Book Review: The Elite and The One by Kiera Cass
I’ve done a book review on the Selection series before, and with the new book coming out tomorrow, here are the other two.
With the new Kiera Cass book being released May 5th I wanted to get the readers up to speed. Cass was excited to announce the upcoming book, the heir being the fourth in the series and the fifth (untitled) coming out later. As part of the Teen Challenge I read The Selection and fell in love with the Hunger Games mixed with The Bachelor story line that I was compelled to continue on with the series.
One of my fantastic readers asked if I would review The Heir when it came out. Since I was an instant fan of the series I was happy to obliged. Not so happy that I had to wait until May 5th. Now I wait with my ebook pre-ordered. I will wake before the rest of the household does, waiting with baited morning breath, to hit the download button. While my husband gets the kids ready for school, I will sit in my pajamas ever so quietly, so that my toddler doesn’t discover that I am home. (He likes to advance the pages on me. I have wondered why some books in the past haven’t made sense.)
So to bridge the gap between The Selection and the coming review of The Heir this review covers both The Elite and The One by Kiera Cass.
Let’s start in order with book two, The Elite
At the end of book one America is chosen to be one of the six elite girls. No real spoiler as if she wasn’t chosen the series wouldn’t have continued on without it’s main character. With the pool of girls dwindling America feels the pressure more of the other girls. Tensions rise as the other four girls start spending more time with Maxon.
America still has feelings about her former boyfriend turned ‘prison’ guard but her feeling towards Maxon are starting to grow as well. I thought that we were starting to loose the spirit of the old America, that she was turning into the spoiled girls that make up the rest of the elite. With her constant talk of which boy should she choose or who loves her more and dissecting every gesture or look that they were giving her was turning into more of a teen sitcom then the character that I rooted for in the first novel. But that being said there were flashes of who she really was spark to life just when it was needed.
No one was going to keep her down. And she was finally figuring out her heart. When we move onto book three, The One
Not just moments now but consistently. She is more in tune with the world around her. More aware that the uprisings that are occurring are going to get worse if something doesn’t change. Both Maxon and America have true love feelings for each other, however neither one wants to say it first. With Maxon trying to show his love without saying the words it frustrates America even more. Although the raids from the rebels are getting worse and more violent there is an enemy that America fears above all others.
The King.
The King is tired of America’s outbursts, some even on live television for the country to see. He wants her to fall in line, or else.I am intrigued to see how this series is going to twist and turn with the new installment.
With the flighty America left behind in the second book the more bold and the fight for the people of the country is now at the front of America’s thoughts. I’m glad that Prince Maxon wants the same changes that she does, and will fight with her.
Even though the caste system in these books are a little exaggerated they do exist in many countries around the world. Take any North American country, we talk about the homeless, people living below the poverty line, the middle class, the upper class and the “top 2%”. We still, as a society, keep people in their “classes” making it harder to climb out. Raising education costs and the large gap just in between schools for the elementary to high school. The underlying truth to this book’s social message is that we need to abolish the classes. We need to raise people above the poverty line by paying people a living wage and give everyone access to the ability to be who they want to be, not what they were born into.
I know you might scoff at this, that it would put companies under.I want to point out the that the CEO, Dan Price, of Gravity Payments cut his own pay by 90% so that his staff didn’t have to struggle while be had the luxurious life.
Will we see similar from other companies CEO’s? I’m not sure. But I do know that it is a step in the right direction. A world that we should aspire to.
