The One

Enjoyable, satisfying, and interesting for teens and adults alike; 4.5 out of 5 HEARTS

4.5 out of 5 HEARTS at [...] At about 6:45 p.m. on May 24, 2014, I was in New York City and had just gotten in for the night after spending the day out exploring. I was just getting ready to call my mom and check in when called me first. When I picked up the phone, my mother was sobbing into the phone. "Do you get to meet Kiera Cass while you're at BEA?" she asked. "Uh, maybe. She's ticketed. It depends on how I'm feeling and where else I am at that point in the day," I answered. "If you get to meet her, I want you to tell her that I had no idea how emotional these books would be and that I think they're just wonderful. Tell her that your father thinks I'm insane because I've been crying over the last couple chapters of The Elite for the past ten minutes." I think that conversation with my mom is what best sums up the The Selection trilogy. I've read so many trilogies, quartets, sagas, and other series since I started blogging. But of all of them, I think that The Selection trilogy is one of the most easily accessible. It doesn't require that you have a lot of experience reading dystopian novels -- though fans of The Hunger Games, Divergent, and the like will certainly enjoy it. You don't have to be able to grasp on to complicated or convoluted plots. It's not high fantasy, which requires a whole other kind of dedication of thought and imagination for seeing the authors vision and following what can be confusing plots. It isn't a straight romance novel. It's got some adventure, some excitement, a driving plot, and yes, all kinds of wonderful lovey-dovey feels and angsty feels and just feels, feels, feels in general. It is a perfectly well-rounded, easy-to-read, enjoyable series. It's great for teens and adults of all ages. You might wonder why I'd waited until the series was over to give it to my mom, but in early 2013 she started demanding that I only give her completed series or series that were going to be completed by or near the time she finished the first f...