The Selection

This is a fantasy book where the society uses a caste system. So the main character is an artist class.

They’re all numbered out and I think she’s like a five(?). She’s dating a six in secret. Seven is the homeless people outside of society. One is the royals. So she and her family are so poor they’re food insecure.

Her boyfriend and his people are worse off of course. So he convinces her to sign up for the competition to be the next queen, then dumps her. You know, maybe someone in their community can escape from poverty for… show more.

The Selection is based on reality TV shows like The Bachelor – only he’s a prince and girls compete to be selected into a life of royal privilege.

Just one problem for America Singer, she’s already in love with someone from a lower class and isn’t interested in crowns or jewels…until she meets the prince and realizes not everything is as it appears.

Fated or chosen mate relationships aren’t just a YA dystopian trope; finding the perfect partner is something most of us aspire to, and it’s always thrilling to read about a heroine who refuses her destined path and… show more.

Classism and competition meet in this young adult first-in-series. Thirty-five poverty-stricken girls compete for a chance to swap out their down-and-out lifestyles for a chance at wealth and prestige. Being “selected” means winning the affections of heart-throb Prince Maxon and being allowed to live in some pretty fabulous new digs (it’s a palace!). But what happens if the selected one doesn’t want to be selected? That’s the case for America, our protagonist…until she actually gets to know the prince she’s won. Some have said this series is The Hunger Games meets The Bachelor, and I couldn’t agree more. 

This book takes the readers into a dystopian version of North America: the world is no longer the same! America Singer, a poor girl from a lower caste, is selected to play bachelorette with the prince (along with 29 other girls) while the country is in chaos with rebellions. It’s a really great story that evokes thoughts about the system of the world we live in while springing us into new versions of the real world.  

While The Selection is a dystopian novel, it focuses more on the inner workings of one specific area—inside a palace. We’re given brief looks at the outside world while trapped in the gilded cage of palace life inside a futuristic Bachelor-like competition where girls compete for the hand of the king. It’s a great reminder that even though big things happen in the world, life on a smaller level goes on. I love that we get a super narrow view of a distraught world in the book while still seeing peeks of the reality outside the palace grounds and it’s… show more.