May 1, 2015

Gr 9 Up-Cass draws us back into the world of "The Selection" (HarperCollins) with this latest series installment. Taking place 20 years after The One (2014), this entry focuses on the lives of Queen America and King Maxon's four children, specifically Princess Eadlyn, who is the heir to the throne. The castes have officially been dissolved, but not without recurring issue, including riots among the people of Ilea. To distract the country and buy time for King Maxon and Queen America to formulate a plan to stop the riots, it's decided that another Selection will take place. Princess Eadlyn is initially not fond of the idea because she is not ready to get married; however she respects her parents' wishes, and wants to do right by her people. She has two caveats: a three-month commitment and an understanding that she may not find a husband in the end. Fans will simultaneously root for and despise Eadlyn. She is powerful, bossy, and vulnerable. While life looks perfect from the outside, readers learn that things are not what they seem. Physical fights break out among the Selected, and secrets are kept only to be revealed at the very end. The cliff-hanger conclusion sets the stage for future volumes. At times the work feels like a retelling of the first book, but with a different cast of characters. However, readers will enjoy seeing the courtship rituals through the eyes of Eadlyn, her date mishaps, and how things have evolved over two decades. VERDICT A great addition for collections that have a high demand for "The Selection" series.-Erin Holt, Williamson County Public Library, Franklin, TN

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Cass' bestselling Selection trilogy is now a series, with the fourth installment picking up 20 years after The One (2014). Narrated by Eadlyn, the 18-year-old firstborn of King Maxon and Queen America and the next in line for the throne of Illea, the tale perpetuates the same stiff dialogue and obvious premise of its predecessors, though there is a tiny twist to the latter. This time, it's "The Bachelor meets The Hunger Games meets The Taming of the Shrew." Eadlyn is a practical princess, primarily concerned with preparing to one day rule the country. From the get-go, readers are bludgeoned with evidence that in her focus on leadership, she is too brusque and insensitive, both with the people closest to her and the wider national population. Her family makes the case that provincial unrest will be quelled if she would just stop being a ballbreaker, find a husband, and give the masses a distraction-cum-reason to love the monarchy again. "You can be brave and still be feminine...you can be queen and still be a bride," her twin brother assures her. Thus is Eadlyn strong-armed into participating in a Selection of her own, and the broadly drawn novel is primarily concerned with setting up most of the contenders to be a 50-50 shot. After dispatching the low-hanging fruit, she winds up with a group of "loud, strange boys" who "all matter" to her. The cliffhanger ending is merely an abrupt pause in the action-this chapter is essentially just scene-setting for the inevitable continuation(s). (Dystopian romance. 13 & up) COPYRIGHT(1) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

May 15, 2015
Grades 7-10 Twenty years ago, Lady America became queen of Illea through a televised, high-stakes competition, The Selection, and now her daughter Eadlyn finds herself in the same spotlight. Illea's benevolent King Maxon abolished the caste system, and rules with a much fairer hand than his cruel father, yet harmony has not come to the kingdom. Members of formerly disadvantaged classes still feel deprived, and an abolish-the-monarchy movement continues to flourish. Might another Selection bring distraction and entertainment to the masses? Eadlyn reluctantly agrees to the glitzy spectacle, and the contest to find her future husband and consort begins. Eadlyn takes over the narration in this fourth installment of the popular Selection series, and readers can expect a rocky road with lots of surprises. The arrogant, disconnected princess has a long way to go to win the hearts of future subjects, suitors, and, most of all, readers, who will remember her mother much more sympathetically. Eadlyn's gradual, humanizing personal growth sustains the story and sets the stage for another sequel.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)