Review Wednesday: The Selection Series by Kiera Cass

BLOG SPOTLIGHT: As a new feature, I'll be periodically linking to some of my new and old favorite blogs! Today, I give you Jennifer Hawes, who writes at The Writing Game. I discovered Jennifer during the A-Z Challenge, which she wrote on the fascinating Hannibal, Missouri. If you're not already reading her incredibleness, head on over to her blog and check her out!

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars.

(DISCLAIMER: I haven't actually finished The One yet...but read on =) This is my opinion of the series so far.)

It's so funny...I originally started this blog for book reviewing purposes. I don't even remember the last time I posted a review. Go me.

I'm the kind of person who almost always finishes a book. Unless there is an f-bomb in every other sentence (shout out to Stephen King's Under The Dome--why, Stephen, why?! You're such a good writer, there are so many other words you can use!) or the writing is absolutely abominable, I will trudge my way through. It's curiosity mostly that grants me perseverance...I JUST have to see what is going to happen. I guess if you can make me interested in your characters, you can make me do anything. 

Usually, if I'm going to drop a book, I'll do it within the first half. After that, I won't be able to stop. 

I originally picked up The Selection because the cover was GORGEOUS. Yes, I admit it, I totally judge books by their covers. 

Unfortunately, the beauty of the cover far surpasses the beauty of the writing.

The Selection is basically the Hunger Games with frilly dresses instead of camouflage and cat fights instead of bow and arrows. Literally. But here is a more "professional" sounding summary of the first book via Goodreads:

For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in a palace and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.

Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself--and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.

Oh, pardon me while I swoon.

So since I've already been bratty about this book (I'm sorry, really trying to be good lately), I should throw out some positives before I get even sassier. Because, folks, it's gonna happen.

I really liked the characters, originally. Well, I should say, I found that they were very well-rounded and each was unique and realistic. The bad guys weren't totally evil and the good guys weren't totally good. The author started with an awesome cast of characters and I was excited about the potential of the book.

I was quickly disappointed, as the characters were the only well-done thing in it. And even that didn't last. *dramatic sob*

One, the plot wasn't totally original. For me, it felt a lot like The Princess Academy by Shannon Hale (awesome MG book) with the whole get a bunch of local girls and turn them into princesses who vie for the prince's heart. Hale did it much better.

Two, there were plot holes. Lots of plot holes. It's pretty easy for me to believe in basically any story, but there were parts that even I was like COME ON.

Three, the plot felt like it just didn't move. I feel like it takes two steps forward and then five backward. You think something is resolved and that it isn't. I get that  can be realistic at times, but absolutely everything in the book was you-have-it-now-you-don't. And it's exhausting, honestly.

Four, I just started reading the third book in this series and the characters feel exactly the same as they were in book one. There are moments of development during which I scream YES YES THANK YOU PLEASE DO NOT REVERT BACK INTO WHO YOU WERE...but to no avail. Things happen to the characters, but for the most part, they remain the same. It's really sad, because they are so well developed and they deserve to grow...but nope, they're stuck, just like the plot.

Five, I just don't like the main character, America. I kind of did, originally, but now I don't understand her at all. She irks my soul.

That being said, one of the nastier characters has evolved nicely. She's probably my favorite part of the whole series. I'm kinda pulling for her to just ruin everyone's lives.

Like I said, I'm on the third book (pretty sure there's only one more left after this one). I'm not sure if I'm going to finish it. A Hunger Games/Divergent-like riot is going on...please. Can we be original for once?! There are more things to write about besides dystopian uprisings against the government.

That being said, I do want to know what happens. I have spent a lot of time with these characters...though I've spent most of the time being annoyed with them...but still. I feel kind of trapped. However, each time I pick up the book, my annoyance increases and it ebbs away at any intrigue that I might have once had.

So chances of me finishing are slim.

Should you read this series? I would say no, you shouldn't. Even if you're not turned off by the fact that it isn't original, the writing is not very good. I don't really understand the hype besides the fact that they are "glamorous" and easy to read and not very deep (none of which particularly appeal to me). Literary cocaine, as my dad says. Addictive and not really doing anything good for you.

And just one last note-- The Selection is a New York Times Best Seller. I have come to discover that just because you're a New York Best Selling Author does not make you a good writer. Which means that to be a good writer, you don't have to write a New York Times Best Seller. Does that make sense?

Have you read The Selection Books? If so, what was your opinion?

(I have no idea why part of this is highlighted, past the summary...sorry! Nothing I do is unhighlighting it, so we're stuck...oh well. Ew technology.)

(image found via http://images.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=the+selection+by+kiera+cass&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CAcQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kieracass.com%2Fjournal%2F&ei=lttIVZHyMImqyQSNz4GQCA&bvm=bv.92291466,d.cGU&psig=AFQjCNG4jXSyEkaS6uFRc3-nLXmFHoKUXA&ust=1430924134652173)

Zzz, Don't Make Your Readers!

THIS IS IT.

GUYS.

I. MADE. IT.

*gasps*

Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the LAST post of the A to Z Challenge here at AM Station. I've spent the last month sharing my writing rules, opinions, and experiences. Hopefully you've learned something or been inspired! I have so, so enjoyed talking to all of you and meeting so many bloggers.

But! More on that on MAY 4TH! Be sure to check back!!

Perhaps I should have started with this post. But the alphabet doesn't start with Z, so that wouldn't have worked out too well.

DON'T MAKE YOUR READERS FALL ASLEEP! Because that's bad.

I have seen so many series of books become sooooooo boring after the first one. Divergent and Hunger Games are prime examples. Reading Allegiant and Mocking Jay felt like trudging through quicksand at some points.

Now, obviously, just like everything else here, these are just my opinions.

But to me, it felt like the excitement wore off for the author, and so it also wore off for me, the reader. This may not be true, maybe Veronica Roth was writing Allegiant with a butt load of caffeine in her system, but to me, it felt like not so much.

I've touched on this already this month, but WRITE WHAT IS INTERESTING TO YOU! If you're bored, then SWITCH THE SCENE, SWITCH THE POV, SWITCH THE TENSE, SWITCH SOMETHING.

I'm really not yelling. Okay, maybe. I'm tired. I CAN'T BELIEVE I'VE MADE IT THROUGH THIS MONTH.

*does happy dance*

Um, yeah, no. I'm in my bed and I am too lazy to even reach for my teddy bear that just fell. Joking. If I don't, the monsters under my bed will eat him.

When it comes to keeping blog posts interesting (hopefully mine are, lol, that would actually be really funny if they aren't and I'm giving advice on how to keep posts interesting--pretty typical) is to USE CAPITAL LETTERS. Joking.

Well, maybe not. If that's your personality, do it. Let YOU shine through in what you do. When people I know read my blog, they tell me that they can hear me saying the words in their heads. That makes me happy =) Don't be afraid to just be YOU and put yourself out there!

Don't don't don't don't mimic someone else, even if they are more successful. Find your voice and, for goodness sakes, don't bury it. Scream with it! Unless you're more of a whisperer. Just do whatever it is you do, and you'll be interesting and successful!

Another thing I'm told that keeps readers interested is to keep it short when it comes to posting.

I'm really bad at this one.

For school, my papers almost always exceed the word limit, even if the topic is something I HATE. I have so much to say! But, seriously, it probably helps to keep it short.

However, long is me. I write this blog for me, I write in general for me. I sound really selfish, but hopefully you know what I mean. I want to please myself and be happy with my words rather than try to go viral or mimic someone else. I like my mildly undiscovered corner of the internet, and I truly dearly love those who come and visit me.

SO... IT. IS. DONE.

How did the challenge go for you? And how to you keep your posts interesting?

Copy Catting, Thoughts on Plot Holes and

I have been quite blessed to grow up in a family that is very much into the arts. My parents and my five siblings and I all have pleasant discussions on literature, music, and movies.

However, I have gotten to the point where I simply cannot watch movies with two of my brothers. I can barely even talk about books with them.

My brothers love to shatter stories.

They think that it is their life's mission to point out and exaggerate plot holes in absolutely every story they ever encounter. These boys could probably find a plot hole in the Bible. This is so frustrating to me, because I just so desperately want to believe in everything. I fall in love with characters, I breathe the air that they're breathing, I feel their hearts shattering, their joy consuming their bodies...it's all so real to me.

Another thing my dear brothers do is point out how many stories (whether it's movies or books) mimic another work. Nothing annoys me more when they start on how they believe that Harry Potter is just a retelling of Lord of the Rings.

UGH. NO. NO. NO.

Within all stories, there is the over-all (or under-lying) theme of Good vs. Evil. It's in Lord of the Rings, Narnia, Harry Potter, Divergent, Hunger Games, everything. That theme is the core theme of our very existence. So, of course, aspects of all these stories are going to be the same.

Additionally, what is the difference between being inspired by and copy catting? There is a very thin line between the two, I believe. However, I think they are both distinguishable though it is a case-by-case basis sort of thing.

My sophomore English teacher once said, "It is the reader's job to believe in the universe that the author creates." Of course, it's the author's job to create a believable universe, but we readers must give enter into the story and suspend disbelief. Perhaps it is better to say that the author's job is to make the unbelievable believable. Just the same, the reader must discard all he thinks he knows and enter into the creation of the writer. As readers, we must not let things like desperately searching for plot holes and blame for copy catting deter us from entering into the writer's story.

It's ok to be Divergent

Book: Divergent

Author: Veronica Roth

Rating: PG13 for heavy content, violence, brief mild language, and a mild romance.

The perfect person is either honest, selfless, brave, peaceful, or smart. Never more than one of the virtues, or you risk being different.

Or divergent. And you really can’t afford that to happen.

Veronica Roth’s debut novel, Divergent, takes place in dystopian Chicago, where the human race has divided itself into five factions-- Candor, the honest; Abnegation, the selfless; Dauntless, the brave; Amity, the peaceful, and Erudite, the intelligent. On a certain day of the year, all sixteen-year-olds must take the “aptitude test” to determine which faction they will spend the rest of their lives in. They decide which virtue they wish to strive for, for rest of their days.

Not a big decision or anything.

Only one outcome is possible from the aptitude test. Only one faction. Yet, people have been known to get two.

They are known as the Divergent.

They are extremely dangerous people. They are different from normal. They must all be killed; or used for scientific testing.

The novel begins with Beatrice Prior’s aptitude test day. Beatrice has lived a quiet life in Abnegation with her parents and brother, but yet, she feels like she doesn’t fit in. Not like Caleb, her brother, seems to. She wants to leave, but leaving her family would be the ultimate act of selfishness . . . but maybe she isn’t truly selfless.

First of all, I couldn’t even imagine having to choose one of these factions. Am I selfless? I’d like to think so, at times. But I don’t think I could spend my days wearing the gray pajamas that classify the Abnegation. I know it sounds ridiculous, but I seriously couldn’t. And they are also not allowed to have mirrors. It sounds vain, I know, but how would I do my hair?! Actually, it would probably be good for me. Am I brave? I’d like to think I am, in small circumstances, like in relationships. And food. I’m always brave when trying new foods. But if I see a spider, well, let’s just say there’s not a whole lot of bravery going on there; it’s more like “DAD!” Am I honest? It really depends. Am I peaceful? At times, I think. But of course, I also do love to pick fights with my brother. Am I smart? Well, if you look at my report card, I got all A’s. But is smartness really measured in the school room?

I think I would probably be Divergent, which is incredibly fortunate and unfortunate in itself. I would be labeled as part of a “species” that needs to wiped off the face of the earth. Harsh. The upside, then, of course, would be the fact that I possess more than one of the virtues. The theme of the novel seems to be “can you possess only one virtue?” One character (who happens to my favorite, but I can’t tell you who for risk of a spoiler) asks the question “Can a person be brave without being selfless?”

Veronica Roth is truly a brilliant writer. The themes she incorporates into her novel are so deep and profound. Her characters and their dialogue are amazing. I made so many friends and enemies while reading this book. Oh, and the emotions. Divergent has so many emotions wrapped up in its 487 pages. I found myself whispering words of encouragement to Beatrice, crying alongside her, laughing, and shivering. I felt every single emotion Beatrice was feeling.

Divergent is the first novel in the series-- the second novel being Insurgent. But that’s another review for another time. Divergent was such an amazing read-- it was literally haunting. I went back and read it three more times! Read it, especially if you are a writer. Divergent is a wonderful “role model novel” for dialogue, description, and character development. Enter the world of Veronica Roth’s Divergent . . . you’ll never look at honesty, selflessness, bravery, peacefulness, or intelligence the same way.

Hunger Games fans, this might be the next novel you're looking for!