The One by Kiera Cass

Title: The One

Author: Kiera Cass
ISBN: 9780062059994
Publisher: Harper Teen
Released: May 06, 2014
Series: The Selection #3
Page #: 323
Source: Checked out from my public library

Summary:
"The time has come for one winner to be crowned.
When she was chosen to compete in the Selection, America never dreamed she would find herself anywhere close to the crown - or Prince Maxon's heart. But as the end of the competition approaches, and the threats outside the palace walls grow more vicious, America realizes just how much she stands to lose - and how hard she'll have to fight for the future she wants."
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First Lines:

"This time we were in the Great Room enduring another etiquette lesson when bricks came flying through the window. Elise immediately hit the ground and started crawling for the side door, whimpering as she went."
Page 1
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Review:

**This review is going to have spoilers from books 1&2... it's pretty much unavoidable. So go read those first! And really, what are you reading this review for if you haven't yet?!?**

This final book in the series absolutely lives up to the excellence I have grown to expect from Kiera Cass. So many twists and turns that it basically gave me whiplash. But in the best possible way.

So, America has made it to the final four girls in the Selection competition. It's amazing, but it seems like she might actually have a shot at winning this thing. The girls have finally become closer, but the king isn't overly happy with how they are behaving. And the uprising from the rebel groups has everyone on edge and worried about their safety. Not to mention the emotional roller coaster that is America's life. It's an epic conclusion to a wonderful series!

I wish there was a good way to describe this series to people who haven't read it yet. I often say it's like the Bachelor but set in the future when there are castes and royal families. It just doesn't do the story justice - and probably puts off people who aren't fans of the Bachelor (like myself). So we need to work on that, world. I think more people need to get as entranced as I am with it - I may have already converted a few people :).

One of the main themes of this last book is the rebels and the crazy things happening with the citizens of Illea. America starts to realize that she's making connections with important people and how she can help change the entire society. It's really uplifting and you can tell she's gaining confidence in herself and her relationship with Maxon. I love how she emerges as a strong woman through all of her insecurities.

In previous books, I feel like many of the relationships that are formed are tenuous and calculated. It's nice to see actual friendships develop that aren't quite so surface-focused. Those friendships are what really give this book a sweet, loving feeling. The competition is drawing to a close. The girls are getting close and understanding each other. America has become even more close with the people who serve her. There's just an overall feeling of calm and sweetness that hasn't been there in the last books.

Now, I say there was calm... I'm going to tell you that Kiera Cass tries to give you a heart attack in the last 30 pages. Like, dead. It almost worked. There is a ton of action and things start spiraling ... it's so intense! I know I can't say much more than that. But I did have at least six separate "OH NO!!!!" moments. So take that for what it's worth.

Seriously, if you haven't been reading The Selection series, I highly recommend you do so. The series is done now and there is an amazing conclusion. I'm definitely excited to see what this author has in store next.
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Other Blog Reviews:

The YA Bookworm Blogger
The Indigo Quill
The Cozy Reader
A Sunny Spot
Writer of Wrongs
Beauty and the Books
Seeing Double in Neverland
The Readiacs
Queen Ella Bee Reads
My Crazy Bookish World

Out This Week (May 11-17)

This is just a selection of the amazing YA books coming out this week. Looks like a lot of girly awesomeness. :)

5.13.15 The Sound by Sarah Alderson

5.13.14 Bloodwitch by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes

 5.13.14 Of Neptune (Syrena Legacy #3) by Anna Banks

5.13.14 Searching for Sky by Jillian Cantor

5.13.14 Broken Hearts, Fences, and Other Things to Mend by Katie Finn

5.13.14 Life by Committee by Corey Ann Haydu

3.15.14 Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour

5.13.14 We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

  5.13.14 The Secrets of Tree Taylor by Dandi Daley Mackall

5.13.14 Free to Fall by Lauren Miller

5.13.14 Second Star by Alyssa B. Sheinmel

5.13.14 Signed, Skye Harper by Carol Lynch Williams

NIL by Lynne Matson

Title: NIL

Author: Lynne Matson
ISBN: 9780805097719
Publisher: Henry Holt and Company
Released: March 4, 2014
Page #: 374
Source: ARC from publisher

Summary:
"On the mysterious island of Nil, the rules are set. You have one year. Exactly 365 days - to escape - or you die.

Seventeen-year-old Charley doesn't know the rules. She doesn't even know where she is. The last thing she remembers is blacking out. When she wakes up she's lying naked in an empty rock field.

Lost and alone, Charley can find no sign of other people until she meets Thad, the gorgeous leader of a clan of teenage refugees. Soon Charley learns that leaving the island is harder than she thought... and so is falling in love. With Thad's time running out, Charley realizes that to save their future, Charley must first save him. And on an island rife with hidden dangers, their greatest threat is time."
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First Lines: (Quoted from galley, see final version for edits)

"Heat.
Inexplicable, consuming heat - choking like smoke, burning like fire.
That was my last memory before the invisible flames spiked into icy nothingness, along with the crazy thought that if I survived this bewildering bonfire, my dad would freak when I was late returning his new car."
Page 1
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Review:

Yep, pretty sure this is my favorite book of 2014. So this is me attempting to review this title without gushing too much.

NIL might be an alternate universe. It might be a random island that is unexplored. It might be a nightmare. No matter what, the people who are sent there only have one year until they either catch a gate back to the real world... or they die. Gates aren't easy to catch and they're certainly sporatic... sometimes the search for them drives people nuts. This is the world the Charley gets pulled into, whether she wants to or not. Luckily, there are people who have been there longer and help her figure out what's going on. In particular, Thad... the insanely attractive leader who takes her under his wing.

I really sort of hate it when books are compared to others, but I'm gonna do it here anyway. It's just so obvious! This book is a cross between The Maze Runner and Lord of the Flies. I was thinking about listing the ways they're similar, but that would take the entire review. I think at the core, NIL has that feeling of desperation you get in some of the best books... people in dire situations trying to figure out how to escape. It pulls you into that feeling seamlessly and doesn't let go until literally the last page.

Oh Charley... I wish we were best friends. She seems like the coolest person in the world. I had a little bit of a hard time buying the whole "I don't know I'm beautiful" thing she did with Thad, but otherwise I really loved her. She's inquisitive and accepting of the things that happen to her. That makes her a really strong contender in the world of NIL. And she's just straight up a survivor. I have a teeny obsession with maps, so her whole map-making focus made me happy.

This was one of the first times when I truly thought the story benefitted from the dual perspectives. There's a lot you learn about NIL through Thad's chapters. Things that you wouldn't understand without them. He knows about the land, he understands the cruelty that is NIL, and his relationships with previous inhabitants brings a whole different light to the things that happen.

Obviously I'm not going to tell you how this book ends... but I really want to! Because it's insane!! I've got a list of people in my head that I'm going to make read this book... just so I can discuss the ending with them. Hopefully they will all get the same feels I did. And there were a BUNCH! Now... it seems like this is a stand-alone book. I'm kind of hoping that it is. We need more amazing single volume stories like this! We'll see if there's more to come (you know I'd read it no matter what).

This is the book I walked around with in case I might find a second to read. This is the book I read while I paced around the room yelling "oh my god!!!". This is the book that basically made me stop breathing while I waited for the end. Are you getting that I think everyone should read it? That's what I was going for.
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Other Blog Reviews:

Xpresso Reads
The Book Addict's Guide
Jenna Does Books
Books As You Know It
Wastepaper Prose
Teen Librarian's Toolbox
My Friends are Fiction
Two Chicks on Books
Conversations of a Reading Addict
The Best Books Ever

Out This Week (May 4-10)

This looks like a good week for realistic fiction. There are definitely some that I need to check out. Have a look... 

 5.6.14 Blonde Ops by Charlotte Bennado and Natalie Zaman

5.6.14 Torn Away by Jennifer Brown

5.6.14 The One (Selection #3) by Kiera Cass

5.6.14 Pulled Under (Sixteenth Summer) by Michelle Dalton

5.6.14 Deep Blue (Waterfire Saga #1) by Jennifer Donnelly

5.6.14 Buzz Kill by Beth Fantaskey

5.6.14 Killer Instinct by S.E. Green

5.6.14 Will the Real Abi Saunders Please Stand Up? by Sara Hantz

 5.6.14 Monument 14: Savage Drift by Emmy Laybourne

5.6.14 Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson

 5.6.14 After the End by Amy Plum

5.6.14 Royally Lost by Angie Stanton

Exile by Kevin Emerson

Title: Exile

Author: Kevin Emerson
ISBN: 9780062133953
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Released: April 29, 2014
Page #: 320
Source: ARC from the publisher

Blurb:
"Summer Carlson knows how to manage bands like a professional - minus the whole 'falling for the lead singer of the latest band' part. But Caleb Daniels isn't an ordinary band boy - he's a hot, dreamy, sweet-singing, exiled-from-his-old-band, possibly-with-a-deep-dark-side band boy. She also finds herself at the center of a mystery she never saw coming. When Calbe reveals a secret about his long-lost father, one band's past becomes another's present, and Summer finds it harder and harder to be both band manager and girlfriend. Maybe it's time to accept who she really is, even if it means becoming an exile herself..."
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First Lines: (Quotation from the galley, check final book for edits.)

"Just after dinner on the night before the start of senior year, Dad polishes off his guacamole garden burger, looks at me seriously, and asks, 'So, now what, then?'"
Page 1
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Review:

Summer has managed a band before - and she lost them to a big label. Now she has to start fresh and scope out new talent at her performing arts school. It's pretty easy to find someone new, but she has to contend with a lot of baggage. More baggage than she realized. But that also sets the new band up for future successes and a pretty epic treasure hunt. And quite a few shady characters mill around making things all mysterious.

I'm not a band girl. Well, not a rock band girl. I was the other kind of band girl...
Anyway, there's is a whole mindset of this book that is a little above my head. I mean, I get the basic concept. I understand the draw of the band. And I even can imagine the insane personalities that you encounter. But all of the rock references... yep, didn't get those. Something about Zepplin? Erm. A Beatles record? Okay. So I feel like there was something I missed out on a little bit, but it didn't keep me from enjoying the book.

I wasn't expecting the epic mystery element of this story. I think my expectation was just a cute story about musicians and touring and all that. Instead, this is a story about family and learning about what's important in life. I was a little impressed at how much deeper things went. Of course, you have to have the love triangle (which gets blown up) and the dramatics between the band members. And that there are several people who aren't who they say/think they are?! Gotta love that piece of intrigue!

There were a few times that I really wanted to strangle Summer. I get that she feels like she can't be herself around her parents. My parents were very understanding about things, so I have a hard time believing that her parents wouldn't understand her wanting to be a band manager. But that's just because of my own life experiences. I know a lot of families are more like hers, but it was hard to watch. I just wanted her to be truthful and loving. Instead she snuck around and lied to her parents. Oh god... does me noticing this make me old? Probably. But she's also constantly worrying about things and talking about how bad of an idea it is to date a band boy. And she does it anyway.

One very cool thing about this book - there is music that comes with it. Check it out: http://www.kevinemerson.net/2014/04/the-exile-soundtrack-is-here-three.html
I'm all about an interactive reading experience. No, the music isn't my taste (I'm an EDM fan), but it's still really cool. I know that sometimes authors put out soundtrack lists... but I haven't seen it done like this. I imagine that a lot of readers will really go for this.

All in all, this was a fun, entertaining story that I think people will really enjoy. I'm sure some of you will want to shake Summer as hard as I do, but the overall story is redeeming. This may be perfect for your beach reading this summer. (get it? summer? yolo.)
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Other Blog Reviews:

Nerdy Book Club
Candace's Book Blog
Snuggly Oranges
Books YA Love
The Book Hookup
The White Unicorn
The Storybook Kingdom
Reviews from a Bookworm
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Sarah Elizabeth's Bookshelf