I didn't want to like this book. And there were some things that made me go "SAY WHAT?!" But I did enjoy it. It was a fun read marred by some bad ideas. And so I'll explain my feels as Good Ideas and Bad Ideas.
GOOD IDEA
Despite her stupid name, I liked America. She was an individual and she wasn't going to let anyone change that. Well, except perhaps Aspen, but we'll get to that in a minute. Not afraid to yell at a prince and stand up to a rival. I appreciate that.
God helped me, I liked the love triangle. Even though I find Aspen and Maxon hard to differentiate. (One is rich and the other is not?) I also thought the part where Aspen doesn't want America to provide for them is realistic. That was painful for me, actually. And Maxon giving her space was cool too. They're similar, but both are good guys.
I want to know what the rebels want! Why do some rifle through the palace's things and other want to watch the world burn? What is the deal?
Okay, that's enough praise.
BAD IDEA
These dumb names. I mean, America? Aspen? Seriously? This isn't the only author with dumb dystopian names. (Katniss, anyone? Or Peeta?) But it made me facepalm the whole time.
This caste system. I know it's a way to create tension between everyone but it makes no sense. What if someone has NO talent but is in the artist caste? I also didn't understand what the hell Twos and Sevens were doing? What was there jobs? I think ability/job based castes are the worst. At least in Hunger Games (I know this is the second time I've compared this book to Hunger Games, but it's totally Hunger Games + Bachelor.) the castes/oppression was location based. It just makes you wonder what this Illea guy was thinking. At least no one is racist, I think? Yay?
The ending. Talk about ending with a whimper. I was like...that's it? But so much is unresolved! And it didn't have to be! There was a lot of extraneous stuff that could have been cut out so that there could have been a satisfying conclusion. And yet it was like, "WE'LL SEE WHAT HAPPENS TODAY! SEE YA IN THE NEXT BOOK, fin." I'm easily swayed by a slightly amusing book, so I'll probably read the sequel, but I was like WHERE'S THE REST OF THE BOOK? Of course, every YA dystopian novel with a love triangle is somehow made into a trilogy, so IDK why I was surprised. Silly me.
So I would give this a solid 2.5 stars. I heard they're making a show about this book, and because I have horrible taste in TV I would totally watch that show. Not sure if I can recommend the book though.