BOOK 1: THE SELECTION
Warning: There are a lot of allusions to wanting to take things “beyond kissing”, and Aspen even once mentions how he and America wouldn’t have a means to “regulate pregnancy” if they get married (since they barely even have enough money for food).
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World War III occurred when China invaded the USA (due to the USA’s large unpaid debt). China won, then Russia tried to invade, and somewhere along the way a new country gained its independence, running on a caste system with a royal family at the top.
1= The royal family
2 = Supermodels, professional athletes, other celebrities, and soldiers
3 = Teachers, etc.
4 = Shop workers, etc.
5 = Artists and non-famous musicians
6 = Maids
7 = Lower-class servants
8 = The bottom of the totem pole
There are two ways that you can change your social class:
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You can buy a new title if you hand over enough money.
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You can marry someone of a different social class. Girls take the class of the man, so it’s common for girls to try to marry up. If a girl wants to marry a man of a lower class, there’s a long legal process (supposedly to give the girl time to change her mind).
America Singer is a talented singer and violinist. She is the middle child in a family of 5 (who are all born as a natural “Five”):
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Her oldest sister (Kenna) married a 4 to marry up.
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Her older brother (Kota) bought the title of a higher social class when he became a famous sculptor (thanks to one of his metal masterpieces receiving a lot of attention).
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Her younger sister (May) is sweet, innocent, and boy-crazy.
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Her younger brother (Gerard) is trying to figure out how he’s supposed to make a living as an artist when he doesn’t have any artistic talents. All he really likes to do is play ball and capture insects.
“‘America Singer. That’s an interesting name you have there. Is there a story behind it?’ …// ‘Yes, actually. While my mom was pregnant with me, I kicked a lot. She said she had a fighter on her hands, so she named me after the country that fought so hard to keep this land together. It’s odd, but to her credit, she was right -- we’ve been fighting ever since” (245).
America is secretly in love with Aspen (who’s a Six), but she doesn’t tell anyone since they would just look down on the relationship since he’s of a lower class than her. So for two years, she regularly sneaks into her treehouse at night just to be with him (even though they’re breaking the law by being out after curfew). Sometimes, she hums a song for him, and he pays her with a penny (as that’s all that he can afford to gift her with).
Because America is between the ages of 16 and 20, she gets an invitation to submit an application for “The Selection” (which is a competition similar to the Bachelor for the 18-year-old Prince Maxon -- princesses here get married to princes of other nations for allies, but princes here get married to female citizens to boost morale and nationalism). At first, America doesn’t have any interest in applying since she already has a man. But her mother tries to convince her to apply (since the family would receive a check as payment for each week she would be competing, and if she wins, the whole family’s status could be elevated). America still doesn’t want to enter, but later that night, Aspen convinces her to enter since he would forever wonder “what if” if she didn’t even try. So America finally agrees (plus her mother offers her the bribe of letting her keep half the money she makes at future singing gigs if she doesn’t get selected).
On the way to the building that accepts applications, America and her mom run into Aspen’s mom (who has two daughters). Aspen’s mom lets it slip that each applicant is supposed to be getting their picture taken (so the selection process isn’t truly “random”). She also lets it slip that Aspen may be preparing to propose to a mystery girl (as he’s been saving up and in especially good moods lately). This news makes America so happy that she’s beaming with joy when it’s time for her to get her picture taken. America’s bright smile may be a reason why her application ended up getting picked as one of 35 contestants!
The next day, an official comes over to America’s house to have her sign a form that she is indeed a virgin, and he reads her the list of rules. She cannot go outside the palace without permission, she cannot say no to Maxon no matter what he wants, and she cannot have romantic relations with anyone else during her time competing (or else that will be considered treason, which is punishable by death).
The night before America leaves for the palace, she brings a feast to the treehouse in hopes of coaxing out a proposal. But Aspen’s reaction is the opposite of what she was expecting: He feels ashamed that he’s not the one spoiling her and clarifies that the thing that is holding him back from marriage is the chance of him getting drafted for the military soon (which could leave America as a young widow). He then admits that she deserves better than him, so he breaks up with her.
At the public hometown send-off the following afternoon, America spots Aspen in the crowd with his arm around another girl’s waist! (This girl, Brenna, is also a Six). America feels absolutely heartbroken and wonders if he’s been two-timing her.
At the palace, America is brutally up-front and honest with Prince Maxon from the start. She tells him that she doesn’t have feelings for him but she doesn’t want to go home since her family needs the paychecks, she loves the palace food, and she’s not ready to face the guy who broke her heart. So she offers Maxon a deal: If he lets her stay in the competition, then she’ll be his friend. She’ll give him tips on how to interact with girls and be a listening ear when he’s not sure which girls to send home (or wants to rant about how stressful it is to run a country while having the entire country watch him try to date for the first time -- and what if he doesn’t find a soulmate in this first batch?).
America and Maxon come up with an “ear-tugging” signal for whenever they want to meet up later to discuss. Over the next few weeks, some of the advice that America offers Maxon is:
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When a girl is crying, oftentimes she just wants a shoulder to cry on. She wants to be consoled and not have you try to offer solutions that could fix her problem. Aspen is relieved to finally know how to make crying women feel better!
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While his plan for improving the public schools that Sixes and Sevens go to will benefit them and decrease crime, Eights are the main source of crime. This isn’t because they’re bad people, but because they’re desperate to survive. There have been winters when her own family has had to choose between electricity or food. And she’s seen Aspen’s little brother get whipped in public for stealing food when he was hungry and couldn’t afford it. Aspen realizes how little he knows about the country that he’s trying to run. He puts a stop to the paychecks that he was sending to the families of contestants who are natural Twos and Threes, redirecting this money for free food stands for Fives, Sixes, and Sevens, and Eights.
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America asks Maxon to send home Celeste (a supermodel who appears nice when he’s around but has provoked a religious contestant into slapping her and thus disqualifying her, tried to trade dresses with America minutes before a group interview and then ripped her sleeve when America refused, and spilled red punch all over Kriss’s beautiful gown at her birthday party out of fear of hogging the prince’s attention). Maxon doesn’t believe that Celeste is as evil as America says and shuts down the conversation.
It’s continually shown how America has compassion for those of a lower class than her. Instead of being rude to her three assigned maids, she makes sure that they are well-rested, plays cards with them, and insisted on taking them with her to the cellar during an aggressive rebel attack to ensure their safety.
It turns out that Aspen indeed got drafted, and since he is naturally smart and strong, he got assigned to be a palace guard -- meaning that he can sneak in visits with America! Aspen clears up that he’s not even with Brenna -- since she’s a clutz, he was just catching her when America had glanced over at the send-off. He’s still deeply in love with America.
Meanwhile, the Prince has narrowed down the girls from 35 to 6 (the “Elite”) based on who was a favorite among the people (such as Marlee, America’s BFF through all of this), who came from powerful families (such as Celeste), and who he personally had feelings for (such as America). Under simpler circumstances, Maxon says that he would be ready to marry America right away, but it concerns him that her heart doesn’t seem fully in the competition since she’s not fully over Aspen. So he needs to continue on with testing his spark with other girls in the meantime as backup.
(Note: The winner isn’t necessarily the “best” girl ever; it’s just the girl with the particular qualities that Maxon wants.)
“You could probably find something special about everyone in this room. But who knows exactly what Maxon is looking for?” (201).
Who is America going to choose -- Aspen or Maxon?
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BOOK 2: THE ELITE
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Prince Maxon is a One, but is he “The One” for America?
Each of the remaining candidates are still there for a reason:
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Celeste is a celebrity (model), so she would look good with Maxon.
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Marlee and Kriss are the public favorites.
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Elise has ties with East Asia, which may help ease the war that’s going on there.
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Natalie agrees with everything she hears, which is appealing to the King (so that he can still assert his views after he retires).
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America has Maxon’s heart.
Marlee has secretly mentioned to America multiple times that she was considering dropping out of the competition since she doesn’t have feelings for Maxon. However, it’s revealed later that the person that she had feelings for was a palace guard named Woodwork. If Marlee leaves, then she won’t see Woodwork, so she sticks it out.
Unfortunately, cameras catch Marlee and Woodwork sharing an intimate moment. Because this is considered “treason”, Maxon “mercifully” spares them execution, instead subjecting them to being caned (15 strikes each) and being demoted to Eights. America feels betrayed that Maxon would subject this harsh punishment on anyone, especially on someone as sweet as Marlee.
Despite this public punishment, Aspen makes it known to America that he would be willing to take the same risk in order to spend time with her. After all, even before this competition, he used to sneak out after curfew to spend time with her in her treehouse.
Despite having Aspen as a constant, America’s heart breaks more when she catches Maxon making out with Celeste and getting emotionally closer to Kriss. This (in addition to reading Illea’s first king’s diary, who turned out to be a power-hungry, arrogant tyrant rather than a hero, seeing how he even made his own daughter marry a guy she didn’t like just to form a political allegiance and devised the caste system to ensure that he and the people who benefit him get the most comfort) makes America so angry that for her televised philanthropy project, she proposes to completely do away with the caste system. She feels done with the competition and wants to at least air out some truth.
After the presentation, the King demands for Maxon to send America home, but then a rebel attack strikes and Maxon and America get tucked into a small safe room alone. Here, Maxon finally explains himself to America:
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He has more sympathy with Marlee than meets the eye. He himself gets secretly caned by his own father whenever he misbehaves or speaks out against him. Maxon gave the least harsh punishment that he was allowed to give, and then without his father knowing, arranged to have Marlee and Woodwork safely work at the palace as servants.
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The reason why he was making out with Celeste was because he’s under a lot of tension due to his role, and since America kept pushing him away, he needed a way to feel good and normal from time to time.
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The reason why he’s been spending more time with Kriss is because he needs a back-up in case America decides to leave, and he knows that Kriss can make him happy (especially with her loyalty and her selflessness, seen such as from making homemade cards for him).
This clarification restores America’s faith in Maxon.
At the end of the attack, people are relieved to find out that Maxon and America are still alive. Maxon stretches the truth by telling the King that America saved his life (which matters greatly to the King since Maxon is his only child and thus his only chance for carrying on the royal line) and that he gave America a talk about her acting out. This (in addition to the news that in an earlier rebel attack, the rebels killed Natalie’s sister in an attempt to end the Selection, meaning that Natalie needed time to grieve with her family anyway) makes the King agree to Maxon’s request to send Natalie home instead of America.
America’s relieved to have another chance at being with Maxon, and she realizes that she might actually care more deeply for him than Aspen, but there are a few uncertainties:
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In the latest public poll, America was by far the least favorite. Can she gain more public support?
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Maxon tells America that even though she still has his heart, she needs to gain his trust. How will she do this?
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The King makes it clear to America that he doesn’t approve of her. Will America be able to gain his approval? Or will he sabotage her chances first?
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How will the rebels be subdued, especially now that they are targeting the families of the Selected?
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BOOK 3: The One
Queen Amberly tells America that America’s connections with the rest of the Elite will likely prevail into lifelong friendships (just like they did for her when she was in the Selection decades ago). America doesn’t believe her at first, but then she remembers the good qualities of each of the 3 other remaining girls. America even bonds with Celeste after Celeste apologizes for her past behavior and explains that the reason why she was acting so desperately was because she was worried about losing fame after her beauty deteriorates. Because she wasn't getting attention from Maxon, she was trying to steal it from others.
“If I was the princess and something was happening where I needed a rational perspective, I’d call Elise first. If I was fighting with Maxon, Kriss would remind me of every good thing about him. And Celeste… well, I wasn’t so sure, but if anyone was ever going to tell me to toughen up about something, it would be her” (53).
“Celeste had been raised to be a specific kind of pretty. That beauty depended on covering things up, shifting the light, and seeking to be perfect at all times. But there is a different king of beauty that comes with humility and honesty, and she was glowing with it now” (192).
America continues to defy the king’s orders, sticking true to her moral compass. She refuses to sentence a poor man to life in prison when his crime was merely stealing clothes for his girls. (The harsh sentence was likely due to his beliefs misaligning with the kings’ beliefs). America also refuses to film propaganda about why people should be content with their current caste status (since that would have required her to say things like “Sevens are more hardworking and more talented at construction”).
There have been mentions about palace guards being sent to the girls’ homes to protect their families, but many of these guards “abandoned their posts”. It’s revealed later that these missing guards were actually killed by rebels, stripped of their uniform, and buried. The rebels then snuck into the palace and launched a surprise attack.
In this fight:
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Celeste is the first to die, and we feel sad about it due to her recent change of heart.
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The King and Queen die, making Maxon the new king.
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Maxon takes a bullet for America as he realizes just how much she really means to him.
Because America recently lost her father (due to a heart condition), Aspen walks her down the aisle, giving her away to Maxon. This beautifully symbolizes the official “letting go” moment. Aspen had told America before this that months ago in the treehouse, he really did mean it that he loved her, and he was confident that they would have had a happy (although poor) marriage at Sixes. However, the Selection process has changed both of them, and Aspen developed feelings for America’s sweetheart maid, Lucy, who could use a knight in shining armor. Aspen also confides in America that he’s glad that she met Aspen because otherwise, he would not have as full of an appreciation about how hard life can be in the lower castes. At the end of the book, Maxon tells America that he’s planning on dissolving the caste system, working slowly from the bottom up (although getting rid of the stigmas at the top castes may prove to be difficult).