The Elite by Kiera Cass

The Elite by Kiera Cass

Series: The Selection Book 2

Genre: YA Dystopian Romance

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This book was exhausting. The story that I enjoyed in the first book was continued in this one and I thought it was carried out well, for the most part. What bothered me were the flaws in all the characters. They were so unnatural, and the conversations had no flow or natural feeling. One minute America would be strong and independent, the next she’d be a jealous friend, then she’d run off throwing a temper tantrum, then she’d be extremely stubborn, and then she’d be a damsel in distress. America was not the strong woman that was shown in the first book. She was weak and always crying and making bad choices.

Maxon and Aspen weren’t any better. Maxon would be kind and considerate one minute, then he’d be cold and hard, but then all of a sudden they’d show a soft side and instead of America eating that up she’d think he was simply acting. And Aspen would seem so perfect one minute, but America would change her mind again and paint him as a cruel human being.

Also, issues would just pop up out of the blue and go away the next chapter. The story would be focused on America sobbing because of a gossip column in a magazine, then the rebels would attack, but Cass doesn’t dive into that or connect that to a plot. It seemed like the major conflict in the society is included more to fill in blank pages between the next spat between America and Maxon or Aspen.

Cass could have expanded much more on the plot, the conflict, and even the characters. It was still enjoyable and an easy read, but it was written quite poorly in my opinion. I’m hopeful that the next book in this series will be an improvement on the first two books.

Two stars.