The Selection (The Selection #1) by Kiera Cass

Title: The Selection
Author: Kiera Cass
Genre: Romance, Dystopian, Young Adult
Release date: April 24, 2012
Publisher: HarperTenn
Series: #1 in The Selection Trilogy
Source: Won through giveaway
327 pages

For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in the palace and compete for the heart of the gorgeous Prince Maxon.
But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.
Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself- and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.

Review:When I first saw this book, I fell in love with the cover. It's just beautiful. Plus I'm a dystopian fan and America's name was so unique. At the beginning of the book, I was kind of put back because of the way some of the characters reacted to certain situations. It seemed unrealistic. They overreacted to small things, yet they also under-reacted to things that would normally cause a lot of emotional problems. As the book progressed, though, that didn't seem to happen as much as it did in the beginning.

I love how this book brings a piece of history (princes, palaces, castes, etc.) and sets it in the United State's future time. The book was placed after the Fourth World War, which was not what I was expecting. America is a great character and she's strong and can be so beautiful with the most simple things.

She doesn't come from the richest family (she's a caste Five and the lowest is an Eight) but she is extremely talented with music, which makes her even more down to earth. She seems to grow up more by the end of the book. And Maxon, who is super cute, isn't what you think of a prince; he's not stuck up and snobby, he cares about the girls in the Selection. He's handling girl problems and running a country, how amazing is that? (: I was in love with him the moment him and America first met.

Overall, I liked this book and I think it got better as I got farther into the book. I'm excited for the sequel(: I'll give it 3 and a half trees.