Tuesday, 4 August 2015

The One by Kiera Cass (Young Adult, 9/10E)

  June 2015, HarperCollins Children's, 356 pages, Ebook, Review copy from NetGalley

Content: teen romance, major peril, a bit of fighting, some humour, tragedy, tissues needed

 The Selection changed America Singer's life in ways she never could have imagined. Since she entered the competition to become the next princess of Illéa, America has struggled with her feelings for her first love, Aspen—and her growing attraction to Prince Maxon. Now she's made her choice . . . and she's prepared to fight for the future she wants.

Nayu's thoughts
I still have a love/hate relationship with Mer which prevents me giving it full marks, as some of what she says and does is ridiculous, and yet somehow I adore this slightly dystopian royal society read. There are constant plot twists which surprised me, several parts made me laugh and others made me cry – you will definitely need tissues. Because I already knew what book #4 was about, I knew vaguely what would happen at the end of The One, although from the events which happened beforehand I had no idea how the result would happen, and was gobsmacked by the plot revelations.

Happily there are lots of pretty clothes to fangirl over, the relationship Mer has with her maids grows ever stronger, and the way she upsets the king continues to grow. She does have a few inspiring ideas which make a difference to the political unrest. There were several parts where I was cheering for Mer getting things right (as she can get them wrong). Despite her strong character flaws I find myself eager to get the audiobook version so I can relisten to it any time! 

Find out more on Keira's website

Available at many bookshops including NRC affiliate Foyles.

Suggested read
Definitely check out book 1 and 2, The Selection and The Elite (Young Adult,  7-8/10E)
 

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