I thoroughly enjoyed reading about America
How is the read?
This ARC was provided by Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.Publish date: April 24th, 2012 Juvenile Fiction: Love & Romance, 336 pagesHarper TeenFirst love can be a beautiful thing; that's why ithurts so much to let go. America Singer is a Five,just like her family. Neither are they on the verybottom of the caste-system nor one of theprivileged. Life is a struggle. Her mother hashigh hopes for America, and is delighted that shegot picked to take part in 'The Selection'. PrinceMaxon has come off age. He's ready to claim abride, the future princess of Ill&eacute;a. Competingagainst over thirty other young women is not whatAmerica wants. Then again, how can she disappointthe people she loves; keep them from a betterlife? Getting to know the supposedly arrogantMaxon for who he really is - anything but - onlymakes it harder.Finally, thank you - a dystopian young adult novel that pretty much catered to my every whim. I'm aware of the Goodreads drama surrounding this release, but to be honest, I don't care. The blurb captured my interested and I'm so thankful I was provided with a review copy. That's what it should be about. The book, the story itself! It's such a fabulous one, too. I think you should expect to be entertained and thus not think about every little detail too hard. This book is fun and it has a fresh take on the dystopia genre. I loved the modern elements! It made it easier to relate to the characters and what was happening to them.The writing was smooth and very teen-ish in an adequate way. Considering the heroines age, that most definitely is to be taken as a compliment. I liked America's voice. What I loved about the character? She was not bitter about being born a Five, instead, made the best out of her circumstances. It's truly awesome to see her smile, take joy in simple pleasantries. On the other hand, America was also a typical teenager wanting to break free of her confines. A lot of readers wrote about the heroine being stupid. I disagree. Being a teenager or a young woman for that matter entails (or excuses if you want) a certain degree of confusion. Everyone is entitled to make mistakes and be unreasonable. I didn't like her any less just because I found her actions questionable (at times).High praise for the author: The world building was flawless. She included important information in such a way that it never, not even once, interrupted the development of the storyline. Same as with the heroine, several readers complained about the lack of world building. 'It's not dystopian!', they say. Yup, you guessed right - I disagree. We have a mix between contemporary / modern and historical elements. Political structures? Check! The castes, the monarchy' The 'nightmare' world? Check! The huge gap between the privileged (One, Two, Three), the less fortunate (Four, Five, Six) and the unfortunate (Seven, Eight)- I categorized them for you. Is something automatically without depth when it isn't overly complex? No, at least not in my humble opinion. The modern feel to it? Check! You'll notice that right away. No need to explain.The secondary characters, even though the family didn't have a lot of screen page time, coaxed a smile out of me more often than not. Lovely family! America is a daddy's girl. Just like me. Her father was a gentle soul; a wise man. My biggest pre-reading concern was the introduction of the other candidates. I wondered how the author would pull it off. How many? All thirty-four of them? She did a wonderful job by focusing on a couple while the rest floated in the background - present, but not overwhelmingly so.Aspen versus Maxon: No spoilers, no spoilers, no spoilers *chantstoself*. It's a rare occurrence to fall in love (nah, okay, more like a crush) with both male characters. Of course I had a preference, but I'd have been okay with either outcome. However, I was desperate to learn America's final decision. Both Aspen and Maxon had responsibilities; a weight on their shoulders that sometimes felt too heavy to handle. They were proud, too - America stubborn. What an intriguing combination. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about America's life, learning about the Selection and so on before Maxon came into the picture. That Maxon-less time was well spent and necessary.America profited from this experience. It took her a while, but she suddenly saw the Selection process from Maxon's perspective. It wasn't easy for him either. Trust has to be earned and the author took this sentiment to heart. No insta-love, no insta-trust. You cannot imagine how relieved I was.Why not rate the book 5 stars then? The ending was too abrupt. Sorry to say that I didn't like it. It felt cut off rather than 'to be continued'. The author failed to hit the right key. I wanted to almost burst with excitement, not think 'The end? Well, okay then - that kind of s**ks'. A bit more effort could've turned it around. This is something an agent / editor should've realized, for I can absolutely understand how much pressure the author was (or so I imagine) under writing the ending.Are you the mood for a dystopian romance with the dreamy flair of a modern reality television show? If so - this fantastic novel is the book to read. 4.5 stars to The Selection by Kiera Cass.Beware of Spoilers!A few of my favorite quotes for those of you who are interested: 'You can't expect to be able to provide everything for everyone you love.' 'I loved him, and how it felt to be loved by him. I felt special, priceless, irreplaceable.' 'I would be the best of us, the Highest of the Lows. It gave me a sense of purpose.' 'I'm not fighting. My plan is to enjoy the food until you kick me out.' ''funny laugh, but it's cute ' Sure, if you like the lovable sound of an asthma attack in your ear'' 