In the first chapter of the book, America is sent a glossy photograph of her family after her sister has a baby. The rebellion seemed to exist only to add tension to the love story, and the politics of Illea make little sense.Īdditionally, the technological capacity of this world and its economic structure continues to baffle me. Everyone is unhappy and unruly, but there aren’t many solutions being bandied about, and this wide-spread discontent is barely dealt with in the climax by anything other than hand-waving it away. However, given the fact that the rebels are supposed to be knowledgeable about what the United States was like before the Illeas took over, it seems strange that no one is calling for a return to democracy, or even having a conversation about moving towards a more equitable type of rule. When August Illea of the northern rebels, a direct descendent of the founder of the country, talks with Maxon, he seems perfectly happy to allow the monarchy to exist as long as the caste system is destroyed. The One features more interaction with the rebels, but I am still confused as to how these massive groups are organising, where they are getting resources from, and what exactly they want. Unfortunately, my wish did not come true. The Selection has suffered from ill-thought out world-building from its very first pages, and I had hoped that the author would explain more about how this dystopic world came to be. I won’t say much on this topic because my first two reviews are about this issue, but suffice to say, the world-building didn’t magically improve in The One. The world-building never does come together Unfortunately, being slightly more exciting is really the only good thing I can say about this story. I wasn’t particularly impressed with how or why these events occurred, but they did make The One feel like a much more interesting and fast-paced read than the last two books. Thus, I commend Cass for her significant improvement in having things actually happen in the plot of The One! Instead of sitting in the palace for a couple hundred pages, whining about love and boys, America talks with rebels, gets shot, and tries to be politically manipulative. Admittedly, the author doesn’t make many good writing choices, but it is important to recognise that even the worst story usually offers readers at least one worthwhile or interesting thing to read.
Consequently, I have tried to focus on the concrete things that make the books work or not. Trying to review The Selection novels has been difficult because it’s so easy to let a post devolve into pure snark when you are dealing with these stories. Will America win Maxon’s heart or will she be going home heartbroken?
America Singer was pressured into joining the selection, a televised competition between young women vying to be the next princess of Illea, and now she and Prince Maxon must sort out their feelings for one another as a rebellion intensifies in violence around them.
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