Audiobook Review – The Selection (The Selection, Book 1) by Kiera Cass, Narrated by Amy Rubinate (4/5 stars)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Dystopian/Science Fiction
Length: 8 hours and 7 minutes
Publisher: HarperAudio
Release Date: April 24, 2012
ASIN: B007WZU5E2
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in The Selection series
Source: Audiobook from Auible.com
Rating: 4/5 stars
“For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape a rigid caste system, 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 competing for a crown she doesn’t want.
Then America meets Prince Maxon—and realizes that the life she’s always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.”
Series Info/Source: This is the first book in The Selection series. There are five books in that series. I got this as an audiobook through Audible.com.
Audiobook Quality (4/5): The audiobook was well done. The narrator did a good job with character voices and it was pleasant to listen to, no complaints.
Story (4/5): I liked this more than I thought I was going to. I thought this was going to be another boring YA dystopian sci-fi book, but it ended up catching my interest. It is set in a sort of futuristic setting where the US is broken down into different countries. The main character, American Singer, is in one of the newer nations and her nation is strictly managed under a caste system. However, she is given the chance to compete in The Selection where girls from the nation compete to see who will marry Prince Maxon.
I was worried this was going to be about women being catty with each other and fighting over a prince, there was a bit of that but it wasn’t too bad. There is a lot of time spent with American getting comfortable being away from home and getting to know Maxon. The surrounding activities with the rebels were intriguing and mysterious.
Characters (4/5): I enjoyed both American and Prince Maxon as characters. I was completely prepared for Prince Maxon to be a jerk, but was impressed with the depth of his character and with how much I liked him. I should warn that there is also a love triangle here which I am normally not a fan of. However, American is smart and pretty much tells her old boyfriend (Aspen) where she stands since she is committed to the Selection. So it’s a love triangle where the heroine isn’t an idiot.
Setting (4/5): I found the alternate history setting intriguing and enjoyed the pieces of history that are slowly shown to us to help us unravel how this alternate United States got to be where it is in the story. I also found the caste system interesting
Writing Style (4/5): The book is decently written and kept my interest. I wasn’t completely enthralled with it but did end up enjoying the characters. I do wish we had got to see more of the world and learn a bit more about the rebels. I am guessing that will be the topic of later books in the series.
My Summary (4/5): Overall I enjoyed this but didn’t love it. I liked the characters more than I thought I would and enjoyed some of the mystery around the rebels. I am unsure right now if I will continue with the series or not. It has a lot of elements from other YA series in it and I think I know how it’s going to play out already. However, it is decently written so I might go ahead and finish it up. I’ll give it some time and see if I forget about it or if I am yearning to read more of it.
