The Elite by Kiera Cass (The Selection #2)

Only six girls are left competing in the Selection for the crown - and Prince Maxon's heart. Tensions are rising, and not everyone is playing nice. Elise, Marlee, America, Kriss, Natalie, and Celeste are clamoring for attention, desperate to pull ahead. Each girl is painfully aware of the others, and everyone is trying to figure out where they stand with the prince. Vicious Celeste isn't above cheating, either. She taunts and prods at the other girls, trying to provoke them. Everyone is tense. The rebel attacks are becoming more violent, and the girls' safety is at risk.

America Singer never planned to be a part of the Selection. She never thought she would make it to the palace, let alone become one of the Elite, the select few girls who have made it this far. America cares deeply for Maxon, but with Aspen in the palace, she is conflicted. She loves both boys, but she can only have one. As she goes behind Maxon's back to meet with Aspen, she is also breaking the law and putting both her safety and Aspen's in jeopardy.AS she distances herself from Maxon, she also becomes insecure, worrying that the other girls now hold more favor with the prince then she does herself. The biggest threat may be Kriss, who seems to have become very close with Maxon the more time America spend away from him.

America also begins to read the diary of Gregory Illéa, for whom the country is named. Gegory is not the person she thought he was, and America learns that the government may be rotten at it's heart. The king is not the kind ruler he seems to be. America is walking a very fine line. Not only is she balancing both Maxon and Aspen, but she is also begining to develop her own idea about how Illéa should be run. If anyone finds out about her secrets, her carefully built world could crumble down around her. She's playing a very dangerous game.

America... oh, America. You're starting to drive me a little bit crazy. There's no denying that she's brave and kind. On one hand, she's a little jealous of the time the other girls spend with Maxon. Even so, she's illegaly meeting up with Aspen. Then she gets angry at Maxon from being distant from her when she's pushing him away in the first place! Good grief! Maxon is trying to be kind to her, but Ames is being so frustrating! Even worse, she starts blaming Maxon for not bein a good prince. America is upset, understandably, that bad things are happening to the country's less fortunate and Maxon's not doing anything about it. The thing is, there's not even any real proof that Maxon is even involved or knows anything! America is a sweet girl, but she's being so frustrating and I hate how unfair she's being to Maxon. I also can't stand how she's going behind Maxon's back with Aspen, although that's partly because I'm totally Team Maxon. I usually like that America is so impulsive, but in this book it just made her lash out at Maxon without thinking. It drove me insane.

Aspen isn't so great. He's risking a lot to spend time with America, but in doing so, he's endangering her. Don't get me wrong - I respect that he cares about her enough to be willing to take those kinds of risks. What I mean is, has he though over how much danger America is in when he breaks the rules? When they break the rules? As a guard, it's Aspen's job to keep America safe. Aspen also paints Maxon in a bad light, telling America he knows thing he might not that could hurt people. It's unfair of him to be like that.

Maxon is still pulling for America, but it's hard for them to stay close when Ames keeps pushing him away. I don't blame him from getting closer to girls like Kriss. Kriss is a nice girl, giving Maxon gifts when nobody else has and listening to him when he needs her to. True, Kriss makes Ames feel insecure about Maxon's feelings for America, but that's America's fault. She's the one who blocks Maxon out. If America doesn't win, Kriss would also be good, I think. She's poised and genuinely cares about Maxon. The latter is more than I can say for Celeste.

I liked the introduction of the idea that the royal family isn't perfect. King Clarkson isn't all that great. (No spoilers!) The government makes information difficult to access, so everyday people don't know much about current events or the country's history. America mentions that magazines are for the rich. Books can be banned, and there are no newspapers. The closest thing to current news is the Report, a government show that comes on TV weekly. People aren't given much of a chance to form their own idea, and people who speak out are punished. It's frighting how storng the government's hold on the people is, but it makes for an entertaining and interesting plot line.

I had mixed feelings about The Elite. There wasn't as much romance as the first book, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. The begining had a part (No spoilers!) that shocked me a bit and was very exciting. I never saw it coming, but the rest of the book, until the very end, wasn't very eventful. I also didn't see a ton of positive character development. America wasn't being veryf air with Maxon, which is new, but there wasn't much other than that. America frustrated me because she was so unreasonable, and the unavoidable love triangle drama also helped make America seem more unlikable. My love of the heroine deteriorated somewhat ver the course of the book. I didn't enjoy The Elite nearly as much as I liked The Selection, but I didn;t hate it. Keeping in mind that sequels aren't always quite as good as the first book, I would say that The Elite was a bit more than so-so. Good and bad. 3.8/5 stars.

#injustice #friendship #romance #rebellion #royalty #lovetriangles