“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.”

What I see: I. Loved. THIS. BOOK! I could not. PUT. IT. DOWN! 

I am slightly ashamed about that sentence, but there is something about this first in a series. There is a feeling of desperation, for the lower casts in the society. I loved reading about how the ranks of people operated. However, everything about this story, the dystopia setting, the terrible love triangle, the fact it is so like The Bachelor, I shouldn’t have loved this as much as I did. I should hate it, everything about it is so entirely cliche. The love interests are horrible. The Prince is unreliable and Aspen is a child. America knows nothing of love and is a insecure teenager, as one would be during a war and living in poverty. 

But I still loved it. Breezed through in two days. The atmosphere about the castle, the stories behind the other girls in the competition. The fact that there is a ridiculous competition at all, there is a spark to this book and I adored it. 

I feel the author gave enough details but not all the information to keep me intrigued, which I think is hard to do because it’s pretty obvious how the first book ends. Still, I loved each page except for the ending. I am not blind to the annoying factors in the story too, how it’s flawed with it’s too easy plot points or cliche characters. I saw it all and still loved it. It is a book that has everything I hate about YA, and yet I was eager to get back to each chapter for more. 

It’s pure YA fluff and I love it. But that is all it is, there isn’t anything long with standing. I’m hungry for more and can’t wait to get through the second and third book (once it’s published), but I doubt it will have the shiny magical touch the first book captured. Much like The Hunger Games and going to the Capital, The Selection takes one from the bottom and brings them to the top. What it is about books that begin in the dark and move to the light that are so interesting? 

Plus the cover is amazing! Beautiful, engaging and full of wonder! For dystopian YA, this is one of my favorites for the year!