Review Detail

The Selection by Kiera Cass is unlike any book I’ve ever read. Reminiscent of The Bachelor in setup, but taking place in a post-war world, the novel follows a young woman named America whose life is suddenly uprooted when, after applying for what is perhaps the most prestigious event in the entire country, she is selected to be part of The Selection: a journey in which thirty-five young women will find not only themselves, but the man of their dreams.

For America, who goes into The Selection heartbroken from a recent breakup while at the same time hopeful for her future, she feels this may be a chance to give back to the family that has loved her so much. What she doesn’t realize is that her journey will change her, for what seems to be the better.

This book is incredibly hard to describe without going into intricate detail about the world-building and the methods at which Kiera Cass created it. For that reason, I will simply say that, at it’s heart, The Selection is a novel about one young woman coming to find what she wants rather than what the world expects of her. One line—I choose me—rings true in the darkest hours of the final pages, and though many would believe this novel to be a one-trick pony based simply on its pretense, its world-building and ability to inspire tension through events not relating to the romantic overtones is enough to immediately mark this as a contender among great young adult novels.

Addicting, harrowing, saddening at times and joyous at others, The Selection is an unstoppable novel, one which fans of romance and post-war worlds will instantly fall in love with.