The Selection

[Kayla]

Since this book was the most voted for in the poll, we'll be reading The Selection for May. Talk about it here!

[Elise]

I don't even know where to start.

I loved Maxon too. I just wanted to squeeze him.

Something felt off to me about Aspen. Maybe it's because we came into the story with America already in love with him so we didn't get to experience it the way we did with Maxon. I was really bored for the first 50 pages or so because the whole Aspen thing just felt off to me. Also, he has a death wish. Why the hell would you sneak into her room? and kiss her? How many times did they almost get caught?

You make a great point Francesca when you talked about America being similar to Katniss. I think the best part about this book was it's ability to take a look at a very patriarchal system and still show a very strong female lead. One who was still by all means "girly" and who wanted "girly" things like marriage and children. Much like the queen, we see that America has more than just marrying well on her mind.

I was a little disappointed by the lack of back story too. It felt like the author had a idea, but it just didn't seem important to her. Also the author tended to tell you about the dystopian elements, and not really show you. For instance when they are talking about history and America realises that history is changeable if it's not written down. I did like when America encouraged and enlightened Maxon to the state of their world by explaining what it meant to go hungry. It was a nice touch. Especially considering the state of education in the US now.

Marlee is super suspicious. Something happened. I'm sure we'll find out in the next book.

I was really amazed at how blood thirsty Celeste was. Like she really wanted America to just take her dress off? Really?! Because NOBODY saw America walk in in the red dress. And then to spill punch on that girls dress. That's just ridiculous. I really wish she was less stereotypical mean girl, and had more of a back story.

Something just seems really off to me. I'm sure this book is going to hang around in my mind while I try to figure it out. It seems like the royals have a really plush lifestyle, but where is the money coming from? Are people paying taxes? It sounds like from caste 5 and under they can barely afford to feed themselves, so who's paying the government? Maybe it's just an oversight by the author, but this really bothers me. Where is the money coming from?!

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I love books that will haunt you days and months after reading it, and I think this book will.