The Selection by Keira Cass

The Selection by Kiera Cass

Publisher: Harper Collins Childrens

Originality: ♥♥♥

Quality of Writing: ♥♥♥

Setting: ♥♥♥♥

Characters:♥♥♥

Overall View: ♥♥♥

Entranced by the beautiful cover (yes, I am often guilty of judging books by their front cover, sorry!), and the interesting blurb on the back, I instantly threw myself into this book. Having now finished it, I can't decide whether I love it, or hate it. Here's why:

The Bits I Liked:

1.      However shallow it may be, the concept of the selection was intriguing. It reminded me of Cinderella where the prince is trying to search for his 'perfect' princess amongst commoners.

2.      The dystopian setting was pretty cool (although, often it reminded me of The Hunger Games, as did the idea of a bunch of girls fighting/opposing each other for a chance to win, and become Maxon's princess).

3.      It was very easy to read, flowed well, America's voice wasn't as whiney as I anticipated.

4.      The characters weren't too bad either. I both loved and hated Aspen, and I often wished that the story had taken a different course: Aspen and America get married and they live poor but happily ever after… Ha ha ha. I like that Maxon and America are not enemies, and Maxon seems nice enough (but I also can't help feeling there's something off about Maxon)

5.      I loved the story of the rebels. Interesting twist in the story.

The Things I Didn't Like So Much:

1.      Although it was easy to read, I found that at times the writing was a bit too amateur. I often found myself getting annoyed at the one-dimensional descriptions of other characters, and not enough depth to the situation at hand. Time seemed to jump too much.

2.      Again, I found it too similar to The Hunger Games. People are probably tired of hearing this, but there it is. However, it's not a major issue.

3.      Although I liked the idea of the rebels attacking, the scenes where the rebels attacked were slightly laughable. I didn't feel scared like I should have which would have been a nice edge to the story.

4.      I feel that Cass shouldn't have stopped where she did. Instead of writing the next book, she could have easily carried on from where she left off, and just made it into a bigger book. It seems like a silly place to end where it did.

So, anyway here are my thoughts. I've requested to read the second book, hopefully it gets better. Overall, I've given it 3.5 stars out of 5. It's a quick and relaxing read, that's for sure.