“The Elite” by Kiera Cass

Title: The Elite
Author: Kiera Cass
Publisher: HarperTeen
Year: 2013
Genre(s): young adult, romance, dystopian
Part of a Series: Yes, Book 2. You read review of Book1 here.
Rating: 

Why I read it: Because I enjoyed The Selection and wanted to see what happened next.

Summary: With the competition now narrowed down to eight contestants, America is torn between Maxon and Aspen. She needs to make a decision as she gets more enmeshed in court and the attacks by the rebels increase – does she want to be queen? And if she does, will she support the status quo or shake everything up?

Review: I debated the rating but I think I’m good with three and a half moons as I feel “The Elite” suffered a bit of a sophomore slump but it definitely picked up at the end, setting me up to be excited for “The One,” the third book in the series.

I think Cass identified the problem some time during the book when America’s father told her to figure out what she wanted and start going after it. For a good portion of the book, America reacted more than acted. And it started to get frustrating. Things definitely got better once she started to take charge and go after what she wanted.

The love triangle didn’t really hold much interest for me and it seemed a bit pointless, especially as it was part of the whole “America is a little too passive” problem. She just tended to follow their leads rather than take much control. Which ended up hurting her relationship with Maxon but that read more to me like Cass realized she had had Maxon profess his feelings for America too soon and had to do some backpedaling to add some tension into the novel and justify having a trilogy.

But enough with the negative. Let’s look at some of the positive.

With less women in the Selection, we got a chance to get to know them more. I still especially loved the friendship between American and Marlee, which was so sweet. And I loved getting to see America with her family, especially her sister, again. Those were some of the best parts of the early slow half of the book. So also was America’s continuing relationship with her maids and her desire to protect them.

America’s ease with people and her ability to form relationships serves her well throughout the story, especially when dealing with foreign dignitaries. They are drawn to her and are willing to help her as she realizes what she needs to do in her country, which I won’t spoil but what was really what kicked the story back into gear in my opinion. Let’s just say that if you’re suspicious of Maxon’s family, you’re on the right track.

Bottom line: Drags a bit but picks up at the end so definitely stick with it!

Sex: A mention but nothing else.

Moonlight Musing

Would you have the courage to change something that wasn’t right?