The Selection by Kiera Cass; HarperTeen, 2012.

It is 300 years in the future; World War IV has ended, and the United States is no more.  It has been replaced by new countries, complete with a numbered caste system based on occupations.  Everyone is limited on their life choices based on their ancestors’ ability to help the government.  Thus, the rich and royalty are deemed as “1”, while the homeless, wandering, and poorest people are labeled as “8”.

Living in Illѐa, America Singer and her family are all classified as “5” because they are performers and artists.  While they do well during the holiday seasons, they barely scrape by other times during the year.  America’s boyfriend, Aspen Leger, is a “6” because he and his family are servants, trained for indoor work.  America and Aspen have secret midnight meetings in the tree house in her backyard because it is forbidden for people of different classes to have relationships with each other.  Despite this, they hope to marry sometime in the future.

Prince Maxon Schreave has come of age, and it is time for him to choose a wife.  It is a tradition in Illѐa for male royalty to choose brides from its citizenry.  A lottery is held, whereby thirty-five girls are chosen to compete for the honor of being the prince’s bride.  Since America is determined to marry Aspen, she has no desire to enter into the lottery.  However, her mother and Aspen have other ideas.  Aspen urges her and America’s mother bribes her to enter the lottery, and, despite all odds, she is one of the thirty-five girls chosen to compete for the crown!

From this moment on, America is considered the property of Illѐa.  She must leave home and move into the royal palace in order to compete.  There are many restrictions placed upon her, and her every waking moment, as well as the other girls’, is televised all across Illѐa.  Her status is immediately upgraded to that of a “3”, and for every week she stays in the competition, her family is handsomely compensated.  Her life becomes one of luxury—beautiful clothes and jewelry, delicious food, three maids to take care of her, and a lovely palace to live in!  But there is also danger, for rebel attacks often occur at the palace.

Although her first impression of Prince Maxon is that of a haughty, selfish individual, America soon changes her mind.  She is actually falling for the Prince, until Aspen shows up at the palace.  He has been drafted into the military and has been named to the Royal Guard.  He is still in love with her and vows to win her back.  It is now up to America to decide what course she wants her life to take—does she choose the life of luxury with the prince or does she choose her first true love?

What a wild ride this book is—this dystopian fairy tale!  I love the descriptions of the gowns the girls wear, the palace food, the rooms in the palace—I feel I am actually a part of this magical story!  The contrast between America’s life at home with her life in the palace is like night and day.  She becomes an instant celebrity and heroine to everyone in her province when she is selected!  Once she moves into the palace, she feels bad that her maids are waiting on her and taking care of her needs!  America is such a likable, compassionate character, despite being outspoken and blunt!  Many of the girls want to completely change how they look and act, but she has the self-esteem to stay true to herself!

Aspen aggravates me.  He is portrayed as such a nice guy in the beginning of the book.  However, he leaves America high and dry when, knowing he is hungry, she gives him food she has prepared.  Then he begs her to take him back when he shows up at the palace!  What a jerk!  I really want to like him, but I just can’t!  On the other hand, I did not originally like  Maxon, but I could not resist his charm!  He is so well-mannered, polite, and thoughtful--a real prince, through and through!

Some of the other girls in the competition are likable, while others are so catty and cutthroat.  This is so similar to teenage girls in today’s world—what a contrast in personalities!  And what about that love triangle!???!!!!  Who will Maxon choose, and who will America choose?  We will have to wait until the next book in the series to find out more!

I have read that the television rights to the book have been bought by the CW Network, and they are working on the pilot.  I’m anxious to see how true they stay to the book!

I recommend this delightful book to middle school, high school, and public libraries! 

Review of Wither by Lauren DeStefano

Wither by Lauren DeStefano; Simon & Schuster, 2011.

A number of years previous to the beginning of the story, all diseases in the world are eradicated through genetic engineering. “First Generations” later discover that there is a problem with subsequent generations. All females at age 20 and all males at age 25 will develop a genetic virus and die. While scientists desperately seek a cure, the lab and all research are destroyed in an explosion. Young teenage girls are considered a commodity and are stalked and kidnapped by Gatherers, who sell them to be young brides to wealthy men. Polygamy is widely practiced and encouraged.

Rhine and Rowan Ellery are twins who lost their parents to the lab explosion. They are living in their parents’ house in Manhattan and working at odd jobs in order to make ends meet. They are very careful, always looking for Gatherers and turning away anyone trying to take advantage of them. They are living in their basement and have even booby trapped their kitchen so that they can be alerted to any intruders invading their house.

However, Rhine is not careful enough because she is ultimately lured away, kidnapped, and sold to be one of three wives to twenty-year-old House Governor Linden Ashby, who lives on an estate in Florida. His current wife, Rose, is now twenty-years old and dying. Rhine’s “sister wives” are Cecily, age fourteen, and Jenna, age eighteen. Their roles are to be companions to Linden and produce children to be secretly used as guinea pigs towards a cure. The household is actually headed by Linden’s father, Housemaster Vaughan Ashby, who is a widower. Vaughan is supposedly a medical doctor and is looking for a cure for the virus so that he can save his son.

Even before Rhine enters the Ashby estate, she is trying to find a way out and back to her twin brother. As the days pass, Rose tragically dies, and the three wives become emotionally closer because they spend so much time together. Rhine discovers how controlling Vaughan is and how little Linden knows of the outside world.  Much of Rhine and Linden’s time together is spent going to elaborate parties in a nearby city.

Vaughan eventually discovers that Rhine is drawn to Gabriel, a servant in the house, and is considering escaping from the estate. The results of his discovery lead to Gabriel’s being sent to another floor to work, the tightening of the wives’ freedoms, and, unfortunately, in one of their deaths. In the last moments of the book, Rhine and Gabriel do escape and make their way to freedom.

I have really gotten caught up in the dystopian movement! From the moment I started reading Wither, I was totally spellbound. Imagine a world where lives are over nearly before they have begun and a world where polygamy is commonplace, widely promoted, and accepted! While these ideas seem repulsive to me, I was so drawn into the story that I could not stop reading! Told through the eyes of Rhine, readers see both the cruelty and the oppressiveness of those who are wealthy and, therefore, feel entitled. We also see how being orphaned has affected the young and made them desperate for the necessities most people take for granted—food, shelter, water, and warmth.

Author Lauren DeStefano’s descriptions of the Manhattan living conditions, the Ashby estate, and the flamboyant parties held in an unnamed Floridian city are breathtaking. Landscapes, foods, clothes, and furnishings are explained in lush detail. All the characters have distinct and recognizable personalities. I loved Deidre, Elle, and Adair, the very young domestics who were charged with taking care of the sister wives. They are so dedicated to the women they serve! I also loved the sister wives, especially Jenna, even though she is initially withdrawn and moody.

I did not expect that Rhine would become friends with her predecessor, Rose, or any of the sister wives. However, they were there, both emotionally and physically, for each other. I also did not think Rhine would have any feelings except hatred for Linden, so I was surprised that she empathized with him. Rhine grew tremendously within the novel. She comes to believe and accept that it is Linden’s father, Vaughan, who is actually stifling and controlling everyone within the house, and who is keeping Linden in the dark about what has really happened in the world. The idyllic life that Rhine lives within the Ashby estate is a much better life than the squalid one she lives with her brother. I am surprised that she would even think about leaving it all behind, but obviously, blood, true love, and freedom are thicker than a wealthy life of leisure!

What a powerful book this was! I was surprised and excited to find out that this is actually going to be a trilogy called “The Chemical Garden”! I am so looking forward to the next two books in the series! I highly recommend this book for high school libraries and public libraries!!!