The Selection

A cross between The Hunger Games (minus the bloodsport) and The Bachelor (minus the bloodsport), this trilogy launch employs multiple conventions of the dystopian romance genre--strong-willed heroine, heart-wrenching love triangle, far-future setting divided by class. That said, it's a lot of fun. In a post WWIII U.S. divided by caste, teenage America Singer and her family are Fives, struggling musicians and artists. In love with a Six, America is headed for a life of servitude and hunger, until she is chosen for the Selection--a contest through which Prince Maxon will pick his princess. The Selection brings America instant notoriety and prestige, but also thrusts her into a ring of jealous, desperate girls all trying to win the prince's heart. Cass (author of the self-published The Siren) deftly builds the chemistry between America and Maxon, while stoking the embers of America's first, forbidden love. Headstrong and outspoken, America is an easy heroine to root for, and the scenes where she tries to fit in to her new royal life are charming. A TV drama based on the books is in production. Ages 13-up. Agent: Elana Roth, Red Tree Literary. (May)

Gr 8 Up--Reminiscent of Shannon Hale's Princess Academy (Bloomsbury, 2005) and Ally Condie's Matched (Dutton, 2010), Cass's debut novel weaves an engrossing tale of high-stakes competition and the emotional turmoil of being true to oneself. In this first installment of a dystopian trilogy, fiery-haired beauty America Singer, 17, meets all the criteria to enter the lottery of a lifetime, a reality-TV-type competition for Prince Maxon's hand in marriage. Her mother believes that she has what it takes to prevail, but America wants nothing to do with the prince. She has secretly been seeing Aspen, whose family members have been servants and friends to the Singers for years. Grappling with her family's socioeconomic status and the impact of the caste system's prejudice on her star-crossed love, America finally concedes to enter the lottery and earns a spot among the lucky 35 contenders, every girl's desire-except for America herself. The sincere prose conveys her minimalist character and reluctance to compete for the affections of a stranger. Fairy-tale lovers will lose themselves in America's alternate reality and wish that the next glamorous sequel were waiting for them.--Jamie-Lee Schombs, Library Journal HC