The Selection

For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime.

The opportunity to be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in a palace and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her, and leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want.

Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she begins to realize that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined. - excerpt from book.

The Selection by Kiera Cass is the first book in the trilogy. This is my first time picking up this book from the author because my cousin sister recommended it to me. This trilogy is also quite popular in its genre so why not find out it's hype right? Lucky for me I did not need to wait like the fans yearly for a new release, I bought all three of the books one shot.  Firstly, I want to say is the dress worn on the cover is absolutely gorgeous, so classy that you only wear to Grammy or Oscars and also there an image of a crown over the top of the book title, so pretty.

Before I read the book it was implied that is like The Bachelor TV show, so there will be many girls and the bachelor will pick one to be his wife. For this book, there has been a tradition where the prince will pick his wife from a selection of eligible ladies from the country. The point of view in the book is on one of the ladies that were to compete with other girls. I would say that the female heroine has quite a number of good traits along with one or two that I may not like. I felt that the growth for the character in the book is quite minimal.  The side characters were quite okay, supporting the story very well. The male characters were really good and interesting to read about, I wished there was more written about them.

I really like the setting and the world build by the author in the book. I like the idea of the social/job system in place in the country. That idea is quite fresh and unique. As for the plot, it was quite good and fun, it captured my attention well. The twists were good but one of the twist I was able to predict. This book is similar to other books in the dystopian genre such as Hunger Games minus the violence. I also thought that I would read about those girls competing each other like the Hong Kong drama s where the kings chooses a new concubine and there usually will be concubine wars,  the queen making her own pick eliminating other concubines who can obey her. Luckily it wasn't that dramatic else it would have put me off a bit, seemed like the author copied of those dramas.

Overall it was an enjoyable read, a very good start for the trilogy. The story is a good page-turner as well, it got me hooked easily and I kept reading it quickly. I highly recommend this book to readers who love young adult genre with romance, competition like the bachelor show theme. I definitely will read this book again in the future as it was a fun and light read.