Crazy for Young Adult Books discussion

Alberto and I will be reading Happily Ever After, the novellas for The Selection series.

Wow, Jess! You are on fire! I'll try to finish this tonight.

Alberto wrote: "Wow, Jess! You are on fire! I'll try to finish this tonight."

That's why I love readathons, they always motivate me to read a ton! :)

Just finished reading The Queen
(view spoiler)[ I really, really enjoyed this novella. I read the original trilogy a couple of years ago but I remember loving Amberly's character, and this just reminded me so much of why. It totally makes sense to me now why she and her husband acted the way they did toward Mason and America, and the rest of the girls in the Selection. It was surprisingly easy for me to jump back into this world. (hide spoiler)]

Just finished reading The Queen.

Giving it 4 stars.

(view spoiler)[ It was really interesting getting back into this world. As you, I read this trilogy a while ago, and it was cool getting back into it. Amberly's character was good, and it was good finally seeing a Selection without the whole twisted love triangle. (hide spoiler)]

Finished The Prince

(view spoiler)[ I absolutely loved this story! I don't always like reading the same events from a different point of view, but this was really interesting. I always loved Maxon's character so getting inside of his head and seeing his thoughts firsthand about his first meeting with America was so much fun. I would honestly love to read the entire Selection trilogy from his point of view. (hide spoiler)]

Done with The Prince,

3.5 stars

(view spoiler)[ I agree with you. I liked Maxon, yet reading the same scenes gave me a sort of weird feeling. It was interesting reading his feelings, and according to the description, the last two chapters were added for the book collection. I feel like Cass wrote it before finishing The Selection, though. (hide spoiler)]

Let's see how l fare with "The Guard," since I've never been a fan of Aspen's.

The Prince
(view spoiler)[ I think you're right, about her writing it before finishing the Selection. It definitely feels like his thoughts during the first couple of days of meeting the girls sort of shaped his actions for the rest of the books. (hide spoiler)]

The Guard
(view spoiler)[ Like you, I was never a fan of Aspen's, so I really didn't enjoy his story at all. I found it much too long and repetitive, and just boring. He's way too obsessed with America, even though he loves her, it's annoying how much he thinks about her. It seems pretty unhealthy to want to do EVERYTHING just because of the person you love. I could have done without this novella; I'd probably give it about 2 stars. (hide spoiler)]

I forgot to say this before, but I would give The Queen and The Prince both 5 stars.

The Favorite

(view spoiler)[ This was so adorable. I forgot how much I loved Marlee, and her story just took that to a whole extra level. I thought her optimism, despite all she was going through, was inspiring and just an amazing trait to have. I also fell in love with her relationship with Carter, and the way they were just so happy to be together. 5 stars. (hide spoiler)]

Celeste

(view spoiler)[ I think the three separate stories represented Celeste's development well throughout the Selection process. At first. she just seems like a stuck-up, judgmental brat who just wants the status and perks that come with being a part of the royal family, and how she will do literally anything to achieve that. However, it is clear in The Departure, that her character is much deeper than that and she is quite self-aware and understands that the fame and status aren't what makes people happiest, so it was really interesting to see this development from her POV. 5 stars. (hide spoiler)]

The Maid

(view spoiler)[Short and sweet. I don't remember Lucy being a favorite character of mine, but she was still a character I enjoyed reading about. Ultimately, I don't think this novella added much to the story for me, but it was nice to get some sort of closure on her relationship with Aspen. 3 stars. (hide spoiler)]

After The One

(view spoiler)[ I'm pretty sure this novella was included in the boxset I have, since it all sounded really familiar. Anyways, I really enjoyed the quick mention of many of the characters and how they were doing a couple of years following The One, but I wish it was a little longer and could've given us a little more of a story. 4 stars. (hide spoiler)]

Where Are They Now?

(view spoiler)[I don't remember Natalie's character, but I was glad to see Elise and Kriss' stories rapped up nicely. 3 stars. (hide spoiler)]

Just finished The Guard.

I fell asleep last night, so I couldn't finish Happily Ever After. I'll try to finish that and The Heir today!

I'd give it 2 stars, too.

(view spoiler)[ Sigh, Aspen is REALLY obsessed with America. I wonder how his role will play out in The Heir, though. (hide spoiler)]

Alberto wrote: "Just finished The Guard.

I fell asleep last night, so I couldn't finish Happily Ever After. I'll try to finish that and The Heir today!

I'd give it 2 stars, too.

[spoilers removed]"

No worries, don't push yourself too hard! I'll discuss these with you whenever you have time to read them. Sorry I'm pushing through them so quickly!