Book Review: The Selection Trilogy

I read The Selection trilogy in two days. Yup, I spent the whole Sunday in bed. And I was reading as well on my way to and from the office on a Monday.

So The Selection is a young adult chick lit which is set years into the future. Nope, there's no space galactica thing but it's pretty much the same world we live in now with oppression and a caste system. Who would have thought these people would still have that old system in the future? Hmm.  The story is about a girl named America as she is selected to be one of the thirty five girls the prince gets to choose from to be his wife. (Come on, would you really go and be happy about that? Well, I think that if it did really happen, girls of today would be lining up in masses). Then there's a love triangle involved and lots of rebels.

Unlike similar books like The Hunger Games and Divergent, America Singer, the heroine, is described as beautiful, a fighter and you know, the type of girl who does not want what most girls want. And of course, there's Prince Maxon. Handsome, young, and for me, still needs a lot of growing up to do. But then again, what can we expect? These characters are in their teens.

I loved that the story was captivating and I could not put the book (ebook for this matter) down. I loved that the love triangle and the emotions of the characters got me confused as well (you'll understand if you read the book). And yes, some lines made me kilig and some felt like an axe was thrown on my chest.

I just didn't like the fact that the third book has the title The One. Of course, even if I'm still reading The Selection, I knew that America will end up with Maxon. Of course I wanted America to end up with Maxon (aren't we suckers for fairy tales?) but I feel there could have been a better ending. It just became easy towards the end.

And I don't know why it's the trend but so many books have a plot where there's a governing body and rebels or a certain group will do so much for change to usurp the government or whatever it is. Well, that's true, to instigate change something drastic must happen. But I've been noticing that this has been the theme of Hunger Games and Divergent. And I think The Maze Runner. But yes, people dig those stuff. And I guess that includes me.

If you're the type of person who likes to read chick lit, I suggest you read the book. It's a good weekend read.

The Prince and The Guard are also out so I'll post reviews after reading 'em.

And oh, if you want a copy of the ebook, let me know and I'll send you a copy. *wink*

P.S. So I finished The Prince and The Guard already but I don't feel like having a post dedicated entirely on those two books. So basically, these are the POVs of Maxon and Aspen which are very very short. I got a bit impatient when it came to the parts where the dialog is just the same as in the original trilogy. In my opinion, the trilogy could have survived even without the supplement books.

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My Lola Anecdote #1: Grocery Shopping

I've been having trouble coping up with Lola Tita's passing away. I mean, I think I've been ignoring the fact that she's already gone for more than three months already. I just go about my daily tasks as if she's still in her house watching her nightly telenovelas. And whenever I visit the house, I feel like she's just strolling the halls of Trinoma and SM North. Yup, I'm in deep trouble here.

And since I couldn't write anything at all for the past few months, I figured this might be the one causing my writer's block. I need to face this and start accepting facts.

So a couple of days ago, I went grocery shopping in Landmark Trinoma. Alone. After a very very long time. As soon as I entered the store, I felt a bit nauseous and teary eyed. I missed my lola. A lot. I suddenly remembered all the times I used to shop there.

Once a month or whenever the whim strikes me, I would go grocery shopping after office. I would always call my lola and ask if there's anything she needs. I usually include her chocolate-flavored Ensure in my list so that she does not have to worry about that anymore. I would always buy the biggest can but before doing so, I would do the math as to which size would come out the cheapest. And considering that it's after office, I would buy lots of other snacks (even more if I haven't had dinner yet). And yes, my lola loved those Dole fruits either with gelatin or syrup in tiny little cups. Sometimes she would buy on her own and I would always tell her to stop buying because I wanted to be the one to buy it as it's a bit heavy (it comes in packs of fours).

And when I get home, my lola would always scold me that I bought too much of everything. I bought too much biscuits, too much chips, too much everything. The thing is, I usually buy a lot and then end up forgetting about those snacks so there's a lot of expired food items in the pantry after a couple of months. I know it's wasteful but I always have the intention of eating those snacks whenever I buy them. I just get too busy and tired with work that I usually forget to open the pantry doors to check out what's inside.

And speaking of going home tired after work, my lola always has something hot and delicious waiting for me after a long day. Even if I plan not to eat dinner anymore, just the smell of her cooking would make me bring out the plates and cutlery. And she always always tells me that I'm getting fat. And yet, when there's only a few bites of meat or whatever it is on the table, she insists that I finish it all so we don't have to store it in the ref anymore.

I miss my lola more than anything. I miss her cooking. I miss her sermons and reminders. I miss her OC-ness when it comes to cleanliness. I even miss our arguments. I miss everything about her.

And I hope that by writing about her, I will be healed. And I want to forever remember her and to be able to tell stories about her to my future kids and grandkids.

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Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose.
~From the television show The Wonder Years

“The worst part of holding the memories is not the pain. It's the loneliness of it. Memories need to be shared.” 

~ Lois Lowry, The Giver