MISH-MASH FAIRYTALE

Mish-mash a fairytale story with a dystopia future and cross that with reality TV and you have Kiera Crass' The Selection. It really is a sweet read for Teens and Young Adults and one I really enjoyed. I've read so many dystopia stories where there is not much left of humanity or the Earth they live in or some horrible virus has turned them all into zombies. So it was a breath of fresh air to read this dystopia story that featured ball gowns, handsome princes and a dining room full of catty teenaged batchelorettes.

America Singer is selected from thousands of eligible girls to join 35 others in a reality TV type selection process in a bid to win the Prince Maxom's hand in marriage. Forced to wear crazy beautiful gowns and parade about the palace, dining with the King and Queen and trying to catch the handsome prince's eye, America's heart just wasn't in it. She had no choice in entering the pageant and would have been arrested if she had refused and become caste-less. All she wanted was to go back to her family of beautiful musicians and the boy next door she had secretly promised to marry.

It doesn't take long for Prince Maxom to see America's lack of interest as warm welcome and he takes it upon himself to rely on her judgement of the other Selection candidates. They strike up the most unusual friendship, one where he's happy to have a friend and she's happy to not fall in love with, only until she does.

Definitely one of the better dystopian YA stories I've ever read and one that I was happy to wait in line for while 48 other library patrons read the book before me. Seriously, why didn't the bloody library just buy more copies of the dang book?

Love it, recommend it but not enough to keep reading the spin off series – The Heir.

4.5 stars out of 5 for a sweet teen dystopian read.