Aspen breaks up with America because he believes she deserves a better future than that of a Six. America doesn’t want to participate in the Selection, but at Aspen’s urging and her mother’s insistence, she agrees to sign up. One day, the Illéan government announces the upcoming Selection: a televised event where the crown prince of Illéa, Prince Maxon, will choose his future wife from a dating pool of 35 young women from every province of Illéa. Seventeen-year-old America Singer, a Five from a family of artists and musicians, is in love with Aspen, a Six who can barely provide for his younger brothers and sisters. A person’s caste determines their career path, and while it is possible to purchase a position in a higher caste, vicious cycles of poverty leave most of the lower-caste population scrambling just to survive. In Illéa, the population is divided into eight castes: Eights are considered the lowest of the low, and Ones make up the royal family that rules over Illéa. Long ago, the United States was dismantled, and the nation of Illéa rose from its ashes. The version used for this guide is the hardback of the HarperTeen imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. While love, heartbreak, secrecy, and jealousy reign supreme, The Selection also tackles themes of family, loyalty, injustice, propaganda, and the power of young women. The story uses first-person narrative to follow America Singer, a teenaged contestant who finds herself suddenly thrust into a world of glamor and unexpected danger.
First published in 2012, The Selection was pitched as a dystopian interpretation of the hit television show The Bachelor, and as Publisher’s Weekly stated in their review, the Selection is “ cross between ‘The Hunger Games’ (minus the blood sport) and ‘The Bachelor’ (minus the blood sport).” In a future set in the land of Illéa (formerly the United States), 35 girls from around the country compete in a televised royal dating competition to win the heart of the dashing Prince Maxon. The Selection is the first book in the titular romance trilogy by American author Kiera Cass.
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