The Selection by Kiera Cass is what happens when The Bachelor meets The Hunger Games. As thirty-five girls compete for the prince’s heart (and the crown that comes with it), they encounter both the glitz and glamour of the palace and the violet attacks that threaten to bring it to its knees.

Set in a dystopian world, The Selection’s innovative looking-for-love concept has all the more power against a backdrop of classism and caste systems. Keira Cass builds a world of contrast. Beneath the palace’s glittering exterior lies the violence of approaching rebels and the less than perfect history of the regime. The Selection is written with a vivid, detailed setting, making it immersive and believable.

The Selection’s main character, America Singer, is the world’s least likely princess. Still in love with her ex-boyfriend back at home and launched into a competition she wants no part in, America’s story includes all the staples of great YA—love triangles, friends to lovers, fierce female characters. As America adjusts to life at the palace, she is changed by this new world in which she finds herself, left wondering what—and who—she really wants. Aspen and Maxon are the perfect plays in a love triangle, each with enough pros and cons to make the decision difficult for America and readers alike.

The Selection addresses themes of classism, romance, diplomacy, and more. If you like watching reality TV and love a good dystopia, this is the book for you!

Want to talk about the book? Find me on Instagram!