Cass, Kiera The Selection, 336 p. HarperCollins, APRIL 2012. Language: PG (11 swears, 0 “f”). $18. America Singer, 17, has already found the love of her life and she has NO desire to try to win the hand of Prince Maxon. In post-apocalyptic USA, America’s family are 4’s, artisans who can make a decent living for themselves, while Aspen, her boyfriend, is only a 5, barely able to stay alive. Aspen insists that she enter, however, and America finds herself in the top 35 and moving into the palace – into a place she never wanted to be, with 34 girls she never wanted to meet, and competing for the hand of a prince she has no desire to love. Rebels and enemies of Illea make life in the palace dangerous, but so do the other girls, some of whom are willing to do whatever it takes to win.
Cass has taken the premise of The Bachelor, moved it to a future America and tried to add in a dose of Hunger Games. While it doesn’t work as well as the reality show nor the novel, I do admire America. If you pay too much attention to plot, you swiftly realize that it is pretty fluffy – not a lot of deep thought going on here. Oh, the author tries, but the clothes and the selection process occupies too much of the novel. If this were in paperback, I would be much more enthusiastic about recommending it. I am holding out hopes for a sequel with more meat. MS – OPTIONAL. Cindy, Library Teacher
No comments:
Post a Comment