The Selection by Kiera Cass

Book description from Edelweiss:

For thirty-five girls, the Selection is a dream come true. The chance to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To live in a castle and compete to win the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon.

35 girls. 1 crown. The competition of a lifetime. Cinderella meets television's The Bachelor in this fresh dystopian romance.

For thirty-five girls, the Selection is a dream come true. The chance to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To live in a castle and compete to win the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon.

All seventeen-year-old America Singer wants is a future with her secret boyfriend, Aspen. But when she is Selected, America grudgingly heads to the castle, all the while insisting that she has no interest in ruling a country divided by castes and plagued by violent rebel attacks. But much to her shock, her relationship with Maxon begins to bloom...and when she's unexpectedly confronted by her past, America is forced to choose between the life she thought she left behind and a future she never imagined.

Debut author Kiera Cass has crafted a totally unique dystopian world with an irresistible romance, a spirited protagonist, and plenty of high-stakes drama. Perfect for fans of Matched, this electrifying, futuristic fairy tale will leave readers clamoring for the next chapter in America's story.

Here's what I think...

Dystopian novels are quite popular lately - maybe because of the success of the Hunger Games or maybe because of the fact that vampire /werewolf theme became little bit worn out. They are still one of the most popular fantasy characters but there are lots of readers who are willing to read something different. If you're one of them, I think you should read The Selection by Kiera Cass.

As any novel of this genre, The Selection has usual plot: the girl living in the post-apocalyptic society of some kind, trying to make her own choices fighting with all limitations bared upon her by class, social status or, in this case, caste she belongs to and all rules determined by it. There's a boy, family, need to sacrifice  personal happiness for those she loves. And than there's the other boy and confusion and politics.

In general, this is not a bad book. It'll keep you entertained and some may find similarities with certain parts of The Hunger Games, Matched or Wither (I won't say anything else - I don't want to spoil it for you). Kiersten White, author of Paranormalcy, described book like this:

"Reality TV meets dystopian fairy tale in Kiera Cass's delightful debut. Charming, captivating, and filled with just the right amount of swoon!"

Swoon indeed! Reality TV - absolutely. It reminded me of all those dating TV shows. If you're a fan, you'll like the book. Me - not so much.

You may find it confusing in the beginning - what's the point of the selection and new society. Author is more focused on personal lives of characters than political background of the story. Later is represented only in glimpses and after about half of the book. In my opinion, that is the biggest flaw of The Selection - it makes the whole fictional world less believable. Because of this I think that younger readers will enjoy this book much more than older ones - thirteen year old girls enjoy fairytailish romance, they still don't like any "serious" topics in books they read (that's one of the reasons lots of readers didn't like that much third book in The Hunger Games trilogy).

The Selection will be available on April 24th  but author announced on her web page, kieracass.com, that the CW Network picked up her book for pilot. Cast is already selected and if you want to keep up for updates, check out The Selection IMDb page.

Happy reading, guys!

Until next time,

***NOTE! Copy of the book is kindly provided by the publisher, Harper Teen. I'm not paid for writing review - I do this for free as lover of written word. All opinions in this review are personal.