#the selection trilogy

[fishfingersandscarves]

I had the distinct pleasure of illustrating the special Dutch release editions of Kiera Cass's Selection Trilogy! Now available to order from Uniboek Spectrum

[mira-aubade]

The 1st summer since it all...

Link to the Aftermath

[thedoorsofmyheart]

“It’s raining. It’s so beautiful.” -

- “Leave it to you to find beauty in something others say ruins a day.”

[pintofperegrine]

YA Dystopians Rated by How Much They Make Me Want to Gouge My Eyes Out

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld (7/10) A solid series with a slightly lackluster final entry. Wrestles with beauty, agency, and environmentalism, and comes to some pretty nuanced, interesting conclusions. Centers a compelling strained friendship, has a pretty good love triangle, and really commits to the worldbuilding. Hardly makes me want to gouge my eyes out at all!

Matched by Ally Condie (9/10) Takes place in a world that’s really similar to The Giver, where the government decides marriages, jobs, and deaths. Arts-centric and lyrical, with more interior conflict than external plot. Includes a creative and frequent use of poetry. Would probably make me want to gouge my eyes out if I didn’t have such a high tolerance for such extensive and dramatic metaphor.

The Jewel by Amy Ewing (6/10) Combines the dystopia with fantasy & magic in a really interesting way I haven’t seen elsewhere. Also, because it’s about teenage surrogates, goes all in on bodily autonomy, medical horror, and reproductive abuse. Really loses steam as the rebellion plot kicks in and the third book is infuriatingly hindered by it, which makes me want to gouge my eyes out a moderate amount.

The Selection by Kiera Cass (8/10) Really earnest, and surprisingly profound. Gets better with each book. Takes place in a monarchy-ruled future United States, and centers on a royal tradition where the prince picks a wife from a bunch of commoners sent to the palace in a contest (and how it’s a publicity stunt meant to distract the citizenry). The only part that makes me want to gouge my eyes out is how much time we spent hearing about makeovers in book 1. Other than that (sue me) it slaps.

Rook by Sharon Cameron (3/10) Takes place in post-apocalyptic France/England where society has somehow reverted to the French Revolution. Anyway, it’s very easy to forget that it’s set in the future as you’re reading it, and it really doesn’t have any of the politics or social criticism that makes a dystopian good. (It’s all character vs. One Specific Villain.) Engenders substantial eye-gouging.

[writeonbrooke]

Can Hardly Hurt Me Now

A ‘The Selection Trilogy Fanfic’ by writeonbrooke

After Maxon, in his heartbreak, proposes to Kriss, America returns to her home in Carolina. When Southern Rebels come looking for, she does what she asked her fellow countrymen to do: She fights back. With all of their mistakes working against them, will she and Maxon ever find their way back to each other? A/U ending and continuation of "The One" by K. Cass.

ff.net

wattpad

[disangelical]

He ran in front of me, wrapping an arm around my waist as we stood, chest to chest. "Tell me," he whispered. I pinched my lips together. "Fine, then I shall have to rely on other means of communication." Without any warning, he kissed me.

Kiera Cass, The Elite

[thedoorsofmyheart]

Image via Pinterest, Quote via Kiera Cass

[faithreads]

Book Review: The Elite by Kiera Cass

★★☆☆☆

"It turns out I'm absolutely terrible at staying away from you. It's a very serious problem."

1.5

I am really tempted to give this 1 star since it is honestly not as good as the first book, but it's still entertaining enough that I'm rounding up... for now at least. We really don't have a lot of development though. All throughout The Elite, America flip-flops between the boys even worse than before, and by the end of it, we're basically in the same position as we started this book.

One of the main problems here is that we get way too much Aspen. I really don't understand why America is torn between the two of them when Aspen doesn't seem to love her as much as hate that her attention isn't on him. And I really don't understand how both of them can be so reckless with physical affection when they know the consequences. This is all before we even talk about how every time Aspen kisses her, it's basically described as violent assault???? How is this supposed to be romantic????

There are also too many cycles of miscommunication with Maxon and America. I got really, really tired of it. Likewise, I wish America would stop dragging her heels and just date Maxon seriously - he's clearly the better option, even if he does have some moments where you just shake your head. At least he gets a bit more depth at the end and isn't solely just an America simp, which I appreciate.

The book really suffers from narrowing down its female cast. When there were more girls together, there were more fun dynamics you could bounce off of or just silliness that never had to veer into full-blown drama. Likewise, some of the characters in this Elite weren't highlighted as much as some other Selection girls last book, making it harder to connect with them now. The Elite as it remains are pretty stereotypical and lack a lot of depth. Poor Natalie's only trait is being dim but well-meaning. Celeste, as always, gets villainized, and this is somehow even more amped up than the first book. Kris is given a bit more depth, but she still feels a bit like Cass is trying to set her up as an America knockoff instead of allowing her to be her own character. Marlee is sweet like always, but she's really just there to be America's best friend. And Elise... well, unfortunately she's made out to be the stereotypical Asian girl who is smart, quiet, and submissive instead of allowing her to be a more rounded (or at least more innovative) character. Literally, she's just kept around for her connections to New Asia, no other reason.

The Elite definitely has some peak ridiculousness moments for the serious so far. I mean, there's a Halloween party for god's sake! The Elite also have to create and host events for foreign dignitaries, which seems like way too much responsibility to give people with no experience, especially when one of the foreign parties comes from a country where Illea does not have a strong relationship with. Also why are the Germans and Italians so stereotypical?? It's honestly hilarious to read through, and the outcome is exactly what you would expect.

The worst offender for ridiculousness though has to be what America pulls near the end. (See Spoiler Commentary below)

All in all, The Elite is really just wish-fulfillment and filler nonsense, but somehow, there's still enough entertaining factors that I can't say I didn't get some enjoyment. We'll just ignore the fact that this enjoyment stems for laughing at parts that allegedly supposed to be serious, okay? 

Spoiler Commentary below the cut!

Seriously, you thought that just getting rid of the castes would be a wise move to promote to the people who benefits most from the castes??? Likewise, she really did not put any thought into how this would be plausible, how the societal structure would need to be reformed, and protections put in place to reduce former caste discrimination. I also sincerely doubt that America would have had no ideas for a philanthropy projects and how to implement it. I mean, for example, she could think about how Aspen's father died, causing financial strain on his family. She could have recommended a monetary support for lower-caste families. But nope, she goes for route stupid and thinks nothing of potential consequences.

Also, I have to note how the world-building keeps going downhill. Cass attempted to flesh it out, but Gregory Illea comes across as a ridiculously obvious bad guy that it just feels like it's more of a comedy than a dramatic backstory. Also, wow, who would have thought that the rich guy who declared himself royalty of an entire country might actually have been corrupt? No one could have ever seen that coming, right...?