The Elite (2013) (HarperCollins Children's Books)Kiera Cass
Grade: B-
Genre: YA dystopian
Source: NetGalley / own
The Selection: (1) The Selection, (2) The Elite
In a future where WWIV rocked the world and the new country of Illéa lives under a brutal and unfair caste system, life is changing rapidly for 17-year-old America Singer. She was one of thirty-five girls picked for The Selection, an outdated process that was originally aimed at bringing the country together and garnering public support for the monarchy. Thirty-five girls have been whittled down to six, and America, a Five and the lowest caste left in the competition, has got all to play for …
America is by no means the public favourite to win, but her
compassion and understanding of the lives of those around her, from her
vantage-point as a Five, means that the Royal Household are all hoping that
Maxon Schreave, Prince of Illéa, will choose her. Maxon, too, has very strong
feelings for America, and if it wasn’t for her reluctance, he would announce
their betrothal straight away. His parents are living proof that The Selection
works and can produce happy marriages; with only six girls are left to try and
win Maxon’s heart …
As much as America likes Maxon, there’s still a part of her
that’s in love with Aspen Leger, a Six from her village. Aspen has been lucky
enough to be chosen to be part of the Royal Guard, automatically upgrading his
class status to a Two. While America loves being with Maxon, seeing Aspen around
the Palace is a constant reminder of her upbringing and how she doesn’t have
what it takes to be a Queen. Aspen is still in love with America and she must
make a decision about which guy she will choose, before rebel plans to sabotage
The Selection succeed …
The Elite was one
of my most anticipated books of 2013. The Selection made it into my top books of 2012 and it was the best YA I had
read in a while. While The Elite
didn’t quite match my (admittedly high) expectations, it was still enjoyable
and you should carry on with the series if you liked The Selection. Make sure you’ve read book one first.
America pisses me off, very much. I know that a dystopian YA
novel wouldn’t be such without a gripping love triangle, but as much as I loved
it in The Selection, it didn’t have
quite the same appeal here. Both Maxon and Aspen are utterly devoted to
America, yet she flits between them faster than Katie Price goes through
husbands, with seemingly little regard for anyone’s feelings but her own. Most
of the time, she doesn’t even know what she feels; her emotions change with
every encounter and I can’t deal with the emotional rollercoaster of
future-husband ping-pong that America is inflicting on herself – just stop
being selfish and choose already!
I definitely liked Maxon more in The Elite – he’s the one I’m rooting for and if America doesn’t
realise this soon, then she doesn’t deserve him. He’s grown a backbone and when
America takes her time trying to decide whether she can adapt to this life to be
with him, he takes matters into his own hands and rightly so, starts looking
more carefully at the other girls. It serves her right and while I want them to
end up together eventually, America will definitely have to start making more
of an effort.
As I’ve said before, I love how anachronistic and oxymoronic
the whole concept is. It’s set on Earth as we know it, but far in the future so
that the idea of a monarchy replacing a warring Republic doesn’t seem too far-fetched.
The settings, outfits and manners are straight out of a historical novel and
that makes me ecstatic.
I had always assumed that this was a two-book series, but
the course of the book showed clearly that this wasn’t to be the case. If the
series doesn’t end with book three, then it will definitely start getting a
little tedious. The Selection process can’t be dragged out into more than three
books, what with how few girls there are left, and I don’t really want to be
seeing a life-after-the-selection book, either. That’s not to say that I don’t
want more books – I do – but too much and I for one will start to lose
interest. One of the things that I loved about The Selection was the unique-ness of the concept and how fast-paced
the first book was. Book two definitely slowed action right down, understandably
so, but I can’t deal with much more of the same drama.
A slightly disappointing second book, but here's to hoping that book three will be the last book and put the series out with a bang. The One (that sounds like a finale title, right?) brings a lot more antagonism between America and some of the other characters, and Maxon has given her an ultimatum that she can't ignore. Illéa has been a great world to explore, but please, please Ms Cass, close the door on it with book three.
Image courtesy of Fantastic Fiction
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