The Selection (The Selection, #1) by Keira Cass
Published: April 24th 2012 by HarperTeen
Pages: 336

For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in a palace and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.

Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself—and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.

“True love is usually the most inconvenient kind.”

Actual rating: 3.5 stars

With the book's release date going all the way back to 2012, I cannot deny that I jumped on this boat way too late. I already knew too much before going into reading, including the final outcome and the entire world building. I gathered that The Selection is a book you either love or hate, but it did not turn out to be like that at all. Maybe I'm just that special snowflake, yet despite my prejudices and eventually my issues, I actually quite enjoyed it.

Starting off: the predictability of the plot. Of course, I already knew a lot of the world building upon going into this book, but the plot was mainly unknown territory. Unfortunately, I foresaw so much that happened without having to have a psychic ability.  It was clear from the start who would get chosen, and what would happen next. When something rather unpredictable did happen, I mostly just sighed because I should have seen it coming. However, the way things ended could create a very interesting plot to follow. I certainly hope Cass can grant my little wish for the books to come.

As far as the predictability goes, so does my negativity about the story. The Selection's plot is surprisingly unique and more original than your average dystopian book. Think of The Hunger Games, Divergent, Legend, Delirum, and so on. They all have one thing in common: a girl who stands up to an evil and oppressing regime. Usually seen from the point of view of the rebels, the series is a journey to start a rebellion. That is what I absolutely loved about this book. Of course, the rebels are palpable and the world isn't something I would want to live in, but it didn't seem to fit into this category. We barely saw anything of the king, nor extreme poverty, so the regime itself did not feel as bad and oppressive. The most specific reason, however, is because the protagonist does not stand with the rebels and believes in the caste system. It created a whole new look on rebels and their actions, as they are now seen as 'the bad guys'. I honestly cannot wait to see what they'll bring.

The caste system itself was by far my favourite aspect of the world building. I for one loved how there was a subtle inspiration of India's caste system. It showed that these kind of things could still happen today or in the near future, which is quite terrifying. The thought that one innate feature could determine your whole life is intriguing, which also played out very nicely in The Selection. A large part of Illéa's population seems to be okay with the whole caste system, and believe that it is their duty and destiny to do what they're supposed to do. That's why the caste system also had a lot of impact on the choices made throughout the book. I liked how believable it sometimes was, and it definitely sparked my interest to keep on reading.

Moving onto the world building, there's no denying that the author hasn't outdone herself. The book has been pitched as 'The Hunger Games meets The Bachelor', and I cannot but agree. We may have seen certain aspects that have been done before, yet there was so much to discover than a simple competition. I am quite the sucker for kingdoms, kings and queens, princes and princesses, etc. It's more than logic that I would therefore love the setting and overall tone of the story. It's girly and light read, with some serious topics here and there.

I feel like I only have one thing to say when it comes to the characters: America Singer. Ladies and gentleman, meet your average Mary Sue who has it all, including a silly name. She didn't frustrate me as much as I thought she would, though it was laughable at times. The examples are endless, but especially the trying of not to come across as perfect. She's a Five, a lower caste, but she knows exactly how to behave as a One. She's constantly saying how flawed she is, but there's no evidence that actually proofs it. She's not all bad either: I did secretly love how she had a strong opinion and clearly did not want to lead a life inside the palace's walls.

The romance itself was overwhelmed by the love triangle. Thanks to all the hype (and spoilers) surrounding this book, I already knew about the ménage à trois. It didn't stop me from being excited and devouring it all. Even though I know the outcome, I couldn't help but root for my favourite couple: Maxerica. More does not to be said.

In a nutshell, The Selection was a fun little ride to experience. I did came across some issues along the way such as predictability and a Mary Sue, but I tend to forgive too easily. Especially because of the original world, which really set it apart from other books in the dystopian genre. Hopefully, the rest of the series will be as fun to read as this book was for me.

Palo Alto by James Franco
Published:  August 2011 by Faber and Faber
Pages: 224

Palo Alto is the debut of a powerful new literary voice. Written with an immediacy and sense of place Palo Alto traces the lives of an extended group of teenagers as they experiment with vices of all kinds, struggle with their families and one another, and succumb to self-destructive, often heartless nihilism. Franco presents his characters in all their raw humanity, while at the same time providing insight into the teenage mind.

In the classic American tradition of story-cycles such as Sherwood Anderson's Winesburg, Ohio, Palo Alto presents a stark, vivid, disturbing, but, above all, compassionate portrait of lives on the rough fringes of youth.

“Everyone pretends to be normal and be your best friend, but underneath, everyone is living some other life you don't know about, and if only we had a camera on us at all times, we could go and watch each other's tapes and find out what each of us was really like.”

When it comes to short stories, I am always a bit hesitant. It could always go in so many directions, because you cannot really expect what you're going to read. After having read the reviews and the blurb on the back, Palo Alto is supposedly a book about American teenagers living their suburban lives. Having lent the book from someone, he told me to not have very high expectations. I am glad I listened, because this book can be described with three key words: dry, vague and weird.

To break down every single story would not be possible, simply because most of them did not have a steady plot. There were some where nothing really happened, and were just fragments taken out of normal teenage lives. It was safe to say that this was the only aspect I liked, as most teenagers are not chosen ones or go on a magical and life-changing adventure. However, I felt like I had read all of them by the time I got to the second half of the book. Generally the same themes are handled in all of the stories, and after a while it just seemed like they kept getting recycled. Despite all this, I did have my favourites, such as American History and Lockheed.

I liked how Franco tried to connect his stories, however with the emphasis on tried. A handful of characters also appeared in other stories, but there was no real connection. In fact, it was more like a familiar name appeared every now and then. A nice try, but after a few stories I wasn't paying attention anymore.

If I had to sum up my biggest Palo Alto pet peeve, I would go straight for Franco's writing. So yes, he is a director and a screenwriter, but this is still his debut novel. As someone who loves flowing writing with some lyrical hints here and there, I did not love this. This book is a collection of short, dry sentences which lacks one of the most important writing rules: show, don't tell. I believe I cannot count on both hands how many times I read: "He was excited", "She was angry", etc. It came across so dry that it made both the stories and the characters very superficial.

The characters are one by one quite flat and one-dimensional. Although Franco is trying to portray the lives of normal American teenagers, I got the feeling they were stereotypical delinquents. The black gangs, the nerd, the slut, the asshole, they were all there. Fortunately, it didn't bother me as much as I thought it would.

In a nutshell: Franco's short stories about American teenage lives wasn't exactly what I pictured it to be. After my encouter with superficial and weird stories, bad writing and one-dimensional characters, I would rather go back to my chosen ones and magical adventures.

Winter (The Lunar Chronicles, #4) by Marissa Meyer
Published: November 10th 2015 by Feiwel and Friends
Pages: 827

Princess Winter is admired by the Lunar people for her grace and kindness, and despite the scars that mar her face, her beauty is said to be even more breathtaking than that of her stepmother, Queen Levana.

Winter despises her stepmother, and knows Levana won’t approve of her feelings for her childhood friend—the handsome palace guard, Jacin. But Winter isn’t as weak as Levana believes her to be and she’s been undermining her stepmother’s wishes for years. Together with the cyborg mechanic, Cinder, and her allies, Winter might even have the power to launch a revolution and win a war that’s been raging for far too long.

Can Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, and Winter defeat Levana and find their happily ever afters?

“Her whole body was wound up tight. She was ready to storm the palace herself - an army of one.”

All series must come to an end, which was also the case for Marissa Meyer's Winter. For us readers, it is a natural instinct to be cautious when it comes to the last installment. The expectations are sky-high, the excitement is palpable, which makes possible disappointments unavoidable. After finishing this eight hundred-page book, I wondered why it felt like I didn't encounter any disappointments. Satisfying conclusions are hard to find, and a gem even less. To be honest, I'm currently just grinning of joy and holding the book in my arms like a newborn baby. Winter was truly everything I hoped it would be, making it a very satisfying conclusion to one of my all-time favourite series.

Much to my surprise, this book actually turned out to be eight hundred pages long. I half expected to sometimes struggle my way through, as I normally do with books this long. However, it was quite the surprise when I didn't. It read like any other young-adult novel, regardless of the ridiculous amount of pages. If an author can make you feel like you didn't just spent hours and hours reading, I think it shows just how talented they are.

Meyer's talent didn't just stop there, but was noticeable all the way through. A brilliant example is her use of the original fairy tales. Without having to spoil things, I absolutely adored how she weaved the storylines from Snow White into the main plot. Therefore, there were a lot of unexpected twists and turns I should have seen coming. When I thought I had seen it all, a particular scene at the end of the book came along, and was just lovable to read.

Things were looking up at the end of Cress, but there was still so much yet to happen and so many things that needed to be done. That was why every single page felt absolutely necessary, despite the length of the book. Throughout the story, I couldn't help but notice that Meyer really took her time writing it. There was no rush. Everything was built up slowly, yet at a steady pace, leading up to one of the best climaxes I had the pleasure to read. It was just so well done, and clearly payed off.

That can be seen as another aspect stepped into the picture, one I see far too less in final installments: credibility. There are these kind of books where the whole main crew of characters survive. Where everyone is happy, all the enemies are dead and no one is hurt. Without spoiling anything, I must say this wasn't the case with Winter. Everything that happened was so convincing. Setting up an entire rebellion doesn't happen in one day, and this book made that very clear. There were downfalls, captures, misfortune. It made me frustrated, but it isn't much better either if everything happens too smoothly. It led to palpable tension and nervosity, yet the writing flowed, resulting in long reading sessions because I had no intention of putting the book down.

As soon as Winter began, we were introduced to the fascinating world of Luna: once a simple colony on the moon, now a kingdom suppressed by a ruler with an iron fist. It was enjoyable to explore both Artemisia, the wealthy capital filled with aristocrats, but also the poor and hard-working outer sectors. Doesn't this general idea ring a bell? I, for one, couldn't help but be reminded of The Hunger Games at times. There were so many similarities, especially the way the citizens of Artemisia behaved and how the outer sectors were not able to be touch in with one another. It makes sense that dictatorships in young-adult literature share the same features, but it was a little too similar in my opinion.

Upon looking back at who they were at the beginning of the series, every single character has grown so much. Most of the characterization in this book wasn't very prominent, except for Cinder. She obviously had a lot to go through, but it was portrayed very well. Underneath all her bravery and fierceness, she is still a sixteen-year-old girl who is kind of overwhelmed, and it was actually comforting to see.

Aside from Cinder, I'd like the put all the attention on the two characters who already made their appearance in Cress: the princess and the guard. Just the simple fact that Winter has schizophrenia because she won't use Lunar gift, is awesome, intriguing and scary. I already knew a bit about the disorder because of my education, but seeing it being inserted into a story is a whole other level. An unreliable narrator is the least I would have expected to find in a sci-fi/fantasy series, but I am glad Meyer let it happen. Especially her visions were eerie and made me shiver, but seeing Jacin react to these kind of situations made my heart melt. I would have loved to have seen more of Winter and her relationship with Jacin, although it didn't necessarily felt lacking.

Though I certainly swooned a lot while reading, the romance didn't feel as present as it was in other books, but I am not complaining. It was light, subtle, yet there were enough scenes to make me fall in love with my ships all over again.

After writing all of this, I still feel like a mess and ready to cry because I have to say goodbye to a bunch of my favourite characters. As I still find myself in a state of denial, all I can do now is wait for Stars Above, which is only two months left. I'll survive.