OK, yes .. this is essentially The Bachelor set in a near-future North American dystopia. But I am a sucker for dystopian YA fiction. I like the world-building in The Selection, but it could be stronger. And the same things that drove me crazy about Katniss in the Hunger Games drive me crazy about America in The Selection: slightly un-self-aware (in contrast with their crazy emotional life - you'd expect their self-awareness to be more evolved). I have found this to be a trend with young women in these books whereas the young men (Peeta in HG and Maxon in The Selection) are a lot more self-aware. Which is annoying to me b/c I want the heroines to be strong in a variety of ways. 
 What little background and world building we got, I enjoyed. 
 I also did like the main character - she has some very interesting conflicts (internal and between other characters). The story is interesting. 
 So, if you are keen on YA dystopian books, you will likely want to read it. Otherwise, not necessary. 
 A note about world building: I think JK Rowling showed us with HP 4-7 that kids, young adults and adults will read detailed, rich-on-background-info books. Why authors like Kiera Cass and Suzanne Collins skimp on this detail is beyond me. You're going to the trouble of creating these amazing worlds with interesting histories and situations. Why not spend more time on them than you do? 
 A note for people who create videos about the second book in their series: if you're going to give away the ending of your first book in the video you did about your second book, PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF PETE say "spoiler alert" or something at the start of the video. Yes, I was an idiot and watched the video before finishing the book, but, c'mon - throw me a "spoiler alert".