Tag: YA

Book Review

Published on by Israa Jahan1 Comment

The Selection by Kiera Cass

Publisher:  HarperTeen
Genre: YA Fiction
Pages: 352
Format: Paperback
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My Rating: 3/5 stars

Summary

In a dystopian world, the United States has become a monarchy named Illea where citizens are forced into a One (royalty) through Eight (criminals and outcasts) caste system. The prince of the country is looking for a new wife and will hold a competition with ordinary girls from all different castes and locations around the country to choose his new princess. 

 Kiera Cass’s novel, The Selection, is another classic 2010’s dystopian piece similar to Divergent, Hunger Games, with even a little bit of “The Bachelor” mixed in. The main protagonist in the story is a fiery red-head named America, a Five, who does not want to follow the rules of this repressive government. She is already in love with Aspen, a Seven, but when she is selected to enter into the Selection (basically the Prince’s version of “The Bachelor”), she is forced to leave behind her old life and enter into this cutthroat competition against girls of all different castes and locations for the crown.

Throughout the book, America comes to learn more about herself and what she is capable of and questions the beliefs and prejudices she has held for her whole life.

Thoughts

The Selection in its plot is very ordinary, almost fulfilling that checklist of YA dystopian novels: the love triangle, the feisty main character who has a blatant disregard for the rules, and the clear mistrust between the protagonist and the main leadership character (in this case, America and the King Clarkson). Despite its seemingly “normal-ness,” the book actually always sticks with me. Why? It’s not only because I have a taste for these dystopian YA novels, but because the book used such descriptive language so that I could see each character, emotion, and location clearly in my head. The images and feelings that were described by America and her backstories to help the audience understand the context of the situation are so detailed that I could imagine each of the scenes in my head, play-by-play. I knew exactly how the palace looked, her feelings about the Prince, the Selection, and even the strawberry tart she had before her first official meeting with Prince Maxon. The imagery in the text was strong and will make it memorable in this way for the audience. 

One of the most interesting themes of the story was actually along the lines of judgement and prejudice. Throughout the book, each of the characters has some sort of a judgment about the other characters due to the stereotypes of the castes and royalty that they have learned growing up. This stubborn prejudice clouds America’s judgement and prevents her from seeing the important and caring qualities that Maxon has, and her innate quality to rule. Maxon, on the other hand, also had prejudices about those from lower castes but he was quick to learn from his mistakes, which shows a stark contrast between America and Maxon’s characters and learning curves.

Overall, although the book was a bit predictable and followed the classic YA fiction tropes, I still found that it combined interesting themes and borrowed from pop culture in ways that were new (such as using the concept behind The Bachelor). It was the perfect before-bed read—relaxing, interesting, with the perfect amount of romance mixed in.

Thanks to Israa Jahan for this guest post.

Let it Snow: Book-to-Movie Adaptation

Published on by Roxanne BinghamLeave a comment

I remember falling in love with the novel Let it Snow during the peak of my John Green phase, at least 8 years ago. So, when I heard it was being made into a Netflix Original film, I actually screamed in excitement. I adore Christmas stories, so what could be better than three Christmas stories that are intertwined? Absolutely nothing. As with any book to movie adaptation, I was a bit nervous; however, despite minor differences, the film did not disappoint.

Let it Snow follows three different main stories, each one written by a different author; John Green, Lauren Myracle, and Maureen Johnson. Each story is separate yet still connected at the same time, making it one of my favorite elements of the story.

The basic structure of the story consists of three different Christmas love stories, each at a different stage. One pair has been best friends for years, the other just met on the train, and the last is getting over a breakup. They are all trying to muddle through the world around them the best they can, and even with all the chaos around them, they may just find love.

With any book to movie adaptation, there were some changes implemented. I’m sure we can all agree that, generally speaking, this is our least favorite part about these projects. However, most of these changes were small, and the two major changes made the story even better. What changes? Well, I’m glad you asked.

Change 1: The first of these changes comes from the story of Julie and Stuart, known in the book as Jubilee and Stuart.


In the written version, Jubilee is on the train headed to Florida, but it gets stuck in Gracetown. She meets Stuart on the train and they spend the day together. Most of this stays consistent in the movie, except that Jubilee’s name becomes Julie, she is not headed to Florida, and Stuart is a famous musician.


Personally, I think this change allowed their story to come to life even more. Julie’s family plays a larger role in the movie and her character is more dynamic in some ways, and that makes her story with Stuart even more sweet.
She ends up on the train because she is trying to find a gift for her mother, not because she is being sent to Florida.
This was one of my favorite sub-stories in the novel and the changes they made in the movie made me love it even more.

Change 2: The other major change in the film is more notable and had a much larger impact on the plot. I mentioned that the novel follows three love stories, but the movie decided to add a fourth.

This one follows Addie’s best friend, Dorrie. Addie’s story follows her dealing with the hard part of a relationship—a breakup, or potential breakup in her case. This breakup is paralleled with the novel, but Dorrie’s story is not. She was given her own spotlight, as she struggles trying to figure out if the girl she likes reciprocates her feelings. This is an important adaption for a number of reasons.

The new representation of the LGBTQ+ community gives the film more nuance. Unlike the novel, the film also incorporates an initial stage of relationships that I am sure we are all familiar with: the “do they like me back” battle we have internally. Dorrie’s new storyline was funny, adorable, and wholesome—which is everything I loved about the book to begin with. I am not generally a fan of major changes in book-to-movie adaptations, but this is one I can most definitely get behind.

I can honestly say that I have watched the movie three times since it was released, and plan to keep re-watching.

You can find the movie on Netflix by searching “Let it Snow.” If you are interested in purchasing the book, you can buy it from Changing Hands’ website here. I hope you love them both as much as I do!