The Selection (The Selection, #1) in Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge

Apr 09, 2016 Maryam rated it it was ok

Shelves: ya, romance

So much potential wasted in this book. A brilliant idea of possible future which is driven to side by a foolish uncompleted love story.

such a pity.

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Jul 05, 2015 Sarah rated it it was ok

Ridiculous. Such a blatant rip-off of Twilight, Hunger Games, and a dozen other YA novels. And not a very well-written rip-off at that.

Yet I can't stop reading them. Damn those flat, undeveloped characters who can do no wrong unless they're the bad guys. ...more

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Apr 02, 2013 Lacey Louwagie rated it it was ok

Shelves: youngadult, apocalyptic-postapocalyptic, dystopia

When I first began reading this, I thought of it as “The Hunger Games without the violence.” By the time I finished it, I could easily say that it was also without the proficient writing and believable worldbuilding. In other words, despite the reality TV aspect and the presentation of a certain “image” therein, comparisons to The Hunger Games give this book more credit than it deserves. Instead, it feels like a rapidly fired-off, barely edited book poised to cash in on the current dystopia rage When I first began reading this, I thought of it as “The Hunger Games without the violence.” By the time I finished it, I could easily say that it was also without the proficient writing and believable worldbuilding. In other words, despite the reality TV aspect and the presentation of a certain “image” therein, comparisons to The Hunger Games give this book more credit than it deserves. Instead, it feels like a rapidly fired-off, barely edited book poised to cash in on the current dystopia rage—without any of the commentary or dark believability that make dystopias most compelling.

A brief note on the writing: it just felt lazy. It was littered with phrases such as, “nodded his head” and “shrugged his shoulders.” (What other body parts can one “nod” or “shrug”?) At one point, someone was referred to as a “pretty-looking girl.” (Is that supposed to mean she wasn't actually pretty, she just looked pretty? I have no idea.) And the world-building just left me scratching my head. There are so many ways in which it just didn't add up.
1. In this future version of the U.S.A., where all of North America has combined forces against Chinese and Russian invasions and eventually established a new country, there is a caste system in place. There is no indication of where this caste system comes from, and it seems out of the blue, considering none of the North American countries nor the invading countries have a strict caste system.
2. In general, the caste system is despised. There is talk of “rebels” although it's not clear exactly what they are rebelling against—the caste system seems most likely. But although there is general dissatisfaction with the caste system, the population adores its royal family. Yes, in this version, a future America has become a monarchy, and it's not clear how that was pulled off, either, especially considering that none of the source countries have monarchies anymore. But even with that aside, why would the royal family be beloved when the social system that they supposedly maintain is hated? What's more, the royal family does seem to be truly good at heart, and I get the impression that we as readers are meant to get behind them. But if they're so “good,” why do they do nothing to challenge an oppressive caste system?
3. Based on all the history that has transpired (a third world war, a Chinese takeover of the U.S., a Russian invasion, and the formation of a new country), one might think that technology would have evolved. It hasn't. Most dystopias/post-apocalyptic novels give some sort of explanation for the lack of technology, such as destroyed infrastructure. But in this novel, we're just supposed to accept that technology stopped evolving. In fact, it even seems to have devolved. There is evidence of television, cell phones, and air planes—but no Internet, not even in the palace. Huh?
What's left of the story—plot and characterization—aren't enough to make me overlook its many shortcomings. The love triangle isn't enough to carry the story, especially when America (yes, that's really the protagonist's name) learns that something that made her angry at her first love turned out to be a (rather improbable) misunderstanding. The Prince is interesting at times, although it strains believability that he would put up with as much crap from America as he does. And while I'd heard complaints that this book ends on a “cliffhanger,” it really didn't feel like one to me—because I just didn't care what happened next.

In a genre currently filled to overflowing, you can save yourself both time and money by skipping this one. ...more

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Oct 16, 2012 Megan rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: romance, young-adult, dystopia

Based on all of the 1 star ratings with rabid reviews attached, I was expecting this to be in the Twilight realm of terrible. It wasn't. Granted, my expectations were low, but I enjoyed it enough that I'd like to read the sequel.

Don't get me wrong, it's not original or anything. But it was a fun twinkie of a book. If you're someone who prefers series to begin with books that can stand on their own, this is not for you. You can, however, get a lot of unintentional laughs. The names are ridiculou ...more

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Jul 21, 2016 Renata rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, ya, audiobook

On one hand this book is not very good and does not make very much sense, but also it was very compelling and we couldn't stop listening to it and immediately, frantically put a hold on the next one in the series. So...there's that.

The Selection--basically The Bachelor for a prince to find a princess--is a great concept for a book. The worldbuilding around this dystopian future is very stupid and makes no sense and it's basically just handwaving to create set dressing for the Bachelor, I mean, S ...more

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Aug 27, 2017 Shannon rated it really liked it

I'm embarrassed that I consumed this book so fast. It is ultimate reality trash tv in book form. Think The Bachelor with princesses. If I knew a tween girl, I wouldn't let her anywhere near this bubblegum garbage, but as a grown woman looking for something to read after work, this was totally enjoyable. ...more

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Jun 30, 2012 jenn rated it liked it

Shelves: 2012, fiftyfiftyme

Ok, this isn't really worth a lot of thought or a very close reading, but it was a lot of fun, and I do want to read the rest of the series when it comes out. ...more

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