THE SELECTION
Wrong. Something is so wrong.
When i saw ‘the selection’, attracted was the word. Physically. The cover was so fitting for the somewhat premise of the story. At one point, it had been promising. When i read the synopsis, I was a little bit thrilled. It would be nice to imagine all those selecting and eliminations, the process these 35 girls will be undergoing to vie for the crown or for the prince himself. I was excited that there was a love triangle involved, and decisions had to be made. The caste system, One to Eight was not so original but a good way to distinguish the kind of world they were in. The heroine, America Singer, despite of her weird name, i thought was as promising as Katniss Everdeen, thorned between Prince Maxon, the ideal and Aspen, the real. But despite all of these, i got ripped off.
The plot seems to have a wide arrays of topics to play along with. Dystopian world, caste systems, royalties, love triangles, selection process, rebels, heroine. A lot. But i am afraid, Ms. Keira Cass was unsuccessful in doing so. She didn’t use all the available resources in order to present every angles of what she wanted to show in the novel. Instead, she made it more uninteresting. Don’t get me wrong. The story might have been a good one but because of the way it was written, the words mishandled, characters’ inconsistency, lack of sturdy foundation, insignificant details, vague descriptions, unnecessary comments and dialogues, weird scenes. They somehow ruined it all. Something is really missing. I cant connect to story, even to America herself. I guess, im just reading it word by word. And i am saddened by this act of myself, because i don’t want to dislike or hate any books. I always think all books are good. All books have good chances of stealing your breath away, ripping you from the world and putting you to the somewhat not so distant future using just the power of imagination. And because when i was to choose which book to read first, i preferred The Selection rather than others, I was heartbroken after finishing it. But, I really don’t want to give up just yet. So i am giving The Elite a chance.
THE ELITE
And yes, i survived. But still, something felt wrong.
It was not that bad, but i guess, but it just frustrates me more. I am hoping i would find something to like about America and her world, but there’s nothing, even this second time around. In fact, the elite was not able to redeem its status as one of the likable ones. True, i still imagine how would the dresses look like, but thats the end of it. Everything was so inconsistent, pointless. And the characters did not improved. In my eyes, they became worse. America became this self-centered girl who was actually using both Maxon and Aspen to fill her emotional problems. I cannot feel the connection she’s giving her to both, thus making her as insensitive as egoistic as possible. She doesnt want to choose because she’s not thorned. It is just because she knows she cant be sure of Maxon’s feelings and Aspen is just a substitute if in case she was cut off. It was clearly stated that she likes Maxon over Aspen but cannot let the other go for her convenience. So selfish, right? She doesn’t even have backbone to defend her feelings or her stand for that matter. So gullible of her. And Prince Maxon, what was he thinking? He once said to America after having caught making out with Celeste, “What i do with her absolutely has nothing to do with how I feel about you.” Oh what kind of inconsiderate person was that. And Aspen is just plain dumb or stupid. These characters just gets me raising my eyebrows often, eyes rolling and head shaking most of the time. Its a thin line between hilarious and infuriating, i tell you.
How about the attacks, the rebels, the assignments the girls were given, the king’s brutality, the parties, the history, the romantic on-goings, the dialogues and much more. I cannot see the connections, i cannot feel the need. Some of them can be deleted and won’t affect the story’s structure. I would think that they were just there to make words count, to make the story longer without knowing and needing the importance.
We can dissect all the good and flaws of this 2 books, but in the end, it will not justify. This book is clearly written without having deep thoughts about the words, the connections, consistencies, the unnecessary details, coordination, the flow. In respect to Keira Cass, i somehow understand what she was trying to convey to the readers. It was really a promising plot, an interesting premise, intriguing heroine, entertaining world. But in the end, its not only the cover or the theme that matters, it should be the content. And in this department, THE SELECTION and THE ELITE missed a lot. Quite a lot.
I would really want to like these books, but its not for me. For this, i am just sad.
Dream Chaser 