The Selection by Kiera Cass

Source:  Purchased
Genre:  YA-Dystopian/Romance
Publisher: HarperTeen
Date Published: April 24, 2012
Number of Pages: 336

For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. 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. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.

Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself--and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined. (from Goodreads)

Let me first off say, I think I was slightly biased towards this book.
1. Cover Appeal
2. I really love lovey-ish stories (though this isn't necessarily a love story at all)

Let's be honest here, guys.  The beginning is downright unreadable.  I skimmed paragraphs for key names and places but, seriously, America was a whiny little bitch who complained about her mom and her love and loss of Aspen.  I kept telling myself, "Just get to the castle, it's going to get better at the castle!"
And then it did!!  The entire Selection was wonderfully thought out, though the whole "Where the girls go when they're dismissed" thing is stupid (spoiler:  they go home!)  that I kept reading about in other reviews wasn't there, at all.  Maybe I saw that in a blurb somewhere for the book??  I can't honestly remember.

The writing is sketchy at times, feels rushed and at times not very thought out, the story does shine.  And when I say shine, I really mean I couldn't figure out if it was going to end with her being chosen or dismissed or what.  And then I know there's a sequel called The Elite, therefore I kinda always knew how it was going to end.  

The ending was super rushed and stupid.  It's not how I would have ended it, but I'm not really a writer.  It kind of just happened, like, boom end.  I sat there at 1am going "What did I just read?"  And while that can be good, in this case I was just confused.  While I liked it, Prince Maxon and Marlee and America are all fantastic characters, it just threw the ending in, kinda like "Well it's time to end this, so let's just...say END."  

But whatever.  It was good, in my eyes.  Very over-hyped, but that's okay for me.  Perfect Chemistry by Simone Ekeles was over-hyped and I still LOVED that book.  This one just didn't fully do it for me.  While I liked it, and will read the sequels (the final book in the trilogy, The One, comes out in May, or so I've heard).  It was an entertaining read for what it was.  And I loved that aspect of it, even if I was like "Wait, wait, you're going too fast, I'm confused!" at points.

                                     4 out of 5 Happy Clouds :)

I'd recommend this to anyone who is a fan of The Bachelor, or is looking for a different look at dystopian novels.  But this definitely isn't my favorite dystopian novel, nor does it crack the top 10 list, either.