The One by Kiera Cass

Picture courtesy of Goodreads

The One

Author: Kiera Cass
Series: The Selection #3
Release Date: May 6, 2014
Pages: 336
Review by: Tessa

America Singer was just a humble Five who was happy to go through life with her instruments for company. But that was before the Selection.

Now, America is one of four girls left in the competition for to marry Prince Maxon, and to win the crown.

While the tensions inside the castle are heating up, the conditions outside are too. Rebels are a constant threat and the revolution cannot be ignored any longer.

America has made her choice, so all she can do is fight for her love.



The One is a captivating finale for a delightfully light-hearted series and is by far my favorite. I felt like The Selection and The Elite were just the rising action to this climatic conclusion. This finale was put on a pedestal since the first book, while everyone wondered if America would get over her stubbornness and marry the prince.

The plot continued to advance and complicate, even though this is the last book. Usually, most conclusions to series are full of fluff, but this was not what happened with The One. There were more surprises than I was anticipating and I was not definitely expecting the end.

The rebel issue was actually confronted and had a satisfying resolution. My worst case scenario was that the rebels would "mysteriously disappear" or something equally as vague and the rest of the book would be spent relating the angst over the competition. This horrible fate was avoided and the rebels' backstory was revealed. I found the revelation surprising thoughtful, especially for a YA book about a bunch of girls fighting over a prince.

Thankfully, the love triangle had a quick and relatively painless death. It always seemed half-hearted to me anyway, so I am glad I did not have to slog through more of America's inner monologue comparing Aspen and Maxon.

Even though I was enchanted by the promise of a royal wedding, Cass did oversimplify some aspects of the story. Quite a few of the events were glossed over. I was left wanting more details for some of the smaller occurrences.

The romance was realistic and heart-warming, if a bit frustrating at times. America's indecision is so extreme that I wonder how she even decides what to wear in the morning (come to think of it, she does not even do that, her maids do!).

On the other hand, Maxon just kept getting better. He is the perfect combination of awkwardness and formality that I just had to love him (He reminds MAX of a version of Prince Kai from Cinder, although she wholeheartedly prefers Kai). He was trying to discover who he is as a ruler while thirty five girls were climbing all over him. I have to respect that.

I will miss visiting the castle with America and I wish I could be in her happily-ever-after.