Revisiting The Selection series by Kiera Cass after 5 years

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 a palace and compete for the heart of 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.

Spoilers ahead for the whole series!

    I still remember vividly that magic moment when my eyes saw this gorgeous book cover in my middle school library, and 12-year-old Yomna decided she had to read this book, even if it actually turned out be terrible. I devoured it in less than 48 hours in between classes, and as soon as I finished, I immediately found The Elite and started reading that too. I was so entranced by the romantic premise, and the teenage angst really pulled me in. The Selection books were my absolute favourite books for a while, and I would post and reblog endless Maxerica edits on Tumblr all day. To cut it short, I was absolutely obsessed. I am a romantic and I love a good, cheesy love story, and The Selection is what introduced me to the world of YA and romance. It definitely showed me a new genre that I could be attracted to and it reinforced my love for reading. Basically, it was my formal transition from children's books to young adult books. And for that, I will be forever grateful.

    But more than that, The Selection has some qualities that I feel are unique to it which is why for a long time for me it outshone any other YA series. Personally, as a romantic, I liked how the focus was mostly romance, unlike other YA books where romance is just a side plotline. Moreover, I was really intrigued by America's character (let's ignore the obnoxious name for now), who I felt was relatable. She is the kind of female character most easily hated, but she really embodies the characteristics of a teenager. She's immature, melodramatic, impulsive, annoying at times, boy-obsessed, self-conscious, bad-tempered, but also bold, funny, and willing to acknowledge her faults. I think as a fellow teenager, America's character and struggles with discovering who she is and knowing herself felt achingly familiar and nostalgic. I love a character than I can relate to, it surely makes the journey more worthwhile.

    After seeing some news about the executive producer of the upcoming Netflix Selection movie posting about receiving a script, I decided it was finally time to revisit the series. I re-read the series about 3 times when I first read them and was obsessed with them, but I haven't touched the books since The Crown came out in 2016. Which means, insanely enough, it's been 5 years! I only re-read the original trilogy and not the spin-offs, because I didn't like the ending of Eadlyn's story. The only reason I would reread the spin-offs is for the Maxerica crumbs, to be honest. Anyways, here are my thoughts about each book after re-reading!

The Selection

    Reading this for probably the fourth time years later and you know what? It's still good. Sure it's cheesy, fluffy, the political stuff is not super intriguing or well-done and it uses every YA cliche in the book, but it's an enjoyable ride. I'm not changing my original rating which was when I was a young teenager (5/5) because in the words of Taylor Swift, "I had a really great time...I’m not gonna retroactively decide that it wasn’t the best experience."

    Also, this is gonna become a MOVIE!!! It's still in very early stages but hopefully coming to Netflix soon. I hope they get the romance right. I wonder if the book is enough to carry a whole 1 hour and 30 movie, but we'll see. I really hope the cast is good enough to outshine the not-too-original premise. The most important thing is that they get America's character right; when I was re-reading I realized she is actually super interesting. She's kind of a crier (like yours truly, tbh), she's brutally honest and has a natural sense of humor. Also, this book is quite good at showing conversations between the love interests, it makes it feel like these characters actually know each other rather than insta-love. 

The Elite

    I can definitely see why most people think this is the weakest book in the series. The rinse-and-repeat process of Maxon being romantic and close to other girls and then professing his love to America the next second is exhausting. Maxon was out there behaving like he could have 5 wives. Not to mention America going back and forth between Maxon and Aspen and changing her feelings literally multiple times a day gave me whiplash!

    Anyways, bringing my rating down from the original 5 stars to 4. It deserves less (but not much less), but I want to be authentic to teenage Yomna who is the original target audience for this book and loved the heck out of it.

The One

    I really really enjoyed this book, especially the second half. As I was finishing, I got a little emotional and nostalgic thinking about how much these books mean to me and how much I love these characters. I really missed them a lot.

    One thing I really liked and appreciated was how much self-respect America has. Maybe it's because of her bad temper, but she is never afraid to dismiss Maxon when he's overstepped and embarassed her or said something offensive. It's actually painful to see all these girls fighting over a man, especially Kriss who would do anything for Maxon and yet he just thinks she's convenient. Therefore, I would much rather have an America than a Kriss. America cares about Maxon, but she prioritizes her self-worth and dignity above all else. 

    Overall, while we have our usual dose of melodrama, cliche, and the back-and-forth between Maxon and America, this book reminds me of why I love reading a good love story. The emotions tugged at my heartstrings and I just thought everything was so cute and fell into place so nicely. As dramatic as it sounds, this series and its characters will always be in my heart. This series is definitely what made me fall in love with YA and hence read more.

    Cheers, Maxon and America!

    And that's it! My favourite quote is definitely this iconic one from Maxon which made me tear up even after so many years. Kiera Cass really served with this romantic declaration.

    What did you think about my thoughts? Would you ever revisit an old favourite? If you're hesitating about re-reading this series, I definitely recommend it! It honestly renewed my love for these characters. For me what surprised me the most was how fast I gobbled these books up, it was like nothing had changed. Okay, I'm going to go lean against a window and be nostalgic, happy reading!

Thanks,

Yomna