The Selection (The Selection, #1)

by Kiera Cass

A very pretty-looking girl did my makeup. I instructed her to go light, and it was nice. Lots of the other girls looked a little older or younger or just nicer after the makeup. I still looked like me when I was done. Of course, so did Celeste, since she insisted upon piling it on.

They scurried over and introduced themselves as Lucy, Anne, and Mary, but I forgot which was which almost immediately. It took quite a bit of convincing to get them to leave. I didn’t want to be rude since they were so eager to serve, but I needed time alone.

There was a violin in the corner, as well as a guitar and a gorgeous piano, but I couldn’t bring myself to bother with them.

good you’re probably really bad

It felt like only a few moments before my maids quietly tapped on my door. I let them in and, as strange as it was, let them dress me. They were just so excited to be helpful, I couldn’t ask them to leave again. They pulled parts of my hair back with delicate pins and freshened my makeup. The dress—which, along with the rest of my wardrobe, had been created by their hands—was

i really despise how she is describing the maids it is really strange

Women’s Room

?

There was no mild way to put it: Her breasts were huge.

The image of me hugging my father was touching, beautiful.

Upon landing in Angeles, Lady Singer was the crowd darling at the airport, stopping to take pictures, sign autographs, and simply speak to anyone there. Miss America Singer is not afraid to get her hands dirty, a quality that many believe our next princess needs.”

she’s so down to earth and beautiful and just so gorgeous

But here, sandwiched between people whose hate I could feel radiating off in waves, I was a coward. I looked up from my plate once to see Kriss Ambers twirling her fork menacingly.

i think kriss ambers is just twirling her fork and it’s not about you just like everything else

How did she get people to talk to her?

she was probably not immediately disparaging people in her head like you are all the time

“Homeschooled?” “Yes.”

When I got to mine, Bariel’s door was still open, and I heard her muttering something to a maid. She caught sight of me and slammed the door in my face.

i’m on her side stop spying on her

I couldn’t speed them up as they washed my hands and unlaced my dress and pinned my silver name tag to my silken nightgown.

i have multiple questions first why can you not wash your own hands second why do you need a name tag if you’re going to bed

stared at my jar.

stared at the jar.

i wonder if she’s staring at the jar

My vision got blurry. I didn’t even register that I’d started crying. I couldn’t breathe. I was shaking. I jumped up and ran to the balcony.

jump off

I was the property of Illéa now.

oh!

“Are you all right, my dear?” he asked me.

he talks like an 80 year old

“Excuse me, dear, are you going to keep crying?”

“What are you?” he asked. “I’m sorry?” “A Two? Three?” Wasn’t he paying attention at all? “Five.” “Ah, yes, then food would probably be good motivation to stay.”

?????????!!!!!!!!!!! ok i’m coming back to this after finishing the book and this doesn’t make any sense for him to say because he apparently didn’t know people are starving

“America, my dear, I do hope you find something in this cage worth fighting for. After all this, I can only imagine what it would be like to see you actually try.”

are we actually supposed to be seeing this cardboard cutout as a real person and love interest

Then I turned to watch Maxon as he walked away, giving me the privacy I’d wanted all day.

you had plenty of privacy in your room but you decided to try and run away for no reason

And if they were maids, that made them all Sixes. But that was fine with me. I did enjoy the company of Sixes.

unreal

“Good morning, ladies,” he called. The lift in the room was tangible. Backs straightened, locks of hair were tossed over shoulders, and hems were rearranged. I looked not at Maxon, but Ashley, whose chest was moving fast. She stared in such a way that I felt embarrassed for noticing.

you should be embarrassed you are a bad person

“I wonder what he wants to know,” Marlee turned and asked. “Maybe he wants to know which actors you think are the most handsome. Keep your mental list ready,” I whispered back. Marlee and Ashley both chuckled at that.

she’s not even funny she has literally nothing going for her i cannot stand her

He leaned in and whispered, “Did you sleep well, my dear?”

he’s such a CREEP WHAT IS THIS

I shouldn’t blame you.

why not

“Yes. Let me stay, and I’ll help you. I’ll be your friend.”

Just like that, we were down to twenty-seven.

I was a little thrown off by the sudden elimination, but Maxon didn’t seem too distressed. He ate his food without a care, and as I watched I realized I should eat my own breakfast before it got cold.

yeah because he’s a stellar example for good opinions about the dystopian bachelor

I want to wear pants for a week,”

she is so different and not feminine

I have three sweet maids who help me get dressed and clean for me and tell me where to go.

She also complained that Mom was bossing her around more. I knew how that felt.

she’s your mom i think she’s entitled to that

“Yeah, five. Most families out there have lots of kids. I’d have lots if I could.”

i wonder why families in the lower castes have more kids. i guess we’ll never know or grapple with that because this book’s themes are as thin as paper and poorly ripped off of suzanne collins

Mostly he likes to play ball and study bugs, which is fine except that he can’t make a living that way.

Maxon’s arms were huge. Even beneath the layers of his suit, I could feel the strong, steady muscles there.

he’s soooo sexy……

“No, no, you crazy girl, I heard you the first time.” Maxon grimaced. “But just what in the world do you mean by it?”

he literally sounds like an old man what is this

At its barest of bones, the Selection was kind of disturbing. I was sure the rebels hated it along with everything else about Illéa. But whatever their opinion, I wasn’t going down quietly.

???? why is she so STUPIDDDD

I had just managed to get the latch right when something crashed into the metal plate from outside the palace, sending me screaming backward until I tripped over my fallen chair and tumbled to the ground. Maxon appeared immediately.

she’s so incompetent it’s unreal

The odds were getting slimmer and slimmer for her . . . and her husband . . . and her only child. Surely, eventually, the rebels would figure out the right alignment of circumstances to get what they wanted. Yet she stood there, her chin set, her still face wearing a quiet calm.

i don’t think it requires that much critical thinking to understand that the rebellion’s motivations are actually good and correct when she’s already been threatened with the death penalty

Did any of them have the strength it would take to be the queen?

?????

“Dry your eyes and stand up straight,” I barked into her ear.

incomprehensible

it did seem strange that a lottery was the main difference between someone like Anne and me.

STRANGE???????????

They’re probably waiting to pounce on you,”

yeah great point america i’m sure you’re the only one who doesn’t want to be sexually assaulted because you’re so different and not into this guy

They live in the rainy patch of Likely near Bellingham, just north of here.

??? what is this place name

“Their attacks are much more . . . lethal.”

making the southern rebels more violent and lethal is an odd choice considering the north is canada and the south would be mexico and central america. kiera cass your shit world building choices will never cease to amaze me

I thought of my poor maids again.

she’s so kind and benevolent!!!!!!! she would make such a lovely queen!

What could a bunch of illiterate barbarians be looking for?

my god these people are so fucking dumb

“Me, too. But he’s actually. . .” What was Maxon actually? He was sort of stuffy, but not in a way that was as off-putting as I’d imagined. Undeniably a prince, but still so . . . so. . . “Normal.”

are u joking hes so weird!!??? definitely off putting!

“Sold? How can that be? There aren’t slaves here.” “Not technically, no, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen. Lucy’s family needed money for an operation for her mother. They gave their services over to a family of Threes in exchange for the money. Her mother never got better, they never made their way out of the debt, so Lucy and her father had been living with this family for ages. From what I understand, it wasn’t much better than living in a barn with the way they were kept.