OMG, America quit acting like such a girl!

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It’s done. And, if I had started here, I would have abandoned the series. It does get better, but dang, America acts like such a girl!

I realize that’s not the PC thing to say, but in the beginning, despite going into the series knowing it was Young Adult Romance, the main character, America Singer, was independent and vivacious. Most books show personal growth, but this one was more like a taming. Jeesh, once she decided to whom she was going to dedicate herself and her love she acted like a cow-eyed love-struck teenager (which, she is). The main difference is she seemed to at least be spunky before her decision. Once she decides she’s in love she becomes vapid and borderline desperate. Yuck.

Eventually, she does snap out of it, but it takes far too long. In reality, the series is just too long. I realize publishers like the three book deal, but it’s YA The Bachelor: Dystopian Edition. ?It was just too much dragging out of the obvious. Maybe, it’s just me, since I don’t watch any of those shows – perhaps my tolerance for that kind of thing is a bit low.

It is not the sort of book you’ll be sitting around thinking about the characters when it’s over, but I have this horrible problem (maybe it’s biblio-OCD?) that I have to finish the series (I have strengthened my ability to abandon a bad book, but it is hard). If I get busy enough (I mean, my summer list is pretty fleshed out) perhaps I can abandon the next books in the series – this one did have a stopping place. The next books in the series pickup in the next generation and the world Cass created is interesting enough that I’d like to see where it is in 20 years – you know, how influential America really was.

In any case, overall the series was entertaining (the third book being my least favorite, but a necessary evil). If you are looking at it for a pre-teen to teen it’s safe enough (other than the obvious storyline). ?There may be a few moral decisions that are not great, but it’s a story about teenagers – not a group known for their divine ability to make awesome decisions.

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