America entered The Selection because her mother wanted her to. From her first night until the end it was a whirlwind affair as America fell in love with Prince Maxon. The whole town cheered with joy as a lonely Five married a One, in the wedding of the century. Yet not without a cost. After the rebels stormed the castle, killing the King and Queen, some of the remaining members of the Selection killed, and Maxon almost ending up with the wrong girl. Yes, where America and Maxon story was one for the story books, but what happens when those stories end? Taking place twenty years in the future, Maxon and America love is still strong, but expanded, and they threw off the caste and had multiple children instead of the traditional one. This story is not about them though, but their daughter, Eadlyn, who was preparing to take the throne from her father, and ready to run the kingdom, one high heel at a time.

Eadlyn Schreave, was the girl in power. Where the throne should have been giving to her twin brother Ahren, it was Eadlyn born seven minutes ahead of time the sealed her the crown. If it was years ago, that would not have mattered, but after her parents' (America and Maxon) became King and Queen, they see women as equals to male, thus giving their daughter the throne as she is their first child. After Eadlyn and Ahren, came the other two brothers, fourteen-year-old Kaden and ten-year-old Osten. Eadlyn had a good childhood, her parents giving her everything that she could have possibly wanted, but with the weight of the kingdom slowly growing on her as she age. Her brothers’ were spare the responsibility of the kingdom, as Osten and Kaden were still too young, and Ahren was so fully in love with Princess Camille of France, he was prepared to stay with her forever. With the caste system eliminated the people rejoice, so excited not to be defined by labels.  Yet people still referred to them, still deny others of what they were in a past system. The weight of this unrest lies with Maxon, as current king, it is up to him to settle this unrest. Looking back people celebrated America’s and his wedding, then the birth of their children, with no agreement settle for his son and Camille yet, Maxon come up with the plan he never thought he had to do: A Selection. With the position of Queen already filled, the kingdom is looking for thirty-five suitors to woo the princess into marriage. Eadlyn was furious. Swore not to find love she makes a deal with her father saying the contest will only last three months, and may not end with a wedding, but will put on a good show until they, together, could figure out how to settle the kingdom. With the game in motion, Eadlyn has to come off flirty and excited, but not dimwitted, or too strong to make the people hate her even more. With only one shot at love, Eadlyn swears not to waste it, as she put these boys to the test, with witty lines like “This isn’t a game, gentlemen. This is my life”. She is hoping to find a husband within them after all.

Kiera Cass dazzled us with the love story of Maxon and America. Now fast forward, twenty years and watch their ungrateful daughter ascend the throne she has been promised.  Cass led us, through three books from the point of view of America, this witty, sometime cold girl who in the end gave us the heartfelt wedding we were dreaming of. Now her daughter is the same, sort of witty and funny, but cold to the bone. But with what reason? America did not want to be at the castle, Maxon (to her) was not being honest, and his father totally hated her. Any of these could make a person grow cold, but what reason did Eadlyn have? Her rejection against the selection was called for: she was told that she was never going to go through that process, but was now going to be forced at age eighteen to find a husband out of a total of thirty-five men. The most irritating part was that Eadlyn did not know her parents story. Sure she knew they were in love, after all she caught her mother looking at Maxon in this passage: “She looked at him with absolute adoration as he stepped away with his camera” is that not true love or what? Still the gritty details of the actual selection were left uncovered by both America and Maxon’s side with their children. For Cass to write about this bratty child, who does not know everything we know about her parents, was a real big letdown in this story, and made you bang your head in frustration as if Eadlyn would just have known about certain events she would be less difficult in the current situation. With a shocker of an ending, Cass prepares us for the final instalment of The Selection, as after finishing the love story of America and Maxon, we will soon wrap up the love story of Eadlyn and… Who knows!