I’ve really enjoyed rereading and featuring one of my favorite books the last Friday of each month this year. You can find the full list of my favorites here. September’s Favorite Book Feature is one of my absolute favorites by one of my absolute favorite authors—The Selection by Kiera Cass.

My blog’s very first post was about the amazing Selection Series and how getting to speak to Cass was what gave me the kick I needed to write my debut novel, Somewhere Only We Know. I had so much fun rereading The Selection this month and am excited to tell you why it’s one of my favorite books.

America Singer does not want to join the Selection. She doesn’t want to leave home and her secret love, Aspen, even though he is caste below her in their dystopian society and it would be difficult for them to be together. But she is chosen to participate in the competition to win the prince’s hand in marriage and must leave everything she knows behind. Then, when she arrives at the palace along with the 34 other girls in the competition and meets Prince Maxon, America realizes that the life she had always imagined for herself may not compare to the new possible future available to her.

The Selection is the first book in the original trilogy of the Selection series. The series follows America’s journey as she leaves her home province behind, moves to the capital of Angeles, and enters a competition to become the future princess. These books are filled with sparkling gowns, decadent food, mysterious rebels, and plenty of swoon. When I first picked up the book I heard it described as The Hunger Games meets The Bachelor, and that is so true.

Reading The Selection is like getting a hug from your best friend. America is one of the most endearing narrators I’ve ever read, and her story captivates me from the very first page. This is my fifth time returning to this book, and I love it more every time. If the combination of a dystopian society with all of the glamour of princes and princesses weren’t enough, the book’s main theme makes this story truly shine.

America had always believed that she would marry Aspen. She dreamed of being his wife even if it meant enduring life in a lower caste and giving up her beloved music. It was all going to be worth it for him. But then when the circumstances change and she finds herself in the palace, she realizes Prince Maxon isn’t who she thought he was. They even become good friends, and eventually America sees another possibility for her life—one in which she could be the princess.

I love this idea of possibilities. I love watching America discover that the world is open to her and that maybe what she thought were the right choices weren’t right at all. The Selection is an amazing book about this discovery.

I’m about to go read the rest of the series again. And you should read them too. You won’t be disappointed.