Books | The Selection

Wednesday 10 August 2016

Hey there Gorgeous!

I have been expanding my reading genre reading list lately because it was all starting to feel stagnant and I was getting uninspired to read. You know when you hit a reading slump? Yep, that's what I was feeling and I desperately wanted to shake it off. So, I looked around at books that were on my TBR pile and noticed I have quite a few YA books. I've never thought much about reading Young Adult books because I thought that they just wouldn't interest me anymore. But boy was I wrong! I am hooked! So today here is the review of the book that got me addicted to YA in a way I never thought possible.




Title | The Selection

Author | Kiera Cass

Publisher | HarperCollins Children 


Source | Review Copy 

Rating | 5/5 


Thirty-five beautiful girls. Thirty-five beautiful rivals…
It’s the chance of a lifetime and 17-year-old America Singer should feel lucky. She has been chosen for The Selection, a reality TV lottery in which the special few compete for gorgeous Prince Maxon’s love. Swept up in a world of elaborate gowns, glittering jewels and decadent feasts, America is living a new and glamorous life. And the prince takes a special interest in her, much to the outrage of the others.
Rivalry within The Selection is fierce and not all of the girls are prepared to play by the rules. But what they don’t know is that America has a secret – one which could throw the whole competition… and change her life forever.

At first I struggled to get into the book until about chapter 3 and then I was like an addict and simply could not get enough or read fast enough. I feel that I must say that the only reason I think I struggled to get into it was because that I am so used to reading adult genres that it took my brain a while to adapt. 

Anyway, back to the book which is why you are here. So, it's set in this dystopian world where things really are different to the way we know them. The country that used to be America is now not America after it was invaded by China and the Royal Family of old America has the entire country in a caste system. This caste system has eight tiers to it and America Singer (the girl) is a Seven. Each caste is a number with Eight's being the lowest. 

When the next heir to the throne, in this case Maxon is of age they have a contest where all the eligible girls are whittled down to thirty-five whom then are invited to stay in the palace and compete to win the affections of Prince Maxon.  

So without spoiling the entire story because what I've just mentioned is merely just the beginning, America reluctantly gets selected so off she goes to the palace where she makes quite the first  impression on Maxon much to the annoyance of 'others'. There are quite a few characters that you 'love to hate' such as Celeste who appears as a stuck up snobby so and so. 
Each page is jam packed with exciting drama and action and I devoured the entire book in less than 24 hours! Following on from that I immediately ordered book 2 which swiftly arrived as an e-book on my kindle and I gobbled that up in less than a day! I became so addicted that it got quite scary as I woke up thinking about America and Maxon and the dynamics between them, will they be the couple or is it going to be one of the other girls? I was hungry for more of this dystopian wonderland. So, a few hours into book 2, I ordered the entire collection in paperback which arrived 2 days later  - I don't know how I coped without it!

To say that Kiera Cass has made my summer is an understatement. Kiera has created a world of excitement, romance, thrilling adventure, and an addiction in me for not only dystopian books but YA books in general. I could almost imagine it being like the whole Kate and William scenario in a altered universe. 
I loved the gentlemanly personality of Maxon who was the utter gent to all girls but especially America. The romance was so incredibly sweet and tender. And America's feisty spirit and independence is the stuff Beyonce dreams of! I adore the energy between the characters and the entire story is captivating and..... oh just go buy it, seriously it's amazing. And you get to return to your youth which I swear has taken 10 years off of me ;-) 

Easily awarding this book (and the series of books having read them) 5/5 although I'm tempted to rocket it to a 10 because of how good this book was.

 

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