REVIEW: The Selection by Kiera Cass

AUTHOR: Kiera Cass

PUBLISHER: Harper Teen

RELEASE DATE: April 24, 2012

The book description from Amazon:

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.

The plus side: So, I have to say that the plus side of this book was the cover. Really, that's about it. I like the coloring.

The down side: This was one of my least favorite books that I've ever read. I'm not sure where to begin, so I suppose I should just jump in. To start with, we have a flat main character who I felt was simply drifting through the story. There was nothing interesting about her whatsoever. You could tell she was supposed to come across as strong, but I didn't get that feeling at all. 

Then we have a plot that was utterly boring. There were no interesting points, no build-up, and then we are left with a completely anti-climactic ending. I was so disappointed. I kept pushing on, hoping that it would pick up, and it didn't. As you can tell just by reading the book description, we have yet another love triangle, and this one isn't even good. I didn't care about any of the characters enough to really feel anything for them, so I wasn't pulling for either guy. 

And then the writing, and the dialogue. The voice for almost all of the characters read very young, there was an overabundance of exclamation points, and honestly, how many times can you read about girls saying, "OMG! Your dress is so pretty!"

And on the creativity scale, this was pretty low. We can start with the main character, America Singer. I'll give you three guesses what her talent is. And the names of the rest of the characters... Some of them were just trying way too hard. Then there was the minimal world-building, which felt like it was just there so that they could call the book dystopian. It didn't read like a dystopian at all.

The bottom line: I wouldn't bother reading this. There has been so much hype about this book, what with the TV pilot and all, which built up my expectations very high. I was so disappointed, and I do not plan on continuing this series. I know they are saying that it's "The Hunger Games meets The Bachelor." Seriously, not even close. You would be better of reading The Hunger Games or watching The Bachelor, and skipping this one altogether.

You can check out the book on Goodreads.