This is a cover matchup. I know we’ve all noticed that book covers start to develop a trend, especially inside certain genera so I thought it would be fun to do a verses that puts books that look similar against each other.
Goodreads Selection| Goodreads Jewel
First Off: the spoiler free points
So I just finished Jewel and re-read the selection. They are both dystopias with girls from poor families brought into a royal setting. Both have love interests that have to give attention to other girls, both have girls in pretty dresses on the front. So let’s see which is the better story.
The Rounds: this is where I put them head to head to see who the winner is, and warning there will be spoilers
The Cover:
So the covers are pretty similar but you can tell from the angle of the viewer to subject, in the Selection America is supposed to look strong and powerful. Violet, however is supposed to look weak and submissive, which is also conveyed through the fetal type position she’s in verses the standing position of America. I think I passed on reading The Jewel a couple times because of the cover, until I heard some bloggers talk about how much they liked it. So I would have to say the Selection wins this round.
Main Character:
America is a feisty red head that knows what she does and doesn’t want, at least in the beginning of the story. She gradually falls into confusion of whether she could ever love Maxus and wants to fight for him, or if she wants to go back to Aspen. I have to say I liked America for the most part through this first book. Book two and three, I kind of wanted to punch her in the face a lot. But if we’re only focusing on The Selection, I liked that she was a strong girl that wasn’t focused on being a princess, but making the best life she could with what was available to her.
Violet is a girl that knew what her life would be from around the age of 12 or 13. She knew that she would become a surrogate and have someone else’s child. And she seems to accept that till she gets to the City (the Jewel) and finds out what the royals are really like: specifically that surrogates are little more than slaves. Violet walks the line of submission and defiance through the first two-thirds of the book, but once she finds out that she won’t be allowed to return to her family, she wants out. And once she finds out she won’t return home because she dies, she becomes a fighter. This transformation kind of happens toward the end of the book, so I think we get to see more of this Violet in the next book.
Just based on how the character present themselves in these books I would have to say America wins the round
The Love Interests and relationship:
Maxon and Aspen are the two heart throbs of “The Selection.” Aspen is the “high-school Sweetheart” and Maxon is the prince. The first half of the book there is no question that America wants Aspen or no one. But by the time he enters the picture again, Maxon has started to at least be a bit more than a friend. By the end of the book, she doesn’t know who she loves more.
In “The Jewel” we Ash. Violet has accepted she will never get to fall in love. She’s supposed to have a baby then be serialized, which also means no family. But when she finds out she’s not the only person in The Jewel that has no say in their life, specifically Ash, they start to share moments together and give pieces of their self to the other. They both get a relationship neither thought they would get. There is the illusion of a love triangle because Ash is an escort that has to dote on the niece of the duchess, but it’s a minor annoyance.
I’m not sure which love interest I like. I typically don’t get wrapped up in shipping characters because I’m much more drawn to the story as a whole. I think I’ll have to pick Ash because that relationship didn’t annoy me as much as “The Selection” triangle. It wasn’t that I was cheering hardcore for that relationship, I just didn’t want to punch either of them as much as The Selection Triangle.
The World:
Both of these books have a lot in common as far as worlds go. Both are dystopias that have levels of separation in civilization. There is a royal class at the top of the ladder and both the main characters are from the lower end of the spectrum.
The biggest difference is “The Jewel” is based in a different world where magic exists, which I always think magic is a good idea. Only the surrogates seem to have the ability to do magic, and I’m not sure if I missed the full explanation or if it’s still a question to be answered, but I like this system of magic that’s being developed in The Jewel.
I would have to say the Jewel wins because it’s different from most dystopias and it has magic.
The Story:
The Selection is basically a royal version of the Bachelor. And while there is a sub story going on, the majority of the three books revolves around who America will choose and who Maxon will choose. Which is very unusual for me to stick with through, especially all three books. But the action and drama were mixed together well enough that before I got too annoyed with the drama of the selection itself, it would switch gears.
The Jewel has more to develop as far as story goes because it’s in a different world with different rules. I think that’s why I wasn’t over the top invested in this story, because it took a little longer to get going. There was so much that had to be explained, and while action carried it more than exposition, it still took a while for things to pick up.
In the end, The Selection won, but barely. Really it was pretty close to a tie, and there’s a chance that the Rose will beat out The Elite if the story is going the direction I’m guessing. After I read the White Rose we’ll have another verses.