The Elite – Review

Title – The Elite

Author – Kiera Cass

Publisher – Harper Collins

Pages- 336 (Hardcover)

Published -April 23rd 2013

Series – The Selection (2/3, Completed)

5 Feb 2017

This book is troubled.

The first time that I had this realisation was when America was chatting with Maxon about Halloween. Maxon never quizzes America on how she knows about the holiday, he has never heard of it, no one has, it has been forgotten.

If this oversight on Maxon’s part is intentional, I do not understand it. I think that it has been put into place to be brought back later, but my issue is not with the concept of America having this knowledge, it’s that it doesn’t add up that Maxon, or any logical human for that matter, wouldn’t question how this girl could possibly have this information.

The best part of this book by far is the section about Marlee and Carter. It was painful to read in parts, and had a good deal of shocking moments that kept the readers on their toes, but it all comes crumbling down when we begin to analyse why Cass had even included this section at all. It is to teach America a lesson: what she is doing with Aspen is wrong and she has now seen first hand what could happen to her if things go south.

There are two logical paths America could take:

1. Choose to give up on Aspen an accept Maxon’s offer of marriage and have him end The Selection.
2. Pick Aspen, leave The Selection and wait for him to come home and marry him.

America chooses neither.

She instead carries on the same cycle of bouncing between Maxon and Aspen, never making any concrete decisions and just being generally frustrating.

What makes it worse is that by my count there are four major points in the book where the narrative could easily end and it doesn’t. America evades decision making, cries and hides in her room. I feel like this is Cass having good starting points of narrative drive, but then wanting The Selection to be dragged on into an arbitrary trio of books.

When we reach a point that feels so pivotal, like when America finally snaps and hits Celeste, I just know that something has to happen. It just has to.

And this idea is egged on even more by the fact that America is loaded with ammunition by a nurse who tells her that Celeste has been hitting her maids and then Maxon comes up to America and then-

Nothing.

Holy crap this girl is frustrating.

Rant aside, you’ll tear through this sequel in one sitting and though it isn’t exactly satisfying and very little actually happens, it is filler to lead us into the final instalment, where I just hope to God that something will fucking happen.

Buy on Amazon:
The Elite (The Selection, Book 2)