This year a group of students introduced me to The Selection series. At first, I thought these books were basically The Hunger Games meets The Bachelor, but inevitably, I got hooked. I read The Selection, The Elite, and The One in about two weeks. Then I was given The Heir. I was excited to read it, as much as it embarasses me to admit that. When I started though, I realized America wasn’t the narrator. WHAT? WHY?
Obviously, I understand why. The story must continue, and America and Maxon’s stoy had run its course. What more was there to write about? But this? Honestly, I did NOT like this narrator. Not even a little bit. I told my students that I wasn’t into it. I probably wasn’t going to finish it. They told me that it got better, so I begrudgingly continued reading. Eventually, it did get better. I softened a bit to the narrator, but I still don’t like her as much as I like America. She is trying too hard to be what she thinks she is supposed to be, but I think a lot of people can relate to that. Woven into her story was also background information about America and Maxon that hadn’t been included in previous books.
This series is an interesting look at a monarchy in a kind of post-apocalyptic United States (but not really...like The Hunger Games it isn’t really an apocalypse, but more a demise of our current government that leads to a rebuilding and a general distrust in democracy) and how a monarchy reacts to the feelings and well-being of the people that they rule. At its core though, this is a Cinderella story that continues after the prince falls in love with the peasant. The complications that arise and the way these two deal with obstacles placed in their way make this story.
This May, the next book The Crown comes out. I have ordered it, but it hasn’t been delivered yet. I am looking forward to it. The Siren is another book by the same author, but it is a different series, this one about hypnotically-seductive mermaids (if you have read any of The Odyssey or any other Greek/Roman mythology, you should be familiar with the term siren). I also bought that book to read, so I will let you know how it goes.
Obviously, I understand why. The story must continue, and America and Maxon’s stoy had run its course. What more was there to write about? But this? Honestly, I did NOT like this narrator. Not even a little bit. I told my students that I wasn’t into it. I probably wasn’t going to finish it. They told me that it got better, so I begrudgingly continued reading. Eventually, it did get better. I softened a bit to the narrator, but I still don’t like her as much as I like America. She is trying too hard to be what she thinks she is supposed to be, but I think a lot of people can relate to that. Woven into her story was also background information about America and Maxon that hadn’t been included in previous books.
This series is an interesting look at a monarchy in a kind of post-apocalyptic United States (but not really...like The Hunger Games it isn’t really an apocalypse, but more a demise of our current government that leads to a rebuilding and a general distrust in democracy) and how a monarchy reacts to the feelings and well-being of the people that they rule. At its core though, this is a Cinderella story that continues after the prince falls in love with the peasant. The complications that arise and the way these two deal with obstacles placed in their way make this story.
This May, the next book The Crown comes out. I have ordered it, but it hasn’t been delivered yet. I am looking forward to it. The Siren is another book by the same author, but it is a different series, this one about hypnotically-seductive mermaids (if you have read any of The Odyssey or any other Greek/Roman mythology, you should be familiar with the term siren). I also bought that book to read, so I will let you know how it goes.