Some of the books students read in class are ones they wouldn’t read on their own, but if you’re looking for a book series you will want to read for fun, try The Selection.

 The Selection, by Keira Cass, is a novel (and a series by the same name) that takes place three hundred years from now in the fictional country of Illéa where the people are divided by class numbers, known as the Cast System. The top is Class One, the family of the king, and the bottom is Class Eight, who are mainly our world’s equivalent to homeless people. The king holds a contest for a group of thirty five girls to compete for a chance to marry his son, Prince Maxon Schreave. The novel focuses on the story of seventeen-year-old America Singer, a “five.”

The first novel in the series tells the story of America’s life leading up to the contest, known to the people as “The Selection.” The story then follows America’s unwanted entry into the contest and her struggle to get used to being housed in the palace under constant threat from the two rebel groups vying to overthrow the Schreave family. Along with trying to survive at the palace, America has to survive Celeste as well. Celeste is a “two” in The Selection who seems to be willing to stop at nothing to make America’s life, as well as all f the other girls’ lives, miserable.

As The Selection series continues, America’s life only gets more complicated and dramatic. As America gets more comfortable staying in the palace and with Maxon, the tension between the girls that remain thickens. The rebels attack the palace more frequently for longer amounts of time in attempts, it seems, to end The Selection. A part of America’s past she was hoping to leave behind shows up at the palace, sending her into emotional conflict.  As the attacks go on, the number of girls in the contest becomes fewer and fewer, letting America get closer to Maxon.

The people become restless as the danger and tension rises, so America tries to come up with ideas to stop the madness but has no effect on the king. King Clarkson is a strict and cruel man who believes in the Cast System to keep everyone in line despite the proof that it keeps the people pitted against each other and miserable. He sees no value in anyone he thinks to be below him including his own son.

If this sounds interesting, follow America on her journey of love and danger in this five book series, The Selection. 

Molly’s Rating: