Title: The Selection Author: Kiera Cass
Series: The Selection (#1)
Genres: Romance, Dystopian, Young Adult
Publication Date: April 24, 2012
Publisher: HarperTeen
Let's start off with a quote from the protagonist, America Singer (Hey, guys...guess what she does!):
"Maybe what I wanted was stupid. Maybe it wasn't even something I could have. But still, it was mine. I didn't think I could sacrifice my dreams, no matter how much my family meant to me. Besides, I had given them so much already." -America Singer, Page 16 (Nook).
Okay. This is probably the only book I have ever read that I don't hate or love. It's simply...boring. Uninspiring. Yes, there were times when I would glare at my copy or make a noise of outrage at some bone-headed thing America (god, the name?) would do, or at how selfish she was, but most of the time I was bored. Uninspired. This book was flat, flat, flat to me. The character of Prince Maxon was weak and awkward- and definitely NOT in the cute, endearing way. In the way that makes you cringe and shake your head or acquire a immense migraine. The character of Aspen seemed...well. He's not a complete douche bag, but he felt like a jerk to me. And the reltionship of Aspen and America...I couldn't bring myself to care for them, or about her and Maxon. I couldn't bring myself to care about anything in this book much, except that sometimes I would be so angry at America Singer. Oh guys, guess what? SHE SINGS! Yeah, I know, never saw that coming, did you? I thought she was probably a cook or a mime. Besides the flat characters and nonexistent character development, the world building (or lack thereof) was just...ugh. I am having trouble coming up with words to express how ridiculous it was. There were so many holes and things that needed to be more detailed or looked over, things that if I were enjoying the book I'd overlook, but since enjoyment is one of the things that do not come to mind when I think of this book, I noticed an awful lot wrong with this so-called "dystopian" society. First off, the name. Creative, pretty name, but what kind of country is called after a person? A state, city, or town? Sure, you can call those after a person. But to call a country after a person seems unnecessary and just something that doesn't make sense to me. Then, the fact that CHINA INVADED AMERICA BECAUSE AMERICA OWED IT SO MUCH MONEY, made me laugh out loud. I showed this to everyone around me, and they eiter gave me, "What the hell?" looks, or snorted. Because if the country doesn't have the money to pay you back, invading that country isn't going to make them suddenly have the money to pay you back- and if that was how people handled having other countries in their debt, why didn't we all go invade Germany long long ago? The world would be CHAOS if that is how we handled it. The worst part is that people are daring to compare this to The Hunger Games, when the only thing that is even remotely Hunger Games like is the fact that the country has a new name and...well, maybe I'll think of something else later.
The only thing dystopian about this is the caste system, but really, is the caste sustem that dystopian? I mean, we already have first-class and middle-class and lower-class. Add detail into it, and you have the caste system. Not very original, really, if you think about it. But it's not like they have a horrible government, and really, the caste system could be changed if everyone stopped being prejudiced. It's not really a dystopia, in my book.
Okay, moving on. The biggest problem for me was not only the boring plot, the blunt and literal writing (Miss Kiera Cass, have you ever heard of DETAIL or DESCRIPTION? Or elaboration? at all?), or even the awkward prince and annoying, flat boyfriend. It was the fact that America Singer was such a big Mary-Sue. She is everything someone shouldn't be, with absolutely NO redeeming qualities. She is selfish, rude, egotistical (Besides, I had given them so much already. -America, Page 16), boring, and judgemental. She's selfish because she doesn't care about her family OR her country. She whines and WHINES AND FREAKING WHINES SOME MORE about the unfairness of the caste system, but then refuses to run for Queen. Doesn't she realize that if she was Queen, she could FIX the caste system? Then she complains about how there is never enough food, but she DOESN'T EAT HER DINNER and still won't try to become Queen. If she cared so much about her family and shortage of food supply and money, she would run for Queen and actually EAT her dinner. Which brings is to a lot of other topics. The fact that doesn't want to run for Queen is completely insensible. She gives NO reason for not wanting to run for Queen except that she is already in love with Aspen and will not give up her love to help her family and her country. Forgive me, maybe I'm inhumane and don't have any feelings, but I think that is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. Didn't anyone tell her, sisters before mistsers? She's so selfish! She WHINES about everything, but won't run for Queen to FIX everything. Which brings us back to WHY she won't run for Queen. Not only is she secretly in love with Aspen, but she never (America) elaborates in ANYTHING. She said she didn't want to be a caste One or Two, that she had seen their luxurious homes and din't want to live there. Okay- WHY? FOR GODS SAKE, WHY? Just because you want to have a better, glamorous life doesn't make you shallow, you know. Everyone wants a better life. I SEE NO REASON FOR YOU NOT TO WANT A BETTER LIFE FOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY. So, in exasperation, throughout the novel I kept crossing my fingers that she would elaborate in SOMETHING. But no, nothing, she never let us know any details about why she felt a certain way about something or someone. That itself was infuriating. At least if she said the whole Selection thing was shallow or something, she would have a reasonable excuse. But she doesn't say that. She just gives us selfish reasons. And then she complains some more. Another thing that irritated me was how she, as a "Five" caste family, is supposed to be poor, yet she has a TELEVISION AND MAKEUP. If you are so afraid of the fact that winter is coming and you will not have enough jobs or food, why don't you use the money you have for food and clothes instead of TELEVISION and Makeup! She even goes as far as to complain about the fact that, yes, there is never enough makeup. I'd find it SO much more easier to be sympathetic towards the fact that they won't have enough money to eat if they didn't own MAKEUP. And that's even worse. A few morequotes from miss America Singer herself are:
"To pick a girl to smile and look pretty next to him on TV....Could anything be more humiliating?" Page 19 (Nook)
"You are Not!" May said. "Because I look like you, and I'M pretty!"' -May Singer, Page 21. (Yeah, did I mention her family is also egomanacs?)
"I wrapped my mostly untouched plate under a napkin." Page 24 (IF YOU ARE SO WORRIED ABOUT NOT HAVING FOOD...WHY DONT YOU EAT?)
"There was a mirror by my door, and I stopped to make sure my hair looked as good as it had this morning." Page 25.
I won't include anymore because going over the notes I posted in the book is making my head want to explode. There is NO character development. She stays selfish and egotistical through the entire thing, and she's not even likeable. The author's writing style is enough to make me want to light my hair on fire and jump into a pool of acid and sharks. Because really, the second biggest problem was lack of detail and elaboration. Decapitation would be less painful than reading over and over things like, "There was wallpaper." and she says how much she loves Aspen, but their relationship seems forced, fake, and is SERIOUSLY lacking in chemistry and depth. I have no idea why they like eachother. Maybe because they are both PRATS? Maybe? I don't know. The worst part is that America is obsessed with him- she even confessed to going crazy and wondering what he was doing every second of everyday. He's just not that good looking, and since he's about as interesting as a piece of cardboard (and that's an insult to the cardboard), I don't see what makes him (or her) such a great boyfriend/girlfriend. And, again, CASS WILL NOT ELABORATE ON THAT. Besides, we don't get to know them or their backstory as a couple. They're just there, together, right away, and as I said, it all feels fake. And at times it seems like the "love triangle" was so obvious and forced, it actually PAINED ME TO READ THE ROMANTIC DIALOGUES. It gave me PHYSICAL pain. If I read this book too long, it would melt my brain or numb my body because there was such a luck of depth and feeling integrated in this story. Finally, the fact that there is a big cliffhanger despite the fact that basically NOTHING happened in this book (okay, something happened. America WHINE WHINE FREAKING WHINED.) is just infuriating. Like, oh, there was just so much information that it couldn't FIT. If you wanted room, Cass, you couldn't deleted about 200 pages. No difference made, really, seeing as how there was no real plot. It was just another selfish, narcissistic, obnoxious, dense, unlikeable girl whining about how two guys are in love with her, and...well, that's about all. I think I sumed up the book pretty well. I've read countless books that were uninspiring and boring, but this, by far, is the most forgetable, boring, mind numbing book I have ever read. I couldn't care about America Singer, and the fact that the author went as far as to call America's mother manipulative to try and make us agree with America's not wanting to be in the Selection, to try and make us sympathize with America, was just sickening. Really. This book was bland, flat, poorly written, with characters that are about as entertaining and interesting to read about as it is entertaining to watch rocks, or the sidewalk. There is nothing good about this book. It's the perfect example of how NOT to write a good book, because honestly, I don't doubt that this book will be long forgotten in a few months. There is nothing remotely interesting or good about it. Seeing as how the author has such a great personality, i at least expected the book to be FUN. But it has NOTHING. NOTHING. Nothing.
My rating is one star. But if I look at the beautiful cover, I will give it one and a half. This book had potential- if you use your creatviity, America could have discovered secrets about her society or something while at the Castle. But there was nothing remotely creative about it. The bachelor, royal edition, with bland, two dimensional EVERYTHINGS. One star/cupcake. -Astrid
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