sleepyowl_ink@bookwyrm.social reviewed The Selection by Kiera Cass
"Sixteen-year-old America Singer is living in the caste-divided nation of Illea, which formed after the …
Shallow Entertainment
2 stars
It is an entertaining read to be sure, but of the very shallow variety.
You have to ignore how the entire rebel plotline makes no sense whatsoever. Every time they mention the rebels and how no one seems to have any clue what they want, I can't help but think, "haven't you ever caught one and asked?" or "can they just waltz in and waltz out and no one did anything to improve the security?" The whole thing is nothing more than a plot device to create "danger" in an otherwise "pretty" storyline.
I didn't read the physical book, I listened to the audiobook, so I don't know whether other people had the same feeling but Prince Maxon feels very flat to me. Sure some times the words sounds sincere, but most of the time they just sound flat or creepy. His use of "my dear" to every girl is …
It is an entertaining read to be sure, but of the very shallow variety.
You have to ignore how the entire rebel plotline makes no sense whatsoever. Every time they mention the rebels and how no one seems to have any clue what they want, I can't help but think, "haven't you ever caught one and asked?" or "can they just waltz in and waltz out and no one did anything to improve the security?" The whole thing is nothing more than a plot device to create "danger" in an otherwise "pretty" storyline.
I didn't read the physical book, I listened to the audiobook, so I don't know whether other people had the same feeling but Prince Maxon feels very flat to me. Sure some times the words sounds sincere, but most of the time they just sound flat or creepy. His use of "my dear" to every girl is just "urgh". At one point they made a joke out of it, and if they had kept it a joke, perhaps it would have been fine. But it seems that the author had forgotten about this later in the book and Prince Maxon is using it seriously again later on.
The original friendship between Maxon and America (oh, don't even get me started on the names) was actually quite cute. I actually enjoyed that part, but then America had to discover her "feelings" for Maxon and all the depth of it seems to fly out of the window. It just becomes just as flat as the rest of the book.
I have to admit that I'm going to get the book, just to find out how they try to salvage the story, but I'm skeptical...
