Driftwood #18: Recommended Reads

The Selection Series
by Kiera CassPicture this: in a futuristic world, China conquered the U.S.after the Fourth World War. A country called Illéa, made up of 35 provinces and governed by a monarchy, now exists in its place. Citizens are divided into caste numbers that strictly determine what occupations people may pursue. At the top are the Ones—the royal family—along with the more rich and privileged Twos through Fours, while the Fives through Eights struggle just to keep food on the table and shelter over their heads. 17-year-old America Singer is a Five, and she cares about only two things: helping her family survive and someday marrying her secret, forbidden boyfriend Aspen, a Six. Then, America is one of 35 eligible young women chosen to compete in the Selection for not only the affections of the gorgeous Prince Maxon, but also the titles of his wife and princess. At first, America has absolutely no interest in the Selection process or in falling in love with Maxon … but the more she gets to know him, the more her feelings become conflicted, and America has to make a very difficult decision. Does her heart lie with the poor boy-next-door, or the future King of Illéa? While this slowly burning love triangle is a big focus of the three books that make up the main story, things like tyrannical government, dangerous rebel attacks, and serious systemic issues in dystopian society make the series as a whole a more powerful, hard-hitting read. The Selection by Kiera Cass is one of my all-time favorites to re-visit over and over again, and I can’t wait to watch Netflix’s film adaptation, hopefully coming later this year!

In the age of Charlemagne, the Moors fashioned a gem-encrusted chess set that held powerful, mystical secrets, gifting it to the Frankish and Roman Emperor. Terrified by the set’s potent magic after playing one game, Charlemagne had the chess service broken up and hidden in the walls of the Montglane Abbey. And there it stayed, until 1790. In the midst of the French Revolution, dangerous forces are seeking the set, and the abbess of Montglane knows she needs to act fast. She has her nuns unearth the chess set and scatters them two-by-two across Europe, each carrying a few of the pieces. Mireille and her cousin Valentine end in up in Reign of Terror Paris. And when Valentine is brutally murdered on the orders of Terror mastermind Maximilien Robespierre, Mireille needs to put everything on the line to protect Montglane’s secrets from the likes of French diplomat Charles de Talleyrand, up-and-coming soldier Napoleon Bonaparte, and Robespierre himself.

Nearly 200 years later, in the 1970s, computer expert Cat Velis is being sent to Algeria. While she thinks her assignment is the result of sexist higher-ups, it soon becomes clear that something else is at play. An Algerian antiques dealer contacts her and tells her the story of the Montglane chess set, asking for her help in recovering the pieces. It doesn’t take her long to realize that a real-life game is at hand, with powerful people pursuing the Montglane Service for their own ends—and she’s nothing but a pawn. But pawns can become queens if they cross the board, unless one false move sends Cat to her death.

While Dan Brown may have cornered the market on international action-adventure in the present day, his book The Da Vinci Code owes a lot to author Katherine Neville, who releases a novel about once every ten years, due to the copious amounts of research she puts into each one. With edge-of-your-seat pacing and a fascinating parade of historical figures, The Eight‘s dual plotlines combine for a a thrilling ride that, while first published in 1988, still holds up today.