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Friday, July 25, 2014

The One (The Selection #3) by Kiera Cass Review *SPOILER ALERT*

The One by Kiera Cass
ebook, 323 pages
Published by HarperTeen
Publication Date: May 6, 2014
Buy it: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository |
Rating: 3/5 Stars

Synopsis: THE SELECTION changed the lives of thirty-five girls forever. Now, only one will claim Prince Maxon’s heart…

It’s swoon meets the Hunger Games in the final instalment of THE SELECTION trilogy!

For the four girls who remain at the palace, the friendships they’ve formed, rivalries they’ve struggled with and dangers they’ve faced have bound them to each other for the rest of their lives.

Now, the time has come for one winner to be chosen.

America never dreamed she would find herself anywhere close to the crown – or to Prince Maxon’s heart. But as the competition approaches its end and the threats outside the palace walls grow more vicious, America realises just how much she stands to lose – and how hard she’ll have to fight for the future she wants.

The breathtaking finale to THE SELECTION trilogy will make you swoon!

A dramatic end to a dramatic trilogy. A pleasant read with a few problems. We end the trilogy with a whirlwind of action, drama and tragedy and then quickly jump to a fairy-tale finish. All those loose ends were tied up too quickly and easily for them to be believable.

I'm happy about the final main couple but the relationship I really appreciated was between America and Celeste. It showed real growth and real emotion.

Strengths/ Likes:

1) I love the bonds that Cass was able to create between America and Celeste. It's strange when two characters that hated each other for two books build a relationship, but somehow it worked. I was deeply moved about what their relationship did for both of the characters' development. It was through their relationship that the other female characters such as America's maids and the other contestants. The connection between the last four contestants was very moving.

2) I loved Maxon's letters to America. They gave the character a new depth and gave the him more relatable to the reader. For the first time, we get exactly what Maxon is feeling towards America in clear print. Because of how back and forth their Maxon and America are in this book, it was great to finally get something that made his feelings for her clear.

3) It was really frustrating to deal with Maxon and America going back and forth about who was going to say to be the one to first say, "I love you" but at the same time I liked it. It made sense. Despite the world they lived in, they were two confused teenagers who were afraid of being hurt. The fact that they struggled so much with just saying those words and fighting for each other it just made sense in how they even came together.


Dislikes/Weaknesses:

1) There were a lot of deaths in this book, some expected and others unnecessary at least in my opinion. I saw the death of America's father coming, it made sense, he was her closest family member and his death showed another side to America and allowed her to develop with the plot.

King Clarkson's death also made sense, with most of the book talking about Maxon needing to be king, his father had to die in some way.  Considering how a tyrannical character he was I just thought that his death was too easy. This character deserved a more theatrical death instead of just hearing about it from Maxon's mouth after-the-fact.

Queen Amberly and Celeste's deaths to me were completely unnecessary and executed poorly. Their deaths were shocking but because it happened at the end of the book there was no grieving period. It was like their deaths didn't matter, the sadness wasn't present. Their deaths briefly mentioned and then the reader gets the wedding they have been waiting for.

2) Like with the deaths, I felt that all of the action at the end of the book happened too quickly and ended too quickly. There was just a massacre in the palace and the characters are not given the proper time to grieve. The way it's written it's like the attack was not a huge deal. It's so quick from danger to happiness that it's just unrealistic. The book needed more time to develop through the pain and the loss before jumping into the happy ending.

3) Aspen's sudden relationship with Lucy. In all three books it still seemed that America and Lucy still had feelings for one another, and instead of of America just plainly choosing Maxon, out of nowhere we are told that he has had a relationship with Lucy for a while. It was a simple end to a complicated relationship that just didn't work.

Favorite Quotes/Moments:

1) "I know that you spent years pouring yourself into another person who you thought was going to love you forever; and when he was faced with the realities of the world, he abandoned you." I froze, taking in his words. "I'm not him, America. I have no intention of giving up on you."

2) "I tentatively reached out for Celeste's hand, fingers brushing against hers. The second she felt them, she took hold, looking into my eyes with concern.

What's wrong? she mouthed.

I shrugged.

And so she just held my hand.

After a minute, she seemed to get a little sad, too. While the men in suits prattled on, she stretched out, reaching for Kriss' hand. Kriss didn't question it, and it took her only seconds to extend her hand for Elise's.

And there we were, in the background of it all, holding on to one another.

3) "I love you, kitten. So much that I can't find the words to say it. I could pain it maybe, but I can't fit a canvas in this envelope. Even then it would never do you justice. I love you beyond paint, beyond melodies, beyond words. And I hope you will always feel that even when I'm not around to tell you so."

4) "How are you feeling, my dear?"

"I feel like punching you for calling me 'my dear' mostly." I poked his bare stomach.

Smiling, he crawled to sit over me. "Fine then. My darling? My pet? My love?"

"Any of those would work, so long as you've reserved it solely for me," I said, my hands mindlessly wandering his chest, his arms. "What am I supposed to call you?"

"Your Royal Husbandness. It's required by law, I'm afraid."

5) "I want everything with you, America. I want the holidays and the birthdays, the busy seasons and lazy weekends. I want peanut butter fingerprints on my desk. I want inside jokes and fights and everything. I want a life with you."

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