The Selection in Four Minutes

Above is a link I found while surfing youtube. It summarizes The Selection in about four minutes using barbies. It does an alright job of summarizing the general plot although it leaves out a lot of important details. I think it may be meant as more of a comedy than a serious video. I just can't believe that people actually like this stuff and are requesting for more. It's posted by Epic Reads which is owned by HarperCollins Publishers who happened to publish The Selection. I thought that the publishing company would have done a better job of summarizing a book they published. But watch the video and tell me what you think. Am I missing the humor in this video by taking it too seriously, because it is still the internet, or am I justified in being a little upset that the book could be summarized with such poor quality?

                                           

The Selection vs. The Hunger Games

Okay, I'm pretty sure that we all finished The Selection at some point during the break so here is my opinion on the series so far. I'm going to address the on going debate about whether or not The Selection is just a no violent Hunger Games. Besides the overall structure of the plot, I don't really feel that they are alike anymore. Yes, many argue that the government is corrupt and that there is a competition and that there are castes but that's really just about it. Yet, 2/3 things I mentioned are in almost every dystopian novel. Take Divergent for example, there were castes, a competition and a corrupt government but that doesn't make up the major plot of the story, it just adds to it. In my opinion the plot in The Selection as a whole has much more emotional depth than any other dystopia I have read. The emotional appeal sets it apart from the other dystopian novels. Yes, more can argue that there was a love story in The Hunger Games and in Divergent, but that was just a subplot of the main plot. The Selection is mainly about the love story between America, Maxon, and Aspen. Any one can argue that The Selection is too similar to The Hunger Games but the set up of both of those books are the set up of any dystopian novel. In the end, The Selection is not a similar to The Hunger Games than I originally thought.

Social standing is never used by the girls

   The one thing that intrigued me was that so far none of the girls competing against America have used the fact that she use to be a five. I'm surprised that most of the girls didn't try to scare or bully other girls out of the selection by using their social standing. Even though they are all considered to be threes now, I thought that other girls besides Celeste would use this to their advantage. I'm sure that they have something else that's keeping them in the selection, like ties to influential people in the kingdom. Many of the girls have dedeveloped a friendship with each other, so I'm sure that they won't go after each other. It would have been nice to see some tension between the girls, but them being friends is nice too.

I am absolutely certain that America's name is a symbol that is related to the country. I have had my suspensions about the relation between the two since the beginning of the book. But, once I read the story about how her mom named America after, "the country that fought so hard to keep this land together" because, "she had a fighter on her hands", I knew that there was a connection. Based on what I have read about America's personality thus far, I think she is going to represent change and liberty, which is similar to what is perceived about America today. America, the character, acts differently than how she is expected to towards others, such as her maids, and the competition in general. She has changed Maxon's views about Illéa already and has brought about change without even meaning to. America is a free spirit who sets her own rules. I have the idea that the story about her mother naming her is foreshadowing related to how she is going to be a fighter if she becomes queen or as a past member of the selection. America is definitely going to be a trail blazer. Do you all agree that there is a symbol behind America's name or am I just reading into this way too much?

I found an interview with Kiera Cass, the author of The Selection, here. She talks about the inspiration behind the plot and protagonist of her book, which I found pretty interesting. The interview goes on to talk about the other books in the trilogy, so be careful if you do not want to read any spoilers.

I usually try to avoid love triangles but I do not mind it so far in The Selection. This is probably because Cass has focused on developing the only relationship between Maxon and America. Due to this, however, Maxon's character is much more developed than Aspen's. Maxon has his own motivations and goals, and his life does not start and end with America: "When I'm not with you all, I'm organizing troops, making laws, perfecting budgets . . . and all on my own these days, while my father watches me stumble in my own stupidity because I have none of his experience" (Cass, 187). Meanwhile, Aspen's world seemed to revolve around America. The reader gets a hint of his relationship with his family when America is talking to his mother, but for the most part it seems like his only purpose is to create tension. Does anyone else feel the same way? Is there anything I'm missing about Aspen's character

The Selection Reading

     The reading so far has been interesting. America and Maxon's relationship is developing and Maxon's personality is showing more. For me I wasn't expecting much from Maxon, but he's starting to be more then just a plain character. Unlike Aspen, who I forgot about, until America brought him up in the story. I wish I was given more information about the castes and what each of them do in the society, though from reading more chapters I realized that you figure out the castes in little pieces of information. The caste information would have helped me in the beginning, since I was confused about the numbers. I'm hoping for more character development as the story continues on.