Book Discussion: The One

Book Title: The One

Author: Kiera Cass

Genre: YA Dystopia

(Audiobook)

★★★★ (3.5 stars)

When she was chosen to compete in the Selection, America never dreamed she would find herself anywhere close to the crown—or to Prince Maxon’s heart. But as the end of the competition approaches, and the threats outside the palace walls grow more vicious, America realizes just how much she stands to lose—and how hard she’ll have to fight for the future she wants.
– Goodreads

*Do not read this discussion if you haven’t read the first two book in the Selection Series.*

This series goes from a love-I-don’t-know-how-many-angles to a love-quadrilateral to a love-triangle. It’s just like a reality tv show – loads of dramas and yet highly entertaining. It is a fast read and I’ll recommend to anyone who couldn’t invest time in a big book.
 
Characters

America

I like how America’s able to stand up for what’s right, even if it defies the King. She is courageous and I love that, however, she could be really irritating and annoying. She keeps saying to herself that she needs to tell Maxon about Aspen, and then when the opportunity comes she’ll be like ‘nah not now’ (Seriously?).

Celeste
She changed drastically. I’m glad that she’s now everyone’s bff, but the personality flip is kind of unnatural.
August and Georgia
I want to know more about them! They seem cool 😛
Maxon
Do you think he’d be extremely guilty if he chose Kriss as his wife? Like I just don’t understand how could he change his mind so quickly. At least give America some time to explain and perhaps postpone the engagement (please?)
 
The Plot

It’s very predictable. We all knew that America would be ‘the one’ from the beginning of the series.

YA Dystopian

This book is classified as ‘YA dystopian’, however, It focuses on the romance and the drama, neglecting the world outside the palace. Sure, The One mentions more about the rebellion activities than the first two book, but it’s just not enough.

When I found out that America’s father was a rebel, I was aching to know how it’d affect the plot. How about Kriss? What would happen if America told Maxon about her? Paige, the poor girl on the street – what happened to her afterwards? She literally just pop out for a few seconds and disappears.

I wish Kiera Cass could put more effort in showing the dystopian society instead of focusing on the romance 😦 It’d make the series stands out from other princess books.

(I haven’t read the novellas yet so I might have missed something. )

 
Being Yourself

At the beginning of the book, America suddenly got the idea to be trashy –

‘Oh I should be the one who act first’

*three seconds later*

‘Yup I’m going to seduce the prince’

*a day later*

‘Oh my gosh it was so embarrassing’

*a couple of pages later*

*everything’s normal again as if nothing has happened*

I guess Cass wanted to bring out the message of ‘being yourself’, but the scene feels detached from the whole plot.

 
Audible
I hadn’t listen to any audio books before this one so I don’t know if the narrator did a good job or not. But I did enjoy her ‘Maxon’ voice 🙂
 
The Ratings
You might be wondering –  why on earth would I still give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars if I kept on ranting? The thing is, I’m absorbed in the story. As I’ve said before, this is a reality tv show, and what do reality tv shows do to you? They put superglue on you. Same with this book – even though it has quite a number of flaws, the story’s able to grab my attention. It’s a page-turner (though they’re no pages for me to turn haha).

Also, I understand that the focus of this book is on the romance, not the society. Even though I wish it includes more dystopian elements, I still really enjoyed it.

The Selection Series

The covers
They are beautiful! It’s rare for me to say this as I generally don’t like covers that has real people on it.

The Heir
The next book in this series is going to be released on the 5th of May, 2015. (More details here) I think I’ll read it someday but I won’t rush and get a copy when it’s released.

So what do you think of The One?

∞ ϟ 9¾ ♔ ⚯͛ △⃒⃘ ➵ ♆