History Literature / TheSelection

* HeroesWantRedheads: Maxon takes a liking to America, the only redhead in The Selection. [[spoiler:He eventually chooses her as his bride.]]

* ThreeAmigos: Anne, Mary, and Lucy.

* IllGirl: Queen Amberly, who [[spoiler:is discovered to have unknowingly ingested so many toxins while growing up in her home province that she has been rendered almost sterile and left with debilitating headaches and other physical ailments that she suffers from for the rest of her life.]]

* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: The Selection alone has 35 contestants in it.

* InformedPoverty: The Singer's financial situation comes off as this. Despite America explaining that they're in the tough period of the year, they're well off enough to afford chicken and tea. Well enough for America and May to develop a SweetTooth. Well of enough to have a house that can fit five kids and a treehouse in the backyard. And well enough to afford a TV. But they apparently don't have enough for seconds. A little later Magda bribes America with half the money she makes for the family for each job they do, but there's no talk about how this will affect the family beyond Magda looking hesitant. And once she has this money, she splurges on sweets and extra food instead of putting it aside to marry Aspen. So it ends up coming across as...not ''great'' just a tad difficult.

** The rebels get into the palace an astounding number of times after the guards supposedly amped security for the Selection. It doesn't help that Aspen explicitly says in ''The Guard'' novella that so long as you act like you know what you're doing the other’s will follow, indicating the guards have little in the means of order and discipline.

* ProtagonistCenteredMorality: When Maxon starts seeing Kris, America gets catty and then throws a temper tantrum when he tries to blow off steam with Celeste. But America convenitly forgets that she's been guiltlessly seeing Aspen behind his back whenever there's a hiccup in her relationship with Maxon.

* RealityEnsues:
** During the climax of the One America is locked in a safe room with only a pistol should the worse happen. She tries to shoot the door open and… it doesn’t work.
** Abolishing the caste system is not going to make everything okay overnight. During Eadlyn's Selection, there have been people who still throw around their old numbers.
** Being cold and aloof is not going to make you popular. The people hate Eadlyn for this very reason.
** When Marlee is caned, it's made clear that she may never use her hands, and that Carter may never walk again.

* HeirClubForMen: Illea's princesses marry forign royals for alliances, though it's never mentioned if the prince becomes HeirInLaw. And if individuals of different Castes marry, the woman apparently marries into her husbands Caste. The idea of Aspen marrying into America's family never came up.

** The rebels get into the palace an astounding number of times after the guards supposedly amped security for the Selection. It doesn't help that Aspen explicitly says in The Guard novella that so long as you act like you know what you're doing the other’s will follow, indicating the guards have little in the means of discipline.

* RichSuitorPoorSuitor: Maxon and Aspen.

* WhatTheHellHero: America revealing the existence of the diaries. It doesn't matter whether she did or didn't know that King Clarkson was abusive; Maxon specifically told her to keep it a secret. Didn't she think there was a reason?

* ADayInTheLimelight: Maxon, Amberly, Aspen and Marlee are all given their own novellas from their perspective.
* AFatherToHisMen: Inverted. Amberly often acts like a surrogate mother figure towards the Elite.

%% * StarvingArtist: The Singers. [[ShowDontTell Apparently.]]
%% * TallDarkAndHandsome: Aspen.
%% * TheAlcoholic: Adele.
%% * TheWisePrince: Maxon.
%% * TokenMinority: Elise has little personality beyond "I'm Asian."

* DeusExMachina/DiabolusExMachina: Just as it seems there's no way out for America, who has to either leave the competition or abandon her principles to spread King Clarkson's propaganda, [[spoiler: a terrorist shooting breaks out and the king is assassinated]].

* DefrostingIceQueen: Eadlyn starts becoming more compassionate and amiable throughout her Selection.

* ProtagonistCenteredMorality: When Maxon starts seeing Kris, America gets catty and then throws a temper tantrum when he tries to blow off steam with Celeste. But America convenitly forgets that she's been guitlessly seeing Aspen behind his back whenever there's a hiccup in her relationship with Maxon.

The Selection is a YoungAdult [[{{Dystopia}} dystopian]] romance trilogy by Kiera Cass, consisting of ''The Selection'', ''The Elite'', and ''The One''. There are also four companion novellas, ''The Prince'' (told from Prince Maxon's point of view), ''The Guard'' (told from Aspen Leger's point of view), ''The Queen'' (told from Queen Amberly's point of view) and ''The Favourite'' (told from Marlee's point of view).

In August 2014, Kiera Cass [[http://www.kieracass.com/home/2014/8/14/huge-news.html announced]] she would be writing two more full length books in the series, with the first focusing on [[spoiler:Maxon and America's daughter Eadlyn and her Selection]].

* {{Adorkable}}: May and Gerard. She gets so excited about Maxon kissing her hand, she whispers loudly about how cute he is to her sister to the point that even Maxon can hear.

* EverythingIsBetterWithPrincesses: Dystopia - with princesses! Also, when America is thinking of marrying Maxon, she always refers to herself as "becoming a princess" rather than a queen.
** In-universe the Selection is regarded this way.
** In-universe, Princess Camille is so beloved by her people that once there was a spontaneous party in her honor that lasted for three days. It's notably averted by Eadlyn, who is not very popular with the people.
** Josie ''very'' much believes this.

* PrinceCharming: Maxon is a more realistic version of this. While he is charming and beloved, he struggles with pleasing his father, often never feeling good enough and feels like everyone is trying to control his life.

* ShelteredAristocrat: Maxon, initially. He gets better, mainly thanks to America.

** [[spoiler: Eadlyn in the sequels. She too gets better.]]

* SpoiledSweet: Maxon. He's grown up in a luxurious palace with servants everywhere, yet he's kind to America even though she yells and insults him, and is genuinely shocked that the lower castes go hungry very often.
* StarvingArtist: The Singers. [[ShowDontTell Apparently.]]
* TallDarkAndHandsome: Aspen.
* TheAlcoholic: Adele.
* TheWisePrince: Maxon.
* TokenMinority: Elise has little personality beyond "I'm Asian."

* WillTheyOrWontThey: Maxon and America. [[spoiler:They do.]]

* AmbiguouslyJewish: America's father and grandfather were named Shalom and the Singer family used to be the Cohen family. WordOfGod confirms that the Singers are of Jewish decent.

* InformedPoverty: The Singer’s financial situation comes off as this. The most we’re treated to in the present is that they don’t have enough for seconds, but other than that they’re shown to be well off enough to afford chicken and tea, even popcorn. They’re ''supposed'' to be struggling artist, but the only time the reader sees this is [[ShowDontTell in second-hand stories told by America.]] ''After'' she's been selected and her family gets compensation.

In the country of Illea (formerly America) your caste determines everything from your job to your quality of life, and there's little chance for moving upward. Except for The Selection: when the crown prince comes of age, thirty-five girls are picked in a random draw to compete for the chance at winning his heart becoming Illea's future queen.

** During the climax of the One America is locked in a saferoom with only a pistol should the worse happen. She tries to shoot the door open and… it doesn’t work.
** Abolishing the caste system is not going to make everything okay overnight. During Eadlyn’s Selection there have been people who still throw around their old numbers.

* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: Aspen was told to send out letters to families saying they were knocked down a caste for not reporting suspicious behavior, however he goes against this and burns them.

** We're constantly told how Eadlyn is stressed over doing her work as the successor to the throne, yet we're never shown her actually doing it, just complaining about it.

* ObliviousToBeauty: America thinks she's plain and mousy, yet her mother tells her about how boys keep trying to ask her out, and Maxon seems to be awestruck by her the first time he sees her.

** The only real reason why [[spoiler:Ahren elopes with Princess Camille]] is because Eadlyn wouldn't have let him. There is nothing to suggest a marriage between the two wouldn't have been accepted by everyone ''but'' Eadlyn. Yet, Eadlyn spends most of the book moaning about how ''her'' autonomy.

* {{Hypocrite}}: America gets upset when Maxon sees Kriss or Celeste, but she’s been seeing Aspen behind his back whenever things get too difficult for her.

** In-universe, Princess Camille is so beloved by her people that once there was spontaneous party in her honor that lasted for three days. It's notably averted by Eadlyn, who is not very popular with the people.

** Three - Unknown, presumably intellectuals and the educated, such as teachers, professors and doctors.

** Five - artists, craftsmen and musicians.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: [[spoiler: Marlee's secret love affair with Carter. We're treated to moments such as her standing in the burning sun, unknown to the reader that it's because Carter is near]].

* ItsAllMyFault: How America feels towards Marlee's situation. She felt that she wasn't there for her friend, and that if she were, perhaps Marlee would've been spared from her terrible fate.

* KilledOffScreen: America's older sister Kenna dies from cardiac problems between series.