The Selection series 1-3 (The Selection; The Elite; The One) plus The Guard and The Prince (The Selection)

I recently tweeted this:

I binge book series like I binge TV.

I struggle to find my way back to reality until I've completed the series.

Well, that tweet was because of a book series in particular. The Selection by Kiera Cass. In the case of this review, I’m going to give a review on books 1-3 in the series as a whole, because I read them all within five days. Honestly, it was probably four, but I’ll pretend I still managed to work and live a life somewhere in there.

I’ve seen this series on the shelves of bookstores so many times. Every Sunday I attend a critique group in Barnes and Noble and the YA section is on the way to the restroom, so at least almost every Sunday for the past two years I’ve passed that book or similar ones. I’m sure you’ve heard the saying that it takes 7 times of seeing something before you consider buying it. It’s not that I didn’t want to read it the 100 other times I saw the book. But there are other factors, like my growing list of pending book reviews for my blog, and all the other YA books I should read, and work, and etc. etc. Also, maybe the fact that I know when I like a book, I don’t come up for air until I’ve finished it.

Okay, and if we want to be perfectly honest with each other, the only reason it didn’t take me three days to read the three Selection books (like it did one summer reading the first three Harry Potter’s) is because I had to wait a day for the store to ship the final book. Dreadful, right?

I’ve read all the available books in The Selection series, and I am hooked. I loved them. They were fast paced, well-written, and engaging reads.

There are a few reasons for this:

The main character, America. And the other characters, especially the girls in the Selection.
America is a strong narrator to tell this story. The writing is so much of this story, but that’s also because Kiera Cass wrote a strong first person POV for America. America was well-defined; she was stubborn and independent, she knew what she wanted (until she was conflicted which made for a good story), she was flawed, impulsive, and she grew over time.

Also, the other characters were fun as well. Each character in this story had a defined goal and we could see them trying to obtain it, and we saw if they failed or succeeded. The other girls who were in The Selection, trying to win the prince’s heart, were all a joy to watch. The interactions felt real, catty, friendly, and ridiculous. It was a royal version of bachelor, with an entire country and a prince at stake.

The setting.
First, this is set in the future, in a sort of dystopia similar to The Hunger Games in which our protagonist lives in a “caste system” meaning that people are categorized at birth of which caste they will be. 1-8. 8 is the lowest. 8 means homeless. 1 means life is made. This system also means that your occupation is decided by which caste you are in. So America is a 5 and these are people who are entertainers – painters, singers, musicians. The King and Queen, for example, are a 1. Obviously.

Second, we get to see the life of a 5, like we see Katniss in district 12, and then soon the story moves to the Palace in Angeles (I have to assume this is old world Los Angeles, which I love because I automatically love all stories that take place in LA). And the palace is gorgeous and it’s like when Katniss experiences life in the Capitol. It’s full of color and gems.

Love triangles.
I realize some folks are not a fan of love triangles. But I love them. The Vampire Diaries is my favorite TV show, so… I love reading about being torn between not just one guy or the other, but the LIFE with one guy versus the other. Love triangles are not about who is good for her or who the reader likes more. It’s about the guy that supports the heroine, but also challenges her. He is the one that pushes her to be the best version of herself. And he believes in her. And he doesn’t stand in the way of her ‘shine’. They shine together. Although both guys can be good choices, one is always more right than the other, but it can take a long time and a lot of personal growth to find out.

And finally, the other reason I love this series: It’s like a dystopian Bachelor where the contestants have real reasons for being there and real feelings are involved. And they are competing to be the future Queen. And it’s all with the weight of the country involved as well. And it’s dangerous sometimes too.

The caveats:

Although I really enjoyed this series and I am so glad I found a new author I like, I did feel that there were times the readers were cut short of experiencing something great. There was danger and threat in this series, but there were enough times that something really intense could have happened and I was excited to take that turn with the character, but then it was all cleaned up and we were moving on. I was still happy to roll with the story, but it would have brought new depths to the book and character(s) had the author explored some more difficult choices.

There were also many times I predicted what was going to happen in the story. I predicted practically everything, but maybe that’s the editor in me knowing when one minor detail comes up it MUST be used later. And, the author DID use it, so major props to her for following through. However, because I quickly learned this author was talented and knew to never insert a detail that isn’t used, I was able to guess things that would happen because I knew it HAD to come up again. I also read a lot of romance and YA, so there’s that too. The thing is, even though I predicted a lot, I never tired of the story. I was happy to follow the heroine as she went through it. I was happy to read the parts I predicted because it was engaging and well-written.

In conclusion, I recommend this series to YA lovers, dystopian lovers, romance lovers, people who enjoy reading about gorgeous dresses and clothes, fans of The Hunger Games, and fans of The Bachelor

Stumbled upon this series by accident. So glad that I did!! Its one of those where you sit down to read and when you look up, hours have past and the book is finished!! Beautiful story, gripping, and well written. I'm also very fond of authors who thank God in their acknowledgements. Makes me feel like buying more of her books!!

I devoured these books. I finished all three in a matter of days. Though I utterly despise love triangles, this was, surprisingly, one I could tolerate; perhaps because it felt believable. While America's indecision was frustrating at times, it also felt real, not forced. I also easily connected with her tendency to second-guess, overthink, and read too much into things, as that is something I am prone to do myself. The books also contain some beautifully written lines and I felt the author was able to paint very clear pictures of the characters using very few words. In the end, these books told a wonderful story, and I most surely plan on flipping through their pages again and reliving it.

I really enjoyed these romances. A great story with real conflict of heart - a conflict the reader can both feel and relate to. Characters are well developed, with complex personalities that make them seem incredibly real. Interesting set up, pushing us into the future, while bring with it elements of a fairy tale past, and the break down of a society all at once. I love the spunk and intelligence of the America.

Great book and a fun read from the Selection Series. We love Kiera Cass. If you like this one also look into the Lunar Chronicles series by Marissa Meyer.Marissa Meyer

This books are really amazing and addicting. Omg I couldn't stop reading. I just don't like giving spoilers. You just have to read it. If you like princesses, rebellion, love and all those kind of stuff, I promise you WILL like these books.

My little cousin actually got me started on this series this summer. I'm not a big reader and I read this entire series in less than a weekend. I loved it. I am now buying again so I can read it while I have time off of work for surgery.

As I read these books, I found myself becoming annoyed. I was annoyed with the main character, who quite frankly is a thot, and overall the books. They're a mix of the Bachelor and the Dusk Gate Chronicles. Completely unoriginal, predictable, and chaotic. The book events change almost as frequently as the main character's preference of the two men. I personally think, you should not read these books and instead just see the movie when it comes out.

First off, love Love LOVE these books, story is amazing, sort of like the hunger games, so many similarities when you think about it, but also this set includes the bonus epilogue to the One and books are high quality, no bad surprises :)