The One by Kiera Cass

Narrated by Amy Rubinate

Editor’s Note: This review contains spoilers for the first two books in the Selection trilogy – The Selection and The Elite.

The One is a fitting conclusion to the fantastic Selection series, a dystopian, Young Adult (YA) trilogy, like the Hunger Games and Divergent trilogies, with all of the sinful pleasure of watching a Reality TV Show, similar to The Bachelor! Without disputing the symbolism or value of the Selection series as literature, I will just say that I found it to be an incredibly fun and entertaining listen and couldn’t put my earphones down! Additionally, it is worth noting that this series has gained a large following among YA sub-genre readers/listeners and even some nontraditional YA followers, like me, as can be evidenced by this series’ impressive 300,000+ ratings on Goodreads averaging a 4.09 rating!  Further complementing this engaging and unique story is the talented narration by Amy Rubinate, whose various portrayals help to truly bring to life this large cast of characters.

Set in the future, the Selection trilogy takes place in a fictional time when all people are classified by a rigid number caste system, with one being the highest/best and eight being the lowest. In this world, a person’s caste determines everything from his or her possible occupations to who they can marry. Amidst this backdrop, Prince Maxon comes of age and is ready to marry. To find his bride, thirty-five girls are supposedly randomly selected from the kingdom to compete in the Selection in which he will choose his bride.

While the Selection is potentially a dream come true for any girl, the one girl in the kingdom who does not wish to be chosen is America Singer. When America first arrives at the Palace, she believes she is in love with Aspen. However, as America is a five (artists/musicians of a poor class) and Aspen, a six (an even poorer class; members of which typically work as servants), it is a forbidden love which America and Aspen maintain hidden. Aspen, however, wishing a better life for America, encourages her to enter her name in the lottery for the Selection and America is selected as one of the thirty-five contestants. Prior to leaving for the Selection, Aspen severs all ties with America. Nonetheless, America arrives heartbroken and from the very beginning tells Prince Maxon that she will never love him, but offers him friendship instead. As Prince Maxon’s and America’s friendship builds over the course of the Selection, America learns that irrespective of their intentions, both Prince Maxon and America have developed romantic feelings for each other. Then to America’s surprise Aspen shows up as one of the royal family’s guards (having been drafted into the military which automatically elevates him to a class two caste), thus beginning the love triangle.

At the beginning of The One, there are just four girls left in the Selection. With a more manageable number of girls left, the royal family becomes even more intimately involved with the remaining contestants. As a result, we get a better view into who the royal family really is and what they stand for. The more serious tone that began to develop in The Elite, as America begins to learn what it means to be a princess and the good and the bad of having such a position of influence, continues to further evolve in The One.  America starts to really appreciate the power of her position on public policy and opinion, much to the King’s dismay, as the King views her as an uncontrollable wild card and constantly tries to eliminate America from the Selection.

Amidst this experience, America’s and Prince Maxon’s love connection continues to strengthen, even as Prince Maxon seemingly becomes more involved with the other remaining contestants, a task which he only initially took on at America’s insistence. Even though Prince Maxon continues to say encouraging remarks to America, America starts to struggle with the feelings Prince Maxon incites with his actions towards the other candidates and what her responses mean about her true feelings towards Prince Maxon.  Additionally, of course, there are continued interactions between America and Aspen, a relationship which America continues to refuse to disclose to Prince Maxon, leaving you questioning who America will ultimately find her HEA with.

All in all, The One has some great romantic tension and the suspense surrounding the threatened revolution is nicely layered into the story to keep the listener interested in finding out who Prince Maxon and America will ultimately choose for their future and the future direction of the country.

Further adding dimension to this already multipronged story, is a strengthening bond and friendship among America and the three remaining contestants. Ms. Cass weaves together an interesting plot as jealousy and friendly loyalty begin to mix together but, of course, leaves you guessing as to whether any of the remaining contestants have any ulterior motives, particularly as it relates to the mounting threat of rebellion being led by various groups with disparate ulterior motives.

Amy Rubinate, the narrator of The Selection and The Elite, returns to narrate The One, and does another fantastic job with the narration. She brings the characters to life by providing equally good, age appropriate voices for both the female and male characters, and even manages to create slightly nuanced, personality specific ones for characters of the same gender. Additionally, Ms. Rubinate does a talented job of keeping a subject appropriate pace to the narration, which really adds to the drama and suspense, as well as, romantic tension of The One.

My two favorite aspects of Ms. Rubinate’s performance were her depiction of America and Prince Maxon. In her interpretation of America, Ms. Rubinate brings out America’s strengths highlighting her willingness to challenge the status quo and authority with a self-assured tone, even as America questions how best to react to the various tests she is subjected to as a candidate in the Selection. Most impressively, America’s voice is clearly distinguishable from Celeste’s, the runway model and member of the second caste, who clearly has a more arrogant sound (and whose role led to some rather comical scenes). Chris and Alise are also well differentiated, sounding more subservient and duty bound, consistent with Ms. Cass’ characterization of their personalities.

Ms. Rubinate, in turn, imbues Prince Maxon’s words with his regal upbringing, while at the same time imparting his uncharacteristic willingness to listen to others’ points of views. I enjoyed that you could really hear his tenderness and deep seated angst at America’s seeming unwillingness to make a final conclusion as to her feelings for him, expertly reproducing his vulnerability when it came to matters involving America.

All in all, I really loved this series! From the story to the narration, I just loved sitting back and being entertained by the total package which was such a fresh perspective and highly different from my typical romance listens.

BJ

Narration:  B+

Book Content:  A-

Steam Factor:  You can play it out loud

Violence:  Fighting

Genre:  Young Adult Dystopian Romance

Publisher:  Harper Audio

The One was provided to AudioGals for review by Harper Audio.