The Elite by Kiera Cass

The Elite by Kiera Cass.

This book is a lot like its prequel, The Selection, but slightly worse.

It tries to be darker, but it can’t really manage it. The characters are just too dumb, especially the idiotic protagonist, America Singer. The political aspects of the universe the story takes place in are also too poorly defined for the reader to get a sense of the greater implications of the rebellion that begins to reach the castle where America is living. It’s unclear what the risks are. It’s also hard to get worked up over rebel forces if you don’t know where they’re coming from, what they’re rebelling about, or even who they are beyond “Northern rebels” or “Southern rebels.”

This second book also attempts to focus on the love triangle between America, the Prince, and America’s hometown love, but (at the risk of being overly harsh) America’s reactions to the situation are so simplistic that she comes off as simply indecisive, or perhaps not bright enough to fully understand the difference between her swains. Love triangles have been popular in recent YA fiction and they’re gloriously entertaining and painful when well written (like in Hunger Games, Mortal Instruments, etc.).

This love triangle barely deserves the name. America has two suitors, and she prefers whichever one of them has paid attention to her most recently. Sometimes she feels distressed about having two suitors, but the reader doesn’t need to care.

I’ll say this, though: this book has a pretty cover.