The Selection by Kiera Cass
Published by Harper Collins
THE dystopian futures often found in YA fiction as popularised by hugely successful series like The Hunger Games and Divergent, often become so important to readers and to the development of their love of reading because of the introduction they provide to political themes.
It can be easier to understand, and see the problems with, various world issues when they are put into a future setting. This is bold and exaggerates problems in a way that can help young people to become invested in politics and help them figure out what they believe to be right amidst an exciting plot.
With the incredible success of The Hunger Games prequel, The Ballad Of Songbirds and Snakes, introducing a new generation of teenagers to these kinds of books it made me think back to when I first read them.
One of the series that stood out the most to me and that still holds a place in my heart is this one, with the simplicity but certainty of Keira Cass’s writing, quotable moments, careful world building and relevant themes, these books gained a place with the best of YA dystopian fiction.
The country of Illéa operates with a monarchy, one where rules bring classism to a new level. People and their families are sorted into castes from one to eight, with one being royalty and eight being the homeless and those in great poverty. One can only really escape a lower caste by marrying into a higher one, and must perform a job dictated by their position.
America Singer and her family are Fives, meaning that they are artists and musicians, their only worth coming from their ability to entertain and provide something beautiful for those in higher castes.
America does not mind quite so much as she loves to play the violin however her mother is greatly unhappy and ambitious with dreams of a better life for them all and so when the opportunity arrives she submits her daughter for The Selection.
This is a system which allows the next queen of Illéa to be chosen from the public with a system similar to The Bachelor in which a group of young women are chosen and sent to the palace to live with the young prince who after some time, will choose one to marry.
America is horrified as she is happy with her boyfriend Aspen, and with her family’s position in life but upon discovering she is elected she has no choice but to compete.
The experience is one filled with many twists and turns, with uncertainty around Aspen at home and her begrudging but growing friendship with Prince Maxon.
Prince Maxon seems to be oblivious to the suffering of some of his people, only starting to learn of the issues when rebel groups become more active alongside The Selection. America teaches him the unfiltered truth about the struggles of her own family, of her friends and of those in even lower castes.
This is a romance that at every turn refuses to be one sided and trivial and that brings up issues that are a little too familiar today.
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