have either let her go and cheered for her so she and her family would be well-off, or he would tell her not to even put her name in because he was terrified of the one in a million chance she would be selected. Instead he went for option number 3-be a selfish jerk who tells his girlfriend to try to achieve more in life then tries to hold her back.

In most books portraying a future that I am desperately hoping our country never comes close to, the system in place is one that is seemingly perfect with a few extremely large gaps which are cause for rebellion. Instead, the world in The Selection went back in social and governmental developments. Everyone is in a caste and is stuck unless they marry up. Marrying up, however, only applies to women because she automatically joins her husband's caste. There's also, need I remind you, a monarchy. An actual monarchy. Most of these types of books have omniscient oligarchies not monarchies with a kind king and queen. Instead of going into the space age, the Selection takes you back to the Middle Ages.

Now comes an extremely petty request. Can everyone please bring your attention to the cover, specifically that blue dress in the center? I spent about 5 minutes just staring at it before every time I opened the book.

5 stars.