The Elite

Reading The Elite was quite the unique reading experience, and I’m not so sure that’s a good thing.

I don’t want to repeat my The Selection review, but on the whole, while there were major flaws in the writing in that book, the story was just FUN. It really was the equivalent of reality TV, and while that may not make it the best literature ever, it was super-entertaining.

This book was also entertaining, but with way more problems. And I think one of the main reasons is that I CANNOT like America. I just can’t. I liked her well enough in The Selection, and while she sometimes got on my nerves, I respected where she was coming from. She was resourceful, cunning, and kind, and relatively smart about things. This all went on a show more downhill spiral in The Elite though. America suffers from a strong case of The Informed Character Trait. Now, I don’t know if I’m the only person to use this term, but I use it more frequently than I would like. In essence, the Informed Character Trait is when you, the reader, are repeatedly told–either through dialogue in the book or just the narration–that a character has a trait or ability, when all evidence points to the contrary. For America, it’s her intelligence.

Now, I love intelligent characters, and I don’t expect every character to be intelligent, but if you have people tell America REPEATEDLY that she’s intelligent, you should back it up. And yet all America did over & over again was make dumb mistakes. America is not a smart character. Feisty? Yes. Compassionate? I’ll let you argue that point(though she does tend to string both Maxon and Aspen along), resourceful? She definitely knows how to use what’s available. But time and time again, she does the dumbest thing possible. And this just drove me up the wall(obviously).

As far as Aspen and Maxon: Aspen has yet to do anything to redeem himself, so cross him off for a character I could like. Maxon was a “perfect” character in the first book, and while it’s nice to see a little bit more depth to his character, I think it might have gone too far in the opposite direction. At this point, I’m not really rooting for any of them. I’d say I still like Maxon the best, because despite his flaws he really DOES try to improve the life of people in his country. I’m no longer sure how I feel about America and Maxon together though.

Despite all of my ranting, I actually enjoyed this book WHILE reading. I mean, it’s just a drama-fest, but it’s an entertaining one. It’s only when I closed the book that all of the “What did I just read?” questions sprung to my mind. I wouldn’t say this book is fun, though, which is why I’m so rant-y about it. Cass’ writing is still plain, but she did a better job of building the world slightly in this one. I predict more action in the final book(oh, how I hope so!). That being said, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend against this book. Just know what you’re getting in to. show less

I really enjoyed The Selection and blazed through it really quickly; and while I didn't enjoy The Elite quite as much because it put my heart through so much, the sequel did not ultimately disappoint.

The one part that, for me, felt overdone was America's agonizing between choosing Maxon or Aspen. I understand the confusion, and don't think it would have made sense for the story if it had been cut out entirely, but her flip-flopping also made me enjoy her as a character less. I don't know if that's something the author did wrong, or if that is inevitable when writing a love triangle.

But I really did admire how Cass took her characters through some grueling situations that made my heart wrench, but somehow, in the last thirty or so pages, show more still made me feel like I could allow myself to get attached to them again. The later middle section of the book was fairly torturous, but Cass managed to explain it (in my eyes, sufficiently) and still set up for the third book. I have to admit that, when I started, I didn't realize there would be a third book, so was expecting it to end with this one.

Overall, though, I admire how Cass has built her world. Even if it made me cringe and wince sometimes, I admire what she put her characters through--and how she still made them come out the better for it. (There were times when I wondered why I was rooting for America as the protagonist, but unlike some other YA novels, it never felt like America was only worthwhile to the main leads because the author wanted it to be that way. She's real, and sometimes unlikeable, but ultimately still someone who's trying to do the right thing.) I think Cass strikes the balance fairly well of invoking a good dose of romance, but not overdoing it until I need to put the book down and find something else with an actual plot. I also like that, clearly, there is a crisis, but it's not the insane dystopia that has been so popular with many YA books lately (never really my thing).

All in all, I'm giving it three stars because, given the agony I went through as a reader, I don't know if I could quickly go back and reread it; but I do think it was, overall, well-written and well-done, and by the time I made it to the end (which was also fairly quick, because it was engagingly written), I did feel like the pain I went through as a reader was acknowledged and rewarded. show less

Achei que este livro ia ser mais morno, pois me parecia que tudo já estava garantido, mesmo com a indecisão da America, mas eu me enganei completamente.
A estória teve uma reviravolta e seguiu por um caminho que eu não esperava, fora que o que eu achei que estava "garantido" na verdade não estava.
Meu coração tá apertado e mal posso esperar pra pegar o último livro e saber o desfecho dessa estória, porque mesmo sabendo qual vai ser o seu final, já que peguei uns spoilers por não ter lido os livros na época em que eles estavam na hype, eu ainda temo pelo futuro dos personagens como se eles fossem meus amigos. A escrita da Kiera é realmente fluida e surpreendente.
Recomendo muito.

There's so many emotions with this book, I still don't know where to begin. I couldn't put this down and stayed up till 2am to finish it. There were happy moments, frustrating moments, I laughed, I cried...ok so I didn't actually cry but there were some sad moments too. Overall this book is a roller coaster ride of emotions.

First off I got to say I LOVED America's dad. He's definitely one of the best YA dad's I've ever read about. He's so supportive and loving and he only wants America to be happy, no matter what her choice is. I also loved that he encouraged and supported her reaction to what happened to Marlee. The fact that he said he was proud of her for that made me love him even more.

Speaking of the Marlee incident, that was one show more of the moments that frustrated me. I was especially frustrated with Maxon and I initially lost some respect for him. When I found out what he did for Marlee later on, he gained some of that respect back but not completely. It still bothers me that Maxon can't stand up to his dad. Also, I was mad about what happened between him and Celeste. Although I'm not condoning what he did, I do appreciate getting to see some of his flaws. It makes him more human and realistic and I liked that we got to see that in this book because at the end of book 1 and even the beginning of this book, Maxon seemed way too perfect. He was the handsome, charming, romantic prince that a lot of girls fall for but by the end of this book we got to see that he was a real person too who had flaws and made mistakes and had fears just like everyone else. Again, I still didn't like the situations between him and Celeste/Marlee but it did help me to understand him better.

As for America, I know a lot of people don't like her in this book but I still liked her. The only time I was really frustrated with her was when she apologized to Maxon after the presentation. I wanted her to stand her ground, I don't think she should've had to apologize, except maybe for the diary. I could understand if she apologized for bringing the diary up on TV when Maxon gave it to her in secret but she should NOT have apologized for what she said during her presentation. The topic of her presentation is the exact topic I would have done myself and I really wanted her to stand her ground and stick with it and it frustrated me when she wavered and all because she was about to lose Maxon. That topic was too important not to discuss and if it came down to doing what's right or being with Maxon, I would've hoped she would do what's right.

Also, the love triangle between America, Maxon, and Aspen was really annoying. This is why I don't like love triangles. At the beginning of this book she was so set to be with Maxon, she had her mind made up and she going to let Aspen know. Then when the incident occurred with Marlee, things changed and I could understand why they changed and why she was confused, even I was thinking that maybe Aspen would be a better choice (like I said earlier, I initially lost some respect for Maxon after the Marlee incident). However, after a while of her going back and forth, not knowing who to chose I just wanted to scream "Pick one already!" though I obviously already know who she's going to pick. It was still annoying to see her go back and forth.

Lastly, I really hate the king in this book and I had hoped he died during the rebel attack but unfortunately we weren't so lucky. But here's to hoping he'll die in the next book! show less

More of a 4.5 rating.

ahhhhhHHHHhh I don't know what it is about these books that just makes me love them so much. They're extremely predictable yet so much fun. I think my love for these books is somehow attached to The Bachelor/Bachelorette. Those shows are my guilty pleasure, and these books, with a similar premise, intrigue me. I did find myself getting extremely annoyed with America though. Shes very wishy washy, and I wanted her to grow up and stop making stupid mistakes when she is aware of the consequences. All in all, I loved this book and it managed to get me out of my reading slump that was suffocating me.

I first read The Selection shortly after it was published and loved it. America is refreshing, not quite as capable as Katniss or Tris but still powerful and independent in her own right. Plus, the way she speaks her mind and is not caught up in the trappings of the palace makes her a special type of heroine. The love triangle of the first book is mostly concluded by the end of it, and I was really looking forward to finding out what happens to Maxon and America.

A funny thing happens after the first book though. The story devolves into a “he loves me/he hates me/I love him/I hate him” carousel that never really ends. What I thought was decided towards the end of the first book does not really achieve resolution until the end of The show more One. Frankly, the back-and-forth relationship angst gets old very, very quickly. It gets so bad that I ended up skimming most of The Elite and good chunks of The One as well. I wanted to knock the various characters’ heads together in an effort for them to see the light and just end the unnecessary drama.

As irritated as I was through almost the entirety of books two and three, I could not stop myself from racing through them. I wanted to make sure America got the happily ever after that she deserves, and the romantic in me wanted to see it all unfold. Maxon is so darn cute in his awkward romance that I adored almost every one of his scenes. America’s inability to make a decision was annoying, but I never stopped rooting for her.

The other element of the series that was done really well was explaining how the USA became the Kingdom of Illea. Given our own debts to China and other national powers, it is all too easy to imagine how something like this could happen. The true motives behind Gregory Illea are equally chilling and also way too easy to envision given our current President-Elect. Ms. Cass has obviously given her world careful thought, and it shows in the little details interspersed throughout the narrative. Hers is one of the few dystopian series that gives a very clear history that connects the dots between current and fictional worlds.

In the end, I thoroughly enjoyed The Selection Series and am trying to hold off on diving into the last two novels. There is something about the commoner becoming a princess that never grows old, and Ms. Cass capitalizes on that fantasy with America, who lives out every little girl’s dream but stays true to herself in spite of the maids and luxury that surround her upon stepping foot in the palace. Her growing relationship with Maxon is fraught with tension but built not from lust but genuine friendship and mutual admiration. It is a realistic fairy tale that entertains and engages the imagination while soothing the romantic’s heart. show less

Read as audiobook. Narrator's voice would be more enjoyable if she had more range--the characters' voices blended, & was confusing because listener didn't know when protagonist was thinking of something or actually speaking to someone else.

First book, "Selection," a great set up for a series. But I guess I'll be waiting forever for America to really shine as an intelligent girl. Author potentially could have made her protagonist smarter, but she dumbed her down to having the qualifications (3 languages, competency in piano & singing, artistically talented) but not using them. Why use Italy when author could have selected Spain so America could have used her language to shine? Only once does she actively sing, the rest of the time we are show more told she did through backfilling the plot. The plot seemed to be filled with too much whining & crying about her topsy turvy feelings, & by now she ought to be learning something about herself, but her idiocy is continuing & my patience is used up.

Does the author think that a girl who loves fashion, jewelry & make up cannot be smart? I don't think this was Cass' intention, but actions always speak louder than words. The prince & Aspen tell her they want to be with her because she's not dumb, but I've seen too much evidence to the contrary. show less